The 5 Best Pitching Rotations of the Last Decade
2008 Arizona Diamondbacks
20.1 WAR (3rd most since 2005)
3.73 xFIP (6th)
3.76 SIERA (6th)
Brandon Webb and Dan Haren led Arizona’s 2008 staff. Webb finished second in the NL Cy Young voting for the second consecutive year and finished the season with 5.8 WAR, according to Baseball-Reference, a 22-7 record, and a 3.28 FIP.
Haren, who was just 27 at the time, actually led the D-Backs in WAR, with 6.1, and owned a record of 16-8 with a 3.01 FIP.
A 44-year-old Randy Johnson filled the number-three role for Arizona, while Doug Davis was the team’s fourth starter. Johnson made 30 starts and threw 184 innings for the team, finishing with 3.2 WAR, a 3.76 FIP, and a 118 ERA+.
Davis, while certainly not a star, was a viable fourth starter. He made 26 starts and threw 146 innings throughout the year, posting 2.4 WAR, a 4.15 FIP, and a 107 ERA+.
The 2008 Diamondbacks lacked a true fifth starter. Micah Owings made 18 starts for the team but owned a negative WAR.
Max Scherzer, who was a rookie in 2008, and Yusmeiro Petit combined to make 15 starts and throw 112.1 innings. In their limited roles, they combined for 2.1 WAR.
