Starting Pitcher Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Rankings

Final 2008 SP Rankings
Final 2008 SP Rankings
Name	GS	IP	W	L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB	BAA	Score
CC Sabathia	35	253	17	10	2.70	1.11	251	59	.237	1527.47
Tim Lincecum	33	227	18	5	2.62	1.17	265	84	.221	1509.79
Roy Halladay	33	246	20	11	2.78	1.05	206	39	.237	1475.88
Cliff Lee	31	223.1	22	3	2.54	1.11	170	34	.253	1382.59
Johan Santana	34	234.1	16	7	2.53	1.15	206	63	.232	1360.94
Brandon Webb	34	226.2	22	7	3.30	1.20	183	65	.242	1266.96
Cole Hamels	33	227.1	14	10	3.09	1.08	196	53	.227	1227.23
Ervin Santana	32	219	16	7	3.49	1.12	214	47	.237	1220.00
Dan Haren	33	216	16	8	3.33	1.13	206	40	.247	1213.72
Ryan Dempster	33	206.2	17	6	2.96	1.21	187	76	.227	1186.91
Edinson Volquez	32	196	17	6	3.21	1.33	206	93	.232	1135.93
A.J. Burnett	34	221.1	18	10	4.07	1.34	231	86	.249	1123.22
Ricky Nolasco	32	212.1	15	8	3.52	1.10	186	42	.239	1122.74
Chad Billingsley	32	200.2	16	10	3.14	1.34	201	80	.248	1114.79
Mike Mussina	34	200.1	20	9	3.37	1.22	150	31	.278	1084.49
Roy Oswalt	32	208.2	17	10	3.54	1.18	165	47	.253	1067.58
Rich Harden	25	148	10	2	2.07	1.06	181	61	.183	1057.03
Derek Lowe	34	211	14	11	3.24	1.13	147	45	.246	1030.11
Jon Lester	33	210.1	16	6	3.21	1.27	152	66	.256	1026.36
Ben Sheets	31	198.1	13	9	3.09	1.15	158	47	.241	1026.11
Daisuke Matsuzaka	29	167.2	18	3	2.90	1.32	154	94	.211	1022.55
James Shields	33	215	14	8	3.56	1.15	160	40	.254	1015.40
Ted Lilly	34	204.2	17	9	4.09	1.23	184	64	.239	1013.73
Zack Greinke	32	202.1	13	10	3.47	1.28	183	56	.257	992.36
Jake Peavy	27	173.2	10	11	2.85	1.18	166	59	.229	956.78
Gavin Floyd	33	206.1	17	8	3.84	1.26	145	70	.241	940.20
Gil Meche	34	210.1	14	11	3.98	1.32	183	73	.255	934.99
Joe Saunders	31	198	17	7	3.41	1.21	103	53	.253	902.42
Mark Buehrle	34	218.2	15	12	3.79	1.34	140	52	.281	874.02
Josh Beckett	27	174.1	12	10	4.03	1.19	172	34	.256	873.12
John Danks	32	187	11	9	3.47	1.25	155	54	.251	873.04
Randy Johnson	30	184	11	10	3.91	1.24	173	44	.260	863.49
Scott Kazmir	27	152.1	12	8	3.49	1.27	166	70	.220	862.87
Felix Hernandez	31	200.2	9	11	3.45	1.39	175	80	.261	848.40
Matt Cain	34	217.2	8	14	3.76	1.36	186	91	.251	843.65
Scott Baker	28	172.1	11	4	3.45	1.18	141	42	.247	843.27
