Angels’ solid rotation is cause for optimism

The Seattle Mariners clearly have the two best pitchers in the American League West in Felix Hernandez, a right-hander who had a 19-5 record with a 2.49 earned-run average and 217 strikeouts last season, and Cliff Lee, a left-hander who won the Cy Young Award when he was 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA for the Cleveland Indians in 2008.

A full house, the Angels will remind you, beats a pair of aces.

“We might not have a bona fide No. 1 guy like CC Sabathia or Josh Beckett, but we have five bona fide No. 2 guys,” Joe Saunders said. “And when you have that kind of consistency and talent in your rotation, it’s going to be a good, fun year.”

The Angels lost their ace this winter when John Lackey, a rotation fixture since 2002, spurned the team’s four-year, $60-million offer to sign a five-year, $82.5-million deal with Boston.

In Lackey’s wake, the Angels will feature a rotation Manager Mike Scioscia calls “better than solid,” a group that is still relatively young but has had considerable success in the big leagues.

There is 27-year-old right-hander Jered Weaver, a four-year veteran who became even more dependable and durable last season, when he was 16-8 with a 3.75 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 211 innings.

Saunders, a 28-year-old left-hander with a 92-mph fastball and power sinker, is a four-year veteran who is coming off two outstanding seasons, finishing 17-7 with a 3.41 ERA in 2008 and 16-7 with a 4.60 ERA in 2009.

Ervin Santana, a 27-year-old right-hander entering his sixth big league season, has the best pure stuff on the staff, a 96-mph fastball, good breaking ball and changeup.

But health will be the key for Santana, who was slowed for much of 2009 by an elbow sprain, ending 8-8 with a 5.10 ERA in 23 starts after a superb 2008 season, when he was 16-7 with a 3.49 ERA.

Scott Kazmir, a 26-year-old left-hander acquired from Tampa Bay in August, was the ace of a staff that pushed the Rays toward their first World Series in 2008, when Kazmir, a five-year veteran, was 12-8 with a 3.49 ERA.

And Joel Pineiro, a 31-year-old right-hander signed to a two-year, $16-million deal, is coming off a superb 2009 in which the converted sinker-ball specialist was 15-12 with a 3.49 ERA and only 27 walks in 214 innings for St. Louis.

“I don’t think there’s any question that we have the ability to pitch with any staff in our league, on any given night,” said Scioscia, who used 14 starting pitchers last season.

Though young, this rotation is seasoned.

“We’ve been around the block; we know what it takes to succeed for a full season,” Kazmir said. “This is nothing new for any of us. . . . Each of us has the potential to be a No. 1. I like where we’re at.”

Such depth should play well over a 162-game schedule, but what about August and September, when the pennant race heats up? What about the playoffs, when the Angels will have to match up against pitchers such as Sabathia, who dominated the Angels in the AL Championship Series in October?

And what about all those nights the Angels will face Hernandez and Lee in their division? Will they measure up?

“The exciting thing we see with this group is we feel they all have the ability to be the lead dog that every staff looks for,” Scioscia said. “We’re going to see guys emerge as that type of pitcher.

“They’re all competitors, they all want to be the guy who gets the ball in a crucial game, gets the big outs. This is a very fertile environment for guys to jump up, get into their game and be that lead dog.”

Weaver thinks the label of “staff ace” might be a little overrated.

“It doesn’t make much sense, because a No. 1 could face a No. 5 any time,” Weaver said. “I would say it’s just as good to have five No. 2 guys. We have five guys who will battle, eat up innings.”

Added Pineiro: “To me, after the first five games of the year, everybody becomes a No. 1. Everyone has to pitch in the rotation, and I’m sure all five guys will want the ball that day and give 100%.”

Come October, though, it helps to have an ace, a pitcher Scioscia defines as “that special guy who takes the ball and pitches his game in any environment and has the talent to bring his game into tough games and win.” That pitcher has to be durable enough to hold up the whole year and dominant enough to stop losing streaks.

It’s obvious the Angels value an ace. Twice last year, they aggressively pursued Roy Halladay, before the July 31 trade deadline and over the winter. But there aren’t many of them.

“How many guys are there like CC?” Scioscia said. “There are some guys who are lead dogs and some who are absolute No. 1s, and sometimes there is a little difference.

“Certainly, when you have a presence like a Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling in Arizona [in 2001] or what CC did last year or a Tim Lincecum or a Cliff Lee, that’s nice. But it doesn’t mean you can’t do it without that.”

Lackey not only leaves a void on the mound, he leaves one in the clubhouse, where his vocal leadership and work ethic set the tone for the rest of the pitching staff.

“He helped a lot of guys out, and everyone can learn from that and pass it down to the younger guys,” Weaver said. “I’ve never really been a vocal guy. I will try to lead by example and go from there.”

Saunders said he will try to be more vocal if he feels the need, but Kazmir and Santana are quiet by nature. Pineiro is the veteran, but it’s tough for new guys to assume immediate leadership roles.

“We’re going to miss Lackey and how he approached everything, but at the same time, we have young guys who can feed off each other,” Kazmir said. “We can challenge each other each time we go out there. We have the talent to do the job.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com