Pretty good article on Pirates Prospects on the "typical" standards for a rotation.  I know on here talk of a starters potential as a #1 - 5 is thrown around loosely but we hardly have a measuring stick.  Its an interesting find, and its simply going off ERA which can be skewed but at any rate its a good indicator to at least give us some idea where our guys stack up against the rest of the league in terms of starters by position in the rotation.

The sad part is that when I compare our pitchers to the top averages for the league (which i felt appropriate as I would like the team to be measured against the best and not the worst) we are just so far behind.

Pirates Prospects Link

In terms of our pitchers, well I included everyone that made at least 10 starts for the Pirates in 2010, so i basically excluded Dan McCutchen and Zach Duke. I also used their career ERAs, not just their 2010 season.

Maholm: 4.48ERA - #4
Ohlendorf: 4.40ERA - #4
Karstens: 5.07ERA - #4
Morton: 5.98ERA - #5
McDonald: 3.84ERA - #3
Burres: 5.83ERA - #5

Baseball Stat Reference Page

Just one guy that rates in the range of a #3 starter with the majority as #4s.  Not a recipe for success, and yeah we addressed the pitching this off-season but here is a look at Olsen and Correia and where they fall on the list,.

Olsen: 4.85ERA - #4
Correia: 4.57ERA - #4

So just more ""back of the rotation"" guys.  Obviously neither Olsen or Correia was signed to be the Ace of the staff.  But by this simple standard, we didn't even get guys that fit the standard of a #3 pitcher.  While its still debatable the impact of the difference between a #3 and a #4 starter, its clear that the Pirates rotation is bad, and that it was addressed and is still really bad.  No breaking news here, just thought some would like to see a simple measuring stick for a typical starter spot in the rotation.