Jamie Moyer	33	196.1	16	7	3.71	1.33	123	62	.262	843.21
Javier Vazquez	33	208.1	12	16	4.67	1.32	200	61	.263	839.89
Todd Wellemeyer	32	191.2	13	9	3.71	1.25	134	62	.245	835.91
Kyle Lohse	33	200	15	6	3.78	1.30	119	49	.272	820.17
Armando Galarraga	28	178.2	13	7	3.73	1.19	126	61	.226	818.54
Ubaldo Jimenez	34	198.2	12	12	3.99	1.43	172	103	.245	811.38
Jair Jurrjens	31	188.1	13	10	3.68	1.37	139	70	.260	803.12
Carlos Zambrano	30	188.2	14	6	3.91	1.29	130	72	.241	801.98
Justin Duchscherer	22	141.2	10	8	2.54	1.00	95	34	.210	796.15
Matt Garza	30	184.2	11	9	3.70	1.24	128	59	.245	777.00
Paul Maholm	31	206.1	9	9	3.71	1.28	139	63	.263	774.82
John Lackey	24	163.1	12	5	3.75	1.23	130	40	.260	772.68
Oliver Perez	34	194	10	7	4.22	1.40	180	105	.234	770.28
Randy Wolf	33	190.1	12	12	4.30	1.38	162	71	.263	760.33
Jeremy Guthrie	30	190.2	10	12	3.63	1.23	120	58	.242	757.40
Andy Pettitte	33	204	14	14	4.54	1.41	158	55	.290	753.88
Aaron Cook	32	211.1	16	9	3.96	1.34	96	48	.287	752.80
Jesse Litsch	28	176	13	9	3.58	1.23	99	39	.261	751.55
Kevin Slowey	27	160.1	12	11	3.99	1.15	123	24	.260	751.36
Bronson Arroyo	34	200	15	11	4.77	1.44	163	68	.281	742.17
Mike Pelfrey	32	200.2	13	11	3.72	1.36	110	64	.276	741.87
Jered Weaver	30	176.2	11	10	4.33	1.28	152	54	.254	738.61
Shaun Marcum	25	151.1	9	7	3.39	1.16	123	50	.222	737.32
Andy Sonnanstine	32	193.1	13	9	4.38	1.29	124	37	.277	711.61
Hiroki Kuroda	31	183.1	9	10	3.73	1.22	116	42	.253	709.25
Tim Wakefield	30	181	10	11	4.13	1.18	117	60	.228	695.22
Brett Myers	30	190	10	13	4.55	1.38	163	65	.267	691.10
Tim Hudson	22	142	11	7	3.17	1.16	85	40	.239	688.10
Wandy Rodriguez	25	137.1	9	7	3.54	1.31	131	44	.256	679.33
Adam Wainwright	20	132	11	3	3.20	1.18	91	34	.245	677.18
Braden Looper	33	199	12	14	4.16	1.31	108	45	.279	677.16
Justin Verlander	33	201	11	17	4.84	1.40	163	87	.254	669.04
Dave Bush	29	185	9	10	4.18	1.14	109	48	.234	668.33
John Lannan	31	182	9	15	3.91	1.34	117	72	.252	644.79
Vicente Padilla	29	171	14	8	4.74	1.46	127	65	.275	623.72
Johnny Cueto	31	174	9	14	4.81	1.41	158	68	.264	610.96
John Maine	25	140	10	8	4.18	1.35	122	67	.234	609.53
Jorge Campillo	25	158.2	8	7	3.91	1.24	107	38	.262	608.90
Scott Olsen	33	201.2	8	11	4.20	1.31	113	69	.253	606.14
Manny Parra	29	166	10	8	4.39	1.54	147	75	.278	605.13
