Who Is The The Beast Of The East?

Last week, when Johan Santana was asked by a reporter who the best pitcher in the NL East was, without hesitation he replied, “Santana”. A couple of days later after the Phillies Jimmy Rollins caught wind of it, he disagreed and said the number one pitcher in the NL East is Roy Halladay.

Take off your Mets blinders momentarily, and tell us who you think is the best pitcher in the NL East.

I decided to add some other worthy candidates just to make it a little more interesting.

The stats I used are from the 2009 season and are meant to provide some additional depth. Remember that some pitchers may have spent time on the DL or in the minors, so do consider their overall body of work as well as reputation and whether they are on the downside, upside or prime of their careers.

I eliminated wins because it’s not really an indication of how good a pitcher really is. I added strikeouts per nine innings ratio and strikeouts to walks ratio as it makes it easier to compare pitchers who may not have had similar innings pitched.

If you could have just one of these pitchers on your team right now, which one would you choose?

Who is the real Beast of the NL East?