Dickey is not a number 1. I think Stroman can be a solid 2 if he stays healthy, but he is not going to start 30 games in 2014. that would be a huge jump in innings and not going to happen. they are going to need to go out and get a front end guy. slot where they want, but they need another guy who can pitch 200 innings and have an ERA under 3.5.
as for being better than last year, they just need to stay healthy to be better, but a little better is not good enough.
I really wonder how much less pitching they would need if they had a real catcher? I know it's not all on JPA, but he's not helping the pitching much from behind the plate. having a catcher who is mechanically sound and not dead from the neck up could really help with getting some of the younger guys to the next level.
hutch getting an ass whooping.