Greg Maddux	33	194	8	13	4.22	1.21	98	30	.272	599.00
Edwin Jackson	31	183.1	14	11	4.42	1.51	108	77	.281	598.83
Nick Blackburn	32	187	11	10	4.14	1.37	93	36	.295	589.63
Joba Chamberlain	12	100.1	4	3	2.60	1.26	118	39	.233	573.20
Jonathan Sanchez	29	158	9	12	5.01	1.45	157	75	.257	571.45
Greg Smith	32	190.1	7	16	4.16	1.35	111	87	.243	561.98
Aaron Harang	29	184.1	6	17	4.78	1.38	153	50	.284	555.28
Dana Eveland	29	168	9	9	4.34	1.48	118	77	.269	538.84
Jorge De La Rosa	23	130	10	8	4.92	1.46	128	62	.262	524.33
Paul Byrd	30	180	11	12	4.60	1.32	82	34	.287	519.80
Joe Blanton	33	197.2	9	12	4.69	1.40	111	66	.271	517.97
Tim Redding	33	182	10	11	4.95	1.43	120	65	.275	513.35
Jason Marquis	28	167	11	9	4.53	1.45	91	70	.268	499.83
Brian Moehler	26	150	11	8	4.56	1.35	82	36	.279	499.00
Odalis Perez	30	159.2	7	12	4.34	1.48	119	55	.287	498.00
Jon Garland	32	196.2	14	8	4.90	1.51	90	59	.303	494.54
Glen Perkins	26	151	12	4	4.41	1.47	74	39	.301	478.35
Chris Young	18	102.1	7	6	3.96	1.29	93	48	.221	475.96
Doug Davis	26	146	6	8	4.32	1.53	112	64	.282	442.83
Justin Masterson	9	88.1	6	5	3.16	1.22	68	40	.216	438.60
Kevin Millwood	29	168.2	9	10	5.07	1.59	125	49	.312	437.55
Ryan Rowland-Smith	12	118.1	5	3	3.42	1.37	77	48	.253	435.79
Josh Johnson	14	87.1	7	1	3.61	1.35	77	27	.275	430.63
Kyle Davies	21	113	9	7	4.06	1.45	71	43	.276	428.31
Barry Zito	32	180	10	17	5.15	1.60	120	102	.270	428.00
Chad Gaudin	6	90	9	5	4.40	1.32	71	27	.265	416.90
Seth McClung	12	105.1	6	6	4.02	1.41	87	55	.243	414.57
Carlos Villanueva	9	108.1	4	7	4.07	1.31	93	30	.266	409.79
Cha Seung Baek	21	141	6	10	4.79	1.34	92	43	.268	400.76
Jeff Suppan	31	177.2	10	10	4.96	1.54	90	67	.298	397.83
Dustin McGowan	19	111.1	6	7	4.37	1.37	85	38	.273	396.94
Erik Bedard	15	81	6	4	3.67	1.32	72	37	.231	392.88
Clayton Kershaw	21	107.2	5	5	4.26	1.50	100	52	.265	392.17
Chris Sampson	11	117.1	6	4	4.22	1.20	61	23	.266	391.94
Chris Volstad	14	84.1	6	4	2.88	1.33	52	36	.240	389.05
Chan Ho Park	5	95.1	4	4	3.40	1.40	79	36	.264	388.45
Zach Miner	13	118	8	5	4.27	1.39	62	46	.262	386.59
Chien-Ming Wang	15	95	8	2	4.07	1.32	54	35	.249	378.60
Jose Contreras	20	121	7	6	4.54	1.36	70	35	.272	373.89
Brandon Morrow	5	64.2	3	4	3.34	1.14	75	34	.174	358.35
Brian Bannister	32	182.2	9	16	5.76	1.49	113	58	.294	355.61
