Would it include a youngster like Tyler Skaggs, Patrick Corbin or Trevor Bauer? Would Josh Collmenter, an unlikely hero of the 2011 season, be left out in the cold or relegated to bullpen duty? Where would newcomer Trevor Cahill fit into the mix?

Gibson answered all of those questions Monday when he announced his starting rotation to begin the 2012 campaign.

"It'll be Ian (Kennedy), Huddy (Daniel Hudson), Colly (Josh Collmenter), (Trevor) Cahill and Joe Saunders," Gibson said prior to the Diamondbacks' Cactus League game against the Chicago Cubs. "That's how we'll start the season, yeah."

The biggest surprise in the announcement is not so much the inclusion of Collmenter, but the fact that he's penciled in at the third starter spot. The 26-year-old right hander has struggled for a good portion of the spring, posting an 0-3 record and a 9.75 ERA in 12 Cactus League innings.

But Gibson saw improvement in Collmenter's most recent outing.

"He threw the ball and we saw more movement on his ball, and that tells us his arm movement is more where it was in the past," Gibson said. "He felt much better about it, he feels good about it. It was a good start for him [Sunday], so we're confident in what he's going to do."

Collmenter allowed 5 hits and 2 earned runs in a five- inning, 77-pitch stint Sunday against San Diego.

With Collmenter holding down the third spot, that means newly-acquired righty Trevor Cahill, a former All-Star and Opening Day starter with Oakland, will be the fourth starter.

But Gibson was quick to dismiss the traditional labels pinned to starting pitchers.

"We don't use that, that's not something we talk about," Gibson said. "Everybody's important."

Arizona Sports' Kyndra de St. Aubin contributed to this report