PLAYING TIME: Looking at AL East fifth-starter battles

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Niemann pulling ahead of Wade Davis?

With phenom Matt Moore (LHP, TAM) presumed to have a rotation spot locked up, one slot remains for relative veterans Jeff Niemann (RHP, TAM) or Wade Davis (RHP, TAM). While Davis made clear earlier this spring that he would not exactly welcome being moved to the bullpen, he didn't help his cause with a sub-par outing March 10 (2 2/3 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 2 K). How do these two pitchers' larger body of work stack up?

2011     xERA    G/L/F   Ctl  Dom  Cmd  HR/9  BPV  DOM/DIS
=======  ====  ========  ===  ===  ===  ===   ===  =======
Davis	 4.67  36/21/43  3.1  5.1  1.7  1.1    23   38/21
Niemann  3.61  46/20/34  2.5  7.0  2.8  1.2    83   61/30

Davis' protestations and...

Almost!

You’re just a few clicks away from accessing this feature and hundreds more throughout the year that have a singular goal in mind: Winning your league. Subscribe to BaseballHQ.com here!

Already a subscriber? Sign in here

More From PT Today

Ha-Seong Kim is ready to man SS in Atlanta; Giants continue to churn their roster; Mets call up A.J. Ewing, and more...
May 12 2026 8:54am
Carlos Rodón's Sunday return—with Gerrit Cole likely to follow soon—will lead to some staff decisions. Plus Carpenter to IL for Detroit, a bullpen shakeup in San Francisco, and more.
May 11 2026 8:20am
With Logan Webb heading to the IL, Trevor McDonald re-enters the Giants rotation. Plus Snell and Barger return, Bradley injured, and PT implications of the SF-CLE trade.
May 10 2026 8:10am
Arizona promoted top OF prospect Ryan Waldschmidt; plus playing time implications of Ragans, Glasnow and Povich to the IL, and more.
May 9 2026 9:15am
Bad news for Ragans and Estevez in KC; Lodolo finally joining CIN rotation; Spencer Jones and Robbie Snelling highlight impact callups for the weekend; and more...
May 8 2026 8:16am

Tools