Francisco Liriano	14	76	6	4	3.91	1.39	67	32	.254	351.85
Jarrod Washburn	26	153.2	5	14	4.69	1.46	87	50	.287	346.10
Ian Snell	31	164.1	7	12	5.42	1.76	135	89	.304	329.81
Joel Pineiro	25	148.2	7	7	5.15	1.45	81	35	.301	327.68
Sean Gallagher	21	115.1	5	7	5.15	1.53	103	58	.263	327.57
Zach Duke	31	185	5	14	4.82	1.50	87	47	.304	321.20
Daniel Cabrera	30	180	8	10	5.25	1.61	95	90	.286	309.90
Brandon Backe	31	166.2	9	14	6.05	1.67	127	77	.302	308.03
Jeff Francis	24	143.2	4	10	5.01	1.48	94	49	.286	305.45
Mark Hendrickson	19	133.2	7	8	5.45	1.47	81	48	.283	297.21
Kyle Kendrick	30	155.2	11	9	5.49	1.61	68	57	.304	289.64
Micah Owings	18	104.2	6	9	5.93	1.39	87	41	.256	285.40
Scott Feldman	25	151.1	6	8	5.29	1.43	74	56	.280	281.83
Sean Marshall	7	65.1	3	5	3.86	1.27	58	23	.245	277.91
Jason Bergmann	22	139.2	2	11	5.09	1.43	96	47	.279	277.22
Max Scherzer	7	56	0	4	3.05	1.23	66	21	.234	262.44
Aaron Laffey	16	93.2	5	7	4.23	1.43	43	31	.281	259.07
Sidney Ponson	24	135.2	8	5	5.04	1.61	58	48	.311	258.13
Luke Hochevar	22	129	6	12	5.51	1.47	72	47	.280	250.98
Dallas Braden	10	71.2	5	4	4.14	1.42	41	25	.284	247.59
Pedro Martinez	20	109	5	6	5.61	1.57	87	44	.294	247.01
Kenny Rogers	30	173.2	9	13	5.70	1.63	82	71	.309	241.82
Andrew Miller	20	107.1	6	10	5.87	1.64	89	56	.289	239.68
Matt Harrison	15	83.2	9	3	5.49	1.57	42	31	.300	237.85
Yusmeiro Petit	8	56.1	3	5	4.31	1.05	42	14	.216	235.69
Glendon Rusch	9	83.2	5	5	5.16	1.42	55	25	.283	233.62
Anthony Reyes	6	49	4	2	2.76	1.27	25	15	.253	233.31
Fausto Carmona	22	120.2	8	7	5.44	1.62	58	70	.271	228.87
Livan Hernandez	31	180	13	11	6.05	1.67	67	43	.342	222.30
Boof Bonser	12	118.1	3	7	5.93	1.48	97	36	.285	222.19
Darrell Rasner	20	113.1	5	10	5.40	1.54	67	39	.293	216.98
Robinson Tejeda	1	45.1	2	2	3.97	1.13	45	24	.171	212.33
John Smoltz	5	28	3	2	2.57	1.18	36	8	.229	210.48
Lance Cormier	1	71.2	3	3	4.02	1.56	46	34	.279	205.85
R.A. Dickey	14	112.1	5	8	5.21	1.56	58	51	.284	204.64
Jason Hammel	5	78.1	4	4	4.60	1.51	44	35	.272	201.45
Brad Thompson	6	64.2	6	3	5.15	1.41	32	19	.293	198.72
Jeremy Bonderman	12	71.1	3	4	4.29	1.56	44	36	.273	188.01
Nate Robertson	28	168.2	7	11	6.35	1.66	108	62	.315	187.98
Jeremy Sowers	22	121	4	9	5.58	1.49	64	39	.291	183.53
Bartolo Colon	7	39	4	2	3.92	1.38	27	10	.282	181.04
