Try as they might, National League teams can't bulletproof their starting rotations.

By acquiring 2007 Oakland All-Star Danny Haren and '06 Japanese Central League ERA titlist Hiroki Kuroda in the past week, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively, showed their determination to develop an indomitable arsenal of starting pitchers. And yet, still there are no guarantees.

During the 2007 stretch run, I wrote about how hard it was for even contending teams to field a starting rotation that wasn't at least a partial embarrassment. Injuries were wiping out pitchers on virtually every team.

Well, here we are in December. Arms are healing across the country. Free agents have begun finding new homes. Top prospects are poised to ascend to the bigs. And still there aren't enough arms to go around, though the Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers are doing their best to corner the market.

The community at Dodger Thoughts helped assemble a list of virtually every potential starting pitcher on an N.L. roster. (We'll look at the American League later in the week.) To get a sense of which teams had the strongest rotations, I awarded each pitcher points based on the following categories (looking at three-year trends, with the most weight on the 2007 season):

• 0 points: below-average pitcher
• 1 point: mystery pitcher -- wildly inconsistent pitcher or above-average recent track record but with dubious health
• 1 point: young, up-and-coming minor-league pitcher with above-average potential in 2008
• 2 points: average to above-average pitcher
• 3 points: above-average pitcher
• 4 points: super above-average pitcher

Now, there are certain to be quibbles about the choices I made in assigning point values -- in fact, the entire point system is rather arbitrary. There's a built-in margin for error -- because of how difficult it is to predict future performance, even with the best projections. These are not meant to be scientific.

Instead, the rankings hopefully offer a general idea of which teams are -- pending the resolution of this winter's Hot Stove League -- best prepared to handle the starting pitching challenges of '08.

Here's how they look, team-by-team.

Arizona Diamondbacks (16 points)

• Super above-average (4): Brandon Webb
• Above-average (6): Danny Haren, Micah Owings
• Average to above-average (2): Doug Davis
• Mystery (1): Randy Johnson
• Up-and-coming (3): Yusmeiro Petit, Esmerling Vasquez, Max Scherzer
• Below-average (0): Edgar Gonzalez, Dustin Nippert

Comment: The acquisition Friday of Haren appeared to vault Arizona to the top. But even with the ex-Oakland hurler alongside the superb Webb (and the slugging Owings, whose hot hitting lifts him to the above-average category), the Diamondbacks won't intimidate you at the back end of the rotation -- at least until one of their prospects matures or Johnson shows he can stay healthy at age 44. Even a great group like this is fallible.

Los Angeles Dodgers (15 points)

• Above-average (9): Chad Billingsley, Brad Penny, Derek Lowe
• Mystery (2): Jason Schmidt, Hiroki Kuroda
• Up-and-coming (4): James McDonald, Clayton Kershaw, Hong-Chih Kuo, Scott Elbert/Jonathan Meloan
• Below-average (0): Esteban Loaiza, D.J. Houlton, Eric Stults

Comment: The front three is formidable, with Billingsley poised to become the staff ace. Question marks abound thereafter -- with Schmidt perhaps never regaining his old stuff, Kuroda needing to show his ability to transition to the U.S. and a long list of prospects needing to prove themselves (or a change to prove themselves) in the majors.

Milwaukee Brewers (14 points)

• Above-average (9): Ben Sheets, Carlos Villanueva, Yovani Gallardo
• Average to above-average (4): Jeff Suppan, Chris Capuano
• Up-and-coming (1): Manny Parra
• Below-average (0): David Bush, Claudio Vargas

Comment: Villenueva and Gallardo might not be national names (compared to Sheets, anyway), but they are the keys to making the Brewers' rotation among the tops in the league. Suppan and Capuano could be as good as you'll find in the No. 4 and No. 5 slots of an NL rotation -- and Bush has his fans as well.

Atlanta Braves (13 points)

• Above-average (6 points): John Smoltz, Tim Hudson
• Average to above-average (4): Tom Glavine, Chuck James
• Mystery (1): Mike Hampton
• Up-and-coming (2): Jair Jurrjens, Jo-Jo Reyes
• Below-average (0): Dan Smith, Jeff Bennett

Comment: Two keys to Atlanta's rotation, Smoltz and prodigal son Glavine, are each more than 40 years old, and Hampton hasn't pitched in a regular season game in more than two seasons. Jurrjens and Reyes are up-and-coming but unproven. And yet, as you'll see, this group qualifies as the best group of starters in the NL East.

San Diego Padres (13 points)

• Super above-average (4): Jake Peavy
• Above-average (3): Chris Young
• Average to above-average (2): Greg Maddux
• Mystery (1): Randy Wolf
• Up-and-coming (3): Justin Germano, Wade LeBlanc, Will Inman
• Below-average (0): Jack Cassel, Clay Hensley, Tim Stauffer, Cesar Ramos, Glendon Rusch

Comment: Some look longingly at Cy Young winner Peavy, but there are question marks behind the Padre ace. Young pitched superbly in '07 but missed several starts, while Maddux never missed a start but has become an average pitcher in his 40s. San Diego is taking a chance on Wolf, whom the Los Angeles Dodgers declined to resign after an injury-marred year.

