VoxDash

15. Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee's bullpen has received excellent contributions from Trevor Megill and Bryan Hudson, and can look forward to getting All-Star closer Devin Williams back at some point after the All-Star break.

But while the Brewers have made it work to this point, there are serious questions in the starting rotation. Post-Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta hasn't pitched like an ace, and he's really the only pitcher the Brewers have with a track record of pitching 130-plus innings consistently.

To hold onto their lead in the NL Central, general manager Matt Arnold will probably need to add two starting pitchers this summer, which would probably be a worthwhile investment given that he has a strong lineup and bullpen in place.

14. Chicago Cubs

Led by Shota Imanaga's dominant rookie season, the Cubs' starting staff has been largely excellent. Javier Assad is having something of a breakout campaign, while Jameson Taillon has rebounded from a brutal first year in Chicago and Justin Steele has thrown the ball well since coming off the injured list.

The reason Craig Counsell's staff isn't in the top 10 is that outside Hayden Wesneski, the bullpen has largely been a disaster. Adbert Alzolay is on the 60-day injured list with a right forearm strain and had been awful prior to his placement, as he had a 4.67 ERA in 18 games.

Héctor Neris and Mark Leiter Jr. also have ERAs north of 4.00, so if the Cubs hope to dig themselves out of a hole and compete for a playoff spot, the bullpen should be their No. 1 concern.

13. San Diego Padres

Dylan Cease, Michael King and Matt Waldron have all pitched well, but the success of that trio is offset to some degree by what's been a disastrous season for Joe Musgrove, who, like Yu Darvish, is on the injured list.

Robert Suarez has been dominant for manager Mike Shildt in replacing Josh Hader, while Adrián Morejón and Jeremiah Estrada have also pitched well. Unfortunately, Yuki Matsui, Stephen Kolek and Enyel De Los Santos have left a lot to be desired.

So the Padres' pitching is fitting for a team built by president of baseball operations A.J. Preller—there's some star-level performers, but you're not sure how much better than average the group is as a whole.

Hunter Greene, 97mph ⛽️ <a href="https://t.co/BREEs5fCPO">pic.twitter.com/BREEs5fCPO</a>

12. Cincinnati Reds

This is a difficult group to figure out, because the trio of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott has pitched very well, but offseason signee Frankie Montas has disappointed with a 4.62 ERA while Graham Ashcraft struggled so much that he was optioned to Triple-A Louisville this month.

If one of Montas and Ashcraft turns his season around, and the Reds get better results from closer Alexis Díaz, they have a shot to overcome what's been a disappointing start and be a playoff team.

11. Pittsburgh Pirates

The trio of Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller and Jared Jones is must-watch. Colin Holderman is having a season out of the bullpen that's worthy of All-Star consideration. However, the two former All-Star relievers Pittsburgh was counting on, David Bednar and Aroldis Chapman, have had bad seasons.

It's fair to think at least one of those two will turn things around, though, which may allow the Buccos to climb up this list as the season goes along.

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