Nick Masset	1	62	2	0	3.92	1.56	43	26	.297	178.50
David Purcey	12	65	3	6	5.54	1.48	58	29	.267	177.70
Josh Banks	14	85.1	3	6	4.75	1.48	43	32	.289	176.58
Scott Lewis	4	24	4	0	2.63	1.08	15	6	.222	173.18
Garrett Olson	26	132.2	9	10	6.65	1.73	83	62	.309	168.05
Mike Hampton	13	78	3	4	4.85	1.42	38	28	.281	167.48
Eric Stults	7	38.2	2	3	3.49	1.32	30	13	.252	163.39
Shawn Chacon	15	85.2	2	3	5.04	1.51	53	41	.270	160.00
Phil Dumatrait	11	78.2	3	4	5.26	1.58	52	42	.271	156.11
Brian Burres	22	129.2	7	10	6.04	1.66	63	50	.311	153.66
Collin Balester	15	80	3	7	5.51	1.50	50	28	.288	149.80
Wil Ledezma	6	58.1	0	2	4.17	1.58	53	41	.238	149.54
Jo-Jo Reyes	22	113	3	11	5.81	1.65	78	52	.301	148.78
Nelson Figueroa	6	45.1	3	3	4.57	1.63	36	26	.267	146.69
Jon Lieber	1	46.2	2	3	4.05	1.39	27	6	.306	142.30
Jeff Karstens	9	51.1	2	6	4.03	1.34	23	13	.279	141.79
Claudio Vargas	4	37	3	2	4.62	1.19	20	11	.244	138.61
Ramon Ramirez	4	27	1	1	2.67	1.04	21	11	.183	136.58
Brad Penny	17	94.2	6	9	6.27	1.63	51	42	.304	133.83
Anibal Sanchez	10	51.2	2	5	5.57	1.57	50	27	.267	133.26
Chris Waters	11	64.2	3	5	5.01	1.53	33	29	.273	131.80
Jake Westbrook	5	34.2	1	2	3.12	1.15	19	7	.256	130.88
Alfredo Aceves	4	30	1	0	2.40	1.17	16	10	.227	128.80
Adam Eaton	19	107	4	8	5.80	1.64	57	44	.310	124.77
Josh Geer	5	27	2	1	2.67	1.41	16	9	.269	124.10
J.A. Happ	4	31.2	1	0	3.69	1.33	26	14	.233	119.74
Brandon Duckworth	7	38	3	3	4.50	1.50	20	19	.266	118.87
Charlie Morton	15	74.2	4	8	6.15	1.62	48	41	.273	117.89
Cesar Jimenez	2	34.1	0	2	3.41	1.31	26	13	.258	110.69
Radhames Liz	17	84.1	6	6	6.72	1.78	57	51	.296	110.56
Yovani Gallardo	4	24	0	0	1.88	1.25	20	8	.256	109.52
Brett Tomko	10	70	2	7	6.30	1.44	49	18	.290	103.23
John Parrish	6	42.1	1	1	4.04	1.46	21	15	.288	98.60
Scott Richmond	5	27	1	3	4.00	1.26	20	2	.296	98.26
Tom Gorzelanny	21	105.1	6	9	6.66	1.80	67	70	.293	97.62
Carl Pavano	7	34.1	4	2	5.77	1.49	15	10	.306	97.27
Zach Jackson	9	58.1	2	3	5.55	1.46	31	16	.294	95.03
Merkin Valdez	1	16	1	0	1.69	1.31	13	7	.237	92.29
Kevin Correia	19	110	3	8	6.05	1.71	66	47	.310	90.80
Tom Glavine	13	63.1	2	4	5.54	1.64	37	37	.288	85.81
Kason Gabbard	12	56	2	3	4.82	1.84	33	39	.292	85.54
Shawn Estes	8	43.2	2	3	4.74	1.56	19	18	.284	85.48
Clay Buchholz	15	76	2	9	6.75	1.76	72	41	.299	84.21