San Francisco Giants (12 points)

• Above-average (6): Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum
• Average to above-average (5): Barry Zito, Noah Lowry, Kevin Correia
• Up-and-coming (1): Jonathan Sanchez
• Below-average (0): Nick Pereira

Comment: The Giants should be upbeat about their starting pitching, if only because they have little else to be happy about in the post-Barry Bonds era. High-salaried Zito was a disappointment in '07, but youngsters Cain and Lincecum particularly impressed. With Lowry giving you decent outings and Sanchez on the horizon, San Francisco has itself a staff of quality, if lacking in depth.

Colorado Rockies (11 points)

• Above-average (6): Jeff Francis, Aaron Cook
• Up-and-coming (5): Franklin Morales, Ubaldo Jimenez, Jason Hirsh, Greg Reynolds, Taylor Buchholz

Comment: Colorado's rotation is the fifth from the NL West to be in the top half of the league. Two solid leaders, and then five younger fellows with potential who will have to sort themselves out. In theory, last year's playoff run will have provided valuable experience.

New York Mets (11 points)

• Above-average (3): John Maine
• Mystery (5): Oliver Perez, Orlando Hernandez, Aaron Heilman, Pedro Martinez*
• Up-and-coming (3): Mike Pelfrey, Phillip Humber, Kevin Mulvey
• Below-average (0): Jorge Sosa
* extra point given to Martinez for his super above-average potential

Comment: The potential of the Mets' rotation is exceeded only by its mystery, with the performance of pitchers who were injured and/or inconsistent in '07 too difficult to call.

Chicago Cubs (10 points)

• Above-average (9): Ted Lilly, Carlos Zambrano, Rich Hill
• Up-and-coming (1): Sean Marshall
• Below-average (0): Jason Marquis, Sean Gallagher, Kevin Hart

Comment: Lilly could get one less point and Zambrano one more, but it all evens out for now. In any case, the front three would give a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers a healthy battle, but the Cubs' depth consists of low-ceiling major-leaguers and prospects.

Philadelphia Phillies (10 points)

• Above-average (9): Cole Hamels, Kyle Kendrick, Brett Myers
• Mystery (1): Ryan Madson
• Below-average (0): Adam Eaton, J.D. Durbin, Francisco Rosario, Zach Segovia, J.A. Happ, Jamie Moyer

Comment: Hamels might only need an injury-free season to challenge for Cy Young award honors. But Kendrick and Myers have their flaws, and there isn't much else to shout about.

Cincinnati Reds (9 points)

• Above-average (6): Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo
• Up-and-coming (3): Homer Bailey, Johnny Cueto, Matthew Maloney
• Below-average (0): Matt Belisle, Bobby Livingston, Tom Shearn

Comment: Harang and Arroyo have done right by the Reds, but Bailey and Cueto can't arrive fast enough. It will be interesting to see how new manager Dusty Baker handles them.

Houston Astros (7 points)

• Super above-average (4): Roy Oswalt
• Mystery (1): Brandon Backe
• Up-and-coming (2): Juan Gutierrez, Felipe Paulino
• Below-average (0): Wandy Rodriguez, Woody Williams, Chris Sampson

Comment: Oswalt is something like the Lone Gunman on a staff that will be struggling almost every other game, at least if this is the group to choose from at the start of the season.

Pittsburgh Pirates (6 points)

• Above-average (3): Tom Gorzelanny
• Average to above-average (2): Ian Snell
• Up-and-coming (1): Ty Taubenheim
• Below-average (0): Paul Maholm, Matt Morris, Zach Duke, John Van Benschoten, Yoslan Herrera, Bryan Bullington, Phil Dumatrait

Comment: At this point, it might be worth the trouble to distinguish the below-average talent from the really below average talent. All I can say is, the Pirates and the teams below them are the furthest from fielding a competitive rotation.

St. Louis Cardinals (6 points)

• Above-average (3): Adam Wainwright
• Mystery (1): Chris Carpenter
• Up-and-coming (2): Jamie Garcia, Anthony Reyes
• Below-average (0): Joel Pineiro, Brad Thompson, Braden Looper, Mike Maroth, Mark Mulder, Mitch Boggs

Comment: Thin.

Florida Marlins (5 points)

• Mystery (2): Anibal Sanchez, Josh Johnson
• Up-and-coming (3): Rick VandenHurk, Andrew Miller, Daniel Barone
• Below-average (0): Scott Olsen, Sergio Mitre, Ricky Nolasco, Chris Seddon

Comment: Thinner.

Washington Nationals (3 points)

• Mystery (3): John Patterson, Shawn Hill, Tim Redding
• Below-average (0): Jason Bergmann, Matt Chico, Tyler Clippard, John Lannan, Joel Hanrahan, Mike Bacsik, Collin Balester

Comment: Thinnest.

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