5. Clay Buchholz

By Chad Finn, Boston.com Columnist

How miserable was the Red Sox’ starting rotation last year? Buchholz was the team’s best starter—and he finished the year with a 4.56 ERA. The 28-year-old has the talent to be a top-of-the-rotation starter, as he proved in 2010 when he was 17-7 with a 2.33 ERA. He pitched a career-high in innings last year (189.1), and the Red Sox need him to be both durable and highly effective in the season ahead. If you think he should be higher, I won’t argue.