Preview/Prediction

The Tampa Bay Rays' starting rotation has enough talent to take the team to the postseason again in 2014. That is, if you consider credentials including a Cy Young winner, Gold Glove winner, Rookie of the Year and two All-Stars to be postseason-caliber talent.

Not to mention, the combined success of the organization to make the postseason in four of the last six seasons.

The Cleveland Indians' starting rotation is almost set for the 2014 season.

Despite having lost Scott Kazmir—and in all likelihood Ubaldo Jimenez—to free agency, the Indians will return four pitchers who had significant impacts on the 2013 ballclub. The rotation's order and fifth spot, however, are still up in the air.

Heading into the 2013 season, we figured that the Los Angeles Dodgers’ starting rotation would be a strong point. That turned out to be true, as the staff’s average game score (a Bill James creation that summarizes pitching outings into a single number) was the second-highest in baseball.

It's a new year, and for Baltimore Orioles fans, that means a new sense of urgency. The holidays are behind us and the free agent and trade markets will soon begin to pick up again, as some big names and impact players are still out there up for grabs.

There is only one spot left undecided in the Texas Rangers starting rotation for 2014.

It is presumably for the fourth or fifth spot. The team has three lefties in Derek Holland, Martin Perez and Matt Harrison, and Yu Darvish is the lone righty.

The Baseball Writers' Association of America will announce the 2014 MLB Hall of Fame class on Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET, as this year's class of candidates will look to join managers Joe Torre, Tony LaRussa and Bobby Cox in earning enshrinement.

A total of 19 newcomers join 17 holdovers from last year's ballot to make up this year's candidates, and after no one earned induction last year, we could see a number of players join the all-time greats in Cooperstown this time around.

Pitching has been the strength of the Cincinnati Reds the past few seasons, and stability in the rotation is the reason that the club is going to continue to contend.

Cincinnati's rotation finished near the top of the majors in most of the major categories. Despite pitching in Great American Ball Park, the staff has found a way to get the job done.

There isn't much to guess about when it comes to what the Reds rotation will look like in 2014. 

In 2013, the Boston Red Sox turned from a last-place franchise into a World Series champion.

This sort of transformation, while rare and difficult, was the direct result of a number of key moves from general manager Ben Cherington—moves that combined incumbent stars with the right type of free agents to solidify what would be a championship team.

Looking forward to 2014, Boston will once more rely upon some magic.

The Atlanta Braves will once again hope a relatively young and inexperienced starting rotation can anchor the 2014 season as it did in 2013.

The Braves entered 2013 facing questions about Mike Minor and Julio Teheran's effectiveness for an entire season.

Brandon Beachy's health and Kris Medlen's role were also questions.

The end result was a 3.51 ERA for the starting rotation—good enough for fifth in the National League.

On Wednesday, I projected how the Texas Rangers' revamped offense would look in 2014. Today is the second installment in the projection series: the rotation. Bullpen projections, the final piece of the series, will be coming soon.