Three Year Average
Three Year Average
Name	Score
CC Sabathia	1406.85
Johan Santana	1360.79
Brandon Webb	1265.65
Roy Halladay	1257.31
Dan Haren	1171.57
Jake Peavy	1145.85
Cole Hamels	1110.24
Tim Lincecum	1059.47
Roy Oswalt	1043.56
Ted Lilly	992.63
Josh Beckett	984.96
A.J. Burnett	981.59
John Lackey	954.00
Derek Lowe	948.80
James Shields	945.09
Scott Kazmir	936.55
Javier Vazquez	934.46
Chad Billingsley	919.34
Carlos Zambrano	907.46
Cliff Lee	901.70
Ervin Santana	889.69
Daisuke Matsuzaka	880.51
Gil Meche	870.66
Ben Sheets	858.45
Felix Hernandez	843.68
Aaron Harang	836.27
Matt Cain	834.30
Justin Verlander	829.67
Mark Buehrle	788.76
Tim Hudson	787.27
Andy Pettitte	778.32
Bronson Arroyo	771.81
Oliver Perez	760.73
Ryan Dempster	748.48
Jamie Moyer	744.99
Zack Greinke	737.79
Jered Weaver	725.60
Erik Bedard	710.40
John Maine	706.60
Ricky Nolasco	689.71
Adam Wainwright	687.86
Randy Johnson	687.61
Chris Young	679.40
Jon Lester	674.19
Kyle Lohse	671.85
Edinson Volquez	668.79
Scott Baker	666.36
Shaun Marcum	665.00
Rich Harden	663.53
Tim Wakefield	662.04
Dave Bush	660.63
Joe Saunders	652.21
Joe Blanton	650.68
Jeremy Guthrie	647.22
Wandy Rodriguez	638.18
Paul Maholm	634.53
John Smoltz	631.07
Aaron Cook	627.04
Brett Myers	606.08
Chien-Ming Wang	594.66
John Danks	592.07
Braden Looper	585.33
Randy Wolf	582.65
Gavin Floyd	567.75
Todd Wellemeyer	562.58
Jon Garland	559.71
Ubaldo Jimenez	557.70
Barry Zito	552.96
Matt Garza	551.65
Jeff Francis	548.70
Ian Snell	545.91
Jesse Litsch	541.14
Scott Olsen	537.71
Doug Davis	534.03
Paul Byrd	533.17
Jason Marquis	513.25
Fausto Carmona	508.79
Justin Duchscherer	503.23
Andy Sonnanstine	500.26
Vicente Padilla	498.17
Brad Penny	492.98
Kevin Slowey	489.58
Jair Jurrjens	485.27
Dustin McGowan	480.38
Kevin Millwood	480.11
Chad Gaudin	476.26
Jeff Suppan	474.50
Armando Galarraga	455.97
Mike Pelfrey	453.98
Jarrod Washburn	447.27
Kelvim Escobar	438.05
Carlos Villanueva	423.62
Brian Bannister	421.20
Edwin Jackson	415.39
Jose Contreras	415.30
Jeremy Bonderman	415.29
Joba Chamberlain	395.95
Daniel Cabrera	395.49
Rich Hill	391.13
Jorge De La Rosa	389.25
John Lannan	384.52
Jonathan Sanchez	374.49
Tim Redding	369.75
Odalis Perez	367.75
Manny Parra	365.74
Nate Robertson	362.00
Chris Sampson	343.78
Micah Owings	341.15
Tom Gorzelanny	339.79
Brian Moehler	339.49
Johnny Cueto	339.42
Jorge Campillo	338.28
Tom Glavine	330.60
Nick Blackburn	327.57
Boof Bonser	325.49
Josh Johnson	323.57
Zach Miner	320.18
Livan Hernandez	319.36
Mark Hendrickson	318.81
Joel Pineiro	315.03
Sean Marshall	314.44
Kyle Davies	314.21
Kyle Kendrick	313.31
Greg Smith	312.21
Cha Seung Baek	312.11
Glen Perkins	302.44
Jason Bergmann	301.26
Francisco Liriano	299.69
Jake Westbrook	294.76
Ryan Rowland-Smith	293.88
Dana Eveland	293.56
Claudio Vargas	293.20
Brandon Morrow	277.17
Carlos Silva	275.77
Pedro Martinez	272.53
Chuck James	264.92
Zach Duke	260.78
Seth McClung	254.96
Chan Ho Park	254.07
Yovani Gallardo	250.76
Justin Masterson	243.66
Brad Thompson	228.51
Brandon Backe	226.41
Shawn Chacon	223.37
Kevin Correia	218.81
Clayton Kershaw	217.87
Dontrelle Willis	217.15
Chris Volstad	216.14
Anthony Reyes	214.78
Jon Lieber	202.61
Aaron Laffey	199.83
Brett Tomko	194.75
Andrew Miller	191.40
Yusmeiro Petit	189.38
Robinson Tejeda	178.19
Josh Fogg	177.42
Adam Eaton	176.45
Bartolo Colon	173.42
Sean Gallagher	168.58
Shawn Hill	167.02
Matt Morris	163.98
Brian Burres	163.96
Chris Carpenter	163.06
Freddy Garcia	159.45
Sidney Ponson	159.11
Edgar Gonzalez	156.80
Scott Feldman	156.57
Matt Belisle	155.87
Anibal Sanchez	155.12
Dallas Braden	154.32
Kason Gabbard	154.16
Luke Hochevar	153.58
Darrell Rasner	152.90
Jason Hammel	148.24
Brandon McCarthy	147.68
Justin Germano	146.80
Max Scherzer	145.80
Wil Ledezma	144.41
Jeremy Sowers	142.24
Matt Chico	138.88
Lance Cormier	137.92
Matt Harrison	132.14
Kip Wells	127.69
Clay Hensley	122.31
Lenny DiNardo	119.62
Tony Armas	116.22
Eric Stults	111.54
Jason Hirsh	110.46
R.A. Dickey	109.92
Clay Buchholz	107.71
Dustin Moseley	106.22
Esteban Loaiza	105.42
Brandon Duckworth	104.71
Steve Trachsel	102.67
Phil Hughes	100.24
David Purcey	98.72
Nick Masset	98.02
Jo-Jo Reyes	97.18
Scott Lewis	96.21
Josh Banks	94.53
Mike Hampton	93.04

