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Red Sox vs. Indians Roster Breakdown: Starting rotation comparison

By Jake Sauberman

Jul 17, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher David Price (24) pitches against the New York Yankees during the second inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 17, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher David Price (24) pitches against the New York Yankees during the second inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Many are torn on whether the Boston Red Sox or the Cleveland Indians are the 2017 AL favorites. Breaking down the roster position by position is how to determine the winner.

Sep 11, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (49) throws against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at U.S. Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
David Banks-USA TODAY Sports /

Are the Boston Red Sox the team to beat in the American League or is it a Cleveland Indians team coming off of a pennant winning season?

After landing arguably the biggest free agent prize of the offseason, slugger Edwin Encarnacion, many experts and fans alike have boasted the Indians as the AL favorites heading into the 2017 season. Of course, after landing arguably the biggest trade prize of the offseason in ace Chris Sale, many are saying the same about the Red Sox.

To see which playoff contender is truly deserving of the title of American League favorite (which of course means nothing in reality, it’s just for fun), I’m going to do a weekly series, conducting a position-by-position comparison of what the Red Sox and Indians have to offer.

We started two weeks ago by breaking down the respective infields for each team. Last week, we turned our attention to the outfield and designated hitter spots. This week, we examine the starting rotations that each team has to offer, breaking it down pitcher by pitcher.

While there is ample drama about how the bottom of the Red Sox rotation will shake out, and while neither team has officially ordered their rotation No. 1 through 5 (and of course, the offseason isn’t over, leaving room for additional transactions), for the purpose of this experiment the rotations will go as followed:

Red Sox: Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello, Drew Pomeranz, Steven Wright/Eduardo Rodriguez

Indians: Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer, Josh Tomlin

Let’s jump right in with the number one starter on each team.

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