Who Has the Best Rotation in the NL East?

It's easy to argue that the National League East has the most pitching depth of any division in baseball.

From two of the best individual pitchers in the game residing in Philly and New York to Atlanta's deep group, the East features a variety of staff designs and clearly outclasses the rest of MLB.

The real question is: Which of the five teams in the division is the best?

I will go in-depth to determine that which I believe to be the best.

Good: New York Mets

Grades

LHP Johan Santana:     A+

RHP Mike Pelfrey:         B+

RHP John Maine:           B

LHP Oliver Perez:          B-

RHP Livan Hernandez:    C-

Overall: B (~87.5)

Breakdown

The Metropolitans feature, quite possibly, the best pitcher in baseball in Johan Santana. But after that, it's a little up in the air.

Pelfrey, Maine, and Perez all have great potential but also suffer from inconsistencies that keep them from being top-caliber pitchers.

Hernandez is the wild card. If he's on, he's good enough to be the No. 2 or 3 on the staff, but when he hits his inevitable rough patches, he becomes a hardly adequate fifth starter.

Of course, if Livan can be more "on" than "off," the Mets are all the more scary.

Better: Atlanta Braves

Grades

RHP Derek Lowe          A-

RHP Jair Jurrjens          B+

RHP Javier Vazquez      B+

RHP Kenshin Kawakmi    C (but that's being pessimistic)

LHP Tom Glavine          C+

Overall: B (~88.8)

Breakdown

Admittedly, I'm a Braves fan. But I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that the Braves' rotation has gone from one of the worst in the Bigs last year (JJ, Jo-Jo, Hampton, Morton, and Parr were all that remained by the end of '08) to one of the deepest, most balanced that Major League Baseball has to offer.

Although there is no true "ace" in this group, that title loses most of its meaning after Opening Day, and the Braves have at least four guys that give them a chance to win on nightly basis.

Kawakami is the wild card here. If he is like Hiroki Kuroda, then the Braves have a great pick-up, but if he's like Kei Igawa and can't keep the ball in the park, he is a waste of $7 million.

I would like to think he's going to dominate, like Hideo Nomo did in his first year, but I think he may get roughed up a bit. His being successful could separate the Braves from the rest of the NL East.

But you know, if any of these guys falter, John Smoltz Jr. (Tommy Hanson) is waiting in the wings.

Best: Philadelphia Phillies

Grades

LHP Cole Hamels          A+

RHP Brett Myers          A-

RHP Jamie Moyer          B

RHP Joe Blanton           B

RHP Chan Ho Park        C+

Overall: B (~90.2)

Breakdown

To me, the Phillies have the best rotation in baseball when their entire staff is healthy. That could be an issue this year, however, since the elite Cole Hamels is suffering from some minor elbow discomfort that could hold him out for some time.

He has had this problem a couple of times in career, and after last season (in whcih he pitched the most innings of his pro career), some "Phans" may be sweating.

Still, I do not see any long-term effects stemming from the pain; Hamels should lead this stacked rotation.

Myers is probably the best No. 2 in the division and should prove an adequate ace should Hamels be out an extended period.

Moyer is ol, but effective, and Blanton was Oakland's Opening Day guy last season. They form a good No.s 3-and-4 punch.

Park won the fifth spot and could hold it, but the Phils have the luxury of the ML-caliber Kyle Kendrick and J.A. Happ being down on the farm should Park struggle or any of the previously mentioned go down.

So, the Phils' staff is, to me, the class of the division, though the Mets and Braves not too far behind.

Was my analysis fair? If not, try to convince me in the comments.