Top NL Pitching Prospect Combos

ProspectTube.com's AL post was a good one, so it really should have a counterpart. I should also note that for my list I only included prospects that I think will actually end up as starting pitchers. Feel free to discuss changes if you want to include relievers, though.

1. San Francisco: Bumgarner & Wheeler - I'm not one of the people who is in the camp that Bumgarner has lost a lot of stock due to his drop in velocity and I'm pretty huge on Wheeler. However, I could see the argument for putting Colorado ahead here. It'll be nice to be a Giants fan in three or four years when these two are both in the rotation with Lincecum and Cain.

2. Colorado: Friedrich & Matzek - My argument for why Colorado is not number one is simple: Friedrich needs to pitch above A-ball and continue to put up those numbers before I really think he's got number one potential. He's got an immensely high floor, but I'm not sold on his ceiling. In addition, my gut feeling on Matzek is that he's going to be a bust. I have no idea why this is, but it is what it is. Even so, Colorado, for me, is a clear step ahead of the rest of the field (other than San Francisco, obviously)

*gap*

3. Los Angeles: Withrow & Martin - I think that these two are the safest bets to be right in the middle of the pack. There are a lot of pitchers on teams further down the list that I would take above these two guys, but no team has the same combination of quality arms.

4. Washington: Strasburg & Myers - Strasburg, yes. Rest of organization... not so much.

5. Atlanta: Teheran & Minor - Atlanta is the last team where I actually like both of these guys a lot. However, I do need to see more of Mike Minor before I really make up my mind on him, but I'm leaning towards the positive for him.

6. New York: Mejia & Niese - You could throw Holt in there if you like him more than Niese, but I think it's a pretty clear drop off here from Mejia to whoever else you put in there. I'm not quite sure what to think about Mejia entirely, but I feel like he's got enough upside to put the Mets here.

7. Florida: Tucker & James - I'm pretty confident that Tucker is going to see success at the Major League level. But he did just miss most of the year due to injury, and James hasn't pitched yet, so the Fish go in the middle.

8. St. Louis: Miller & Garcia - I think Shelby Miller is going to be an absolute stud. However, I don't think Garcia is going to have a long career as a starter, but it seems like the Cardinals intend to use him there if they can.

9. Cincinatti: Leake & Wood - Mike Leake is a solid pitcher, and there's a lot to like about him. Wood seems to me like he could eat some innings, and I included him in here over Maloney because he's a little better at keeping the ball in the yard, which is mildly important in Cincinatti.

*small gap*

10. Arizona: Parker & Belfiore - Before the injury I would have put these two up above the Mets duo, but since it happened so recently, we need to take our time and see how Parker progresses through rehab. I also think Belfiore is pretty intriguing, and these two could rank much higher next year.

11. Pittsburg: Lincoln & Von Rosenberg - I almost slotted the Pirates as high as number 8, but I have to say that their lack of a top-of-the-rotation candidate hurts them here. That being said, I'm excited to see what Von Rosenberg does in his first full season, and it's possible that he might end up being that candidate.

12: Chicago: Cashner & Carpenter - Someone will probably disagree with these next two, so I'm just going to point out that this is just my opinion. These two are solid, but I don't think they're that exciting as prospects, and I'm not sold on Cashner's profile as a starter.

13. Houston: Lyles & Seaton - I'm probably being too hard on Jordan Lyles, but I just don't see him getting to be a number two-type starter. That being said, he's only going to be 19 this year, and will probably get some time in AA, so my mind might change on him in a hurry. I also find Ross Seaton pretty uninteresting.

14. Milwaukee: Arnett & Odorizzi - I like these two guys, but Arnett didn't show me too much with his performance in Rookie ball as a 21-year old and Odorizzi simply doesn't have a ceiling that makes you think he's going to be someone we're talking about this time next year. You could also take Heckathorn or Scarpetta here, though, which makes the Crew a little more interesting.

*gap*

15. Philadelphia: May & Cosart - Drabek and Knapp would have been nice, and down the road May and Cosart may be, but there's too much uncertainty here to not put the Phightins' down here.

16. San Diego: Castro & Luebke - I don't know what to think of San Diego at all. Maybe it's just because I live on the East Coast and don't know too much about them, but looking at these two wouldn't get me excited about the Padres hopes to turn things around. The lose out to the Phillies because I don't think these two have the upside that May and Cosart do. You could throw Wynn Pelzer in there, who I do like a bit, but he is already 23 and hasn't even pitched in AA yet.