Starters xFIP: 4.09 (6th)

Starters SIERA: 4.23 (7th)

K-BB %: 14.0% (7th)

Projected Rotation: J.A. Happ, Francisco Liriano, Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez

While the peripherals above would perhaps indicate this team should be a little bit lower, this is a rotation that is throwing the heck out of the baseball right now.

Stroman has been on a mission in the second half of the year. In that span, he's dropped his ERA to 3.68, recorded a strong second-half xFIP of 3.01, and bumped his strikeout rate up 6% while dropping his walk rate by 1.0%.

Happ enjoyed a strong 2016, recording 20 wins and posting a 3.18 ERA over 32 starts, although his SIERA was a bit higher at 4.28. Happ enjoyed the confines of home as he logged a 2.90 ERA in 90 innings pitched at the Rogers Centre.

Liriano, meanwhile, was great in relief in the wild card game, and he enjoyed the change of scenario up north, logging a 3.40 xFIP in the second half of 2016. He also increased his strikeout rate by 6% over that same span.

Last but not least, Sanchez rounds out a rotation, and the 24-year-old took a major step forward in 2016. Posting a record of 15-2, Sanchez was reliable, making 30 starts, recording a 3.00 ERA and solid 4.01 SIERA. Sanchez did seem to wear down a bit in the last few months, as he saw a spike in hard-hit rate in the second half (up 5.7%) and recorded a 4.29 xFIP after the break.