Sleepers

Justin Verlander had an awful season in 2008, completely going against anything you would expect from the young hurler's previous experience. He had a bizarre loss of velocity which has to make us think that he was covering up an injury. Unfortunately, he's not off to such a hot start this Spring either, with a 7:12 strikeout to walk ratio. Still, it's difficult to imagine a 26-year-old hurler falling off the map out of nowhere. Expect something of a rebound.

Chris Carpenter will probably never look like the pitcher that won the 2005 Cy Young again. However, after two years spent (predominantly) out of baseball rehabbing, Carpenter has looked close so far this Spring. If he stays healthy, he's a #2 starter. There's certainly some risk involved, but he should be worth it.

Another pitcher who figures to be devalued a bit in single season draft leagues is Chris Young. Young had one of the scariest injuries to start a bizarre inning for Albert Pujols and the Padres' battery. Pujols hit him in the head with a screaming liner, breaking his nose. The injury (along with some potential stagefright) kept Young out for a couple of months. He was still strong in 18 starts, going 7-6 with a 3.93 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, and 96 K in 102 innings. He'll bounce back this year. The upside is a number two fantasy starter... even if he'll still probably be a little light with his innings pitched.

Busts

There's no other way to put it. Daisuke Matsuzaka was extremely lucky last season. His walk rate was off the charts bad, and his strand rate was insanely high. He failed to work deep into too many ballgames, earning only 14 quality starts in 29 tries. Yet somehow Matsuzaka finished 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA. The bullpen remains strong behind him in Boston, so he may be able to continue to get away without working deep into games. However, you have to think that his strand rate comes down to normal levels and that his ERA ends up in the high 3 range this season unless he finds some way to fix those control problems.

You have to worry about Joe Saunders unless he finds some way to boost his strikeout numbers. I understand that groundball pitchers can be extremely effective, but less than 5 K:9 IP just isn't going to continue to get the job done from year to year. Expect him to struggle a bit this season unless he starts punching a few more hitters out.

Another guy who could use a little more in the strikeout department is A's ace Justin Duchscherer. He was a monster in his first extended shot at starting in 2008, going 10-8 with a 2.54 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. However, his 95 strikeouts in 141 innings were nothing to write home about. Toss in that he's coming off of a higher workload than he's used to and that he'll start the year on the DL, and you should let someone else take the chance.

Truth be told, Anthony Reyes didn't perform well enough last season to be on this list. However, he'll be touted by many as a sleeper entering 2009 because of his "strong" finish in Cleveland. Props to him for his showing after he was dealt to the Tribe (2-1, 1.83 ERA, 1.25 WHIP in six starts), but the numbers that belie those traditional statistics lie. Reyes' 15 strikeouts in 34 innings aren't just something to not be excited about... they're something that probably induce your gag reflex. His 12 walks were a solid enough number, though that makes for an awful K:BB ratio. Reyes was ruined by the Cardinals' pitching philosophy, and though he still has a real opportunity to turn things around, he's going to need to pitch more like the kid that St. Louis drafted (attacking the zone and a fairly decent strikeout pitcher) than the one that we've seen him become.

The Rookies

It could just be the Nats fan in me, but I almost put Jordan Zimmermann in with the sleepers instead of this group. Zimmermann finished last season with a 2.89 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and an outstanding 134:47 strikeout to walk ratio between high A and AA ball in becoming Washington's top (pre-Strasburg) prospect. He hasn't missed a beat this Spring, as he's yet to allow a run in 12 innings to go along with 16 strikeouts. Considered a bit of a longshot to make the rotation this Spring, Zimmermann figures to be the Nats' fourth starter... and that offense is going to score some runs in 2009.

Everyone and their mother is excited about David Price heading into 2009, but he's not going to start the year in the rotation. In fact, the Rays recently said that the battle for the spot has been trimmed to Jeff Niemann and Jason Hammel. Niemann, a former top ten overall pick, has battled through injuries for much of his career, but he finally seems to be on track. He was outstanding at AAA last season, going 9-5 with a 3.59 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, and a 128:50 strikeout to walk ratio in 133 innings. In past years, there's no way you'd want to be connected to the Rays' fifth starter. This year, that's a different story. He's got upside, and he'll enter a terrific situation.

As amazing a Spring as he's had, it's still unlikely that Tommy Hanson breaks camp with the club simply because of the depth of veterans that Atlanta has. Whether he does or not, Hanson will have a significant impact this season. Hanson annihilated A+ ball last season (seriously... a 49:11 K:BB ratio in 40 innings with a 0.90 ERA and 0.65 WHIP) and looked nearly as dominant at AA (114:41 K:BB ratio in 98 IP.... 3.03 ERA, 1.13 WHIP). With Tom Glavine and Jorge Campillo providing the Braves with a couple of veteran options for the fifth spot, Hanson may well start the year in AAA. He's the only future ace of the three we've covered so far.

All in all, the pitcher many considered the second best arm in the 2007 draft (went in the 20s because of signabilty) had a fine professional debut in 2008. Rick Porcello's strikeout production (72 in 125 IP) at A+ ball wasn't what we'd hope to see, but he was still efficient in other areas. Porcello walked just 33 batters last season and kept the ball down in the zone, finishing with just 7 home runs allowed on his way to a 2.66 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. Injuries and ineffectiveness (from the big league club... not to mention a fine Spring performance from him so far) have Porcello, in just his second professional season, getting an extended look in a shot at a rotation spot.

Considered the Angels top pitching prospect heading into last season, Nick Adenhart struggled with his command all season. His performance in a cup of coffee with the big club was atrocious, as he walked 13 against just 4 strikeouts in 12 innings. Still, both his raw stuff and his past performance in the minors make us (and the Angels, apparently) think that he should start to turn things around. Still just 22, Adenhart is virtually guaranteed a shot at a starting spot with Ervin Santana expected to begin the year on the DL.

And yes... we should see David Price at some point this year.

Posted by James Meyerriecks: Mar 17, 09 at 11:44 PM