Fantasy Baseball: NL Top 10 Starting Pitchers For 2010

by Ray Guilfoyle on Sep 17, 2009 9:30 AM EDT in Baseball

I am not one to draft a starting pitcher in the first 4-5 rounds of a straight draft, nor spend alot of money in a roto auction, but sometimes I like to switch things up. Should I do so, here is my NL Top 10 starting pitchers for 2010:

1. Tim Lincecum, Giants

2. Dan Haren, Diamondbacks

3. Cliff Lee, Phillies

4. Chris Carpenter, Cardinals

5. Adam Wainwright, Cardinals

6. Johan Santana, Mets-if he's healthy, he moves up to 3

7. Javier Vazquez, Braves

8. Wandy Rodriguez, Astros

9. Matt Cain, Giants

10. Josh Johnson, Marlins

10. (a) Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers-should he lower his walk totals, he could be top 5

I wonder how Carpenter and Wainwright will perform should Dave Duncan leave the Cardinals. Plus, they are both injury prone and it will be difficult to repeat what they have accomplished this season.

I almost put Cliff Lee at number 1, but his K's don't compare to Lincecum or Haren, although he has an other-worldly K/BB ratio in the second half this year.

I would not hesitate to drop Santana lower if he isn't healthy to start the 2010 season.

Poll

Which pitcher does not belong in the top 10 for 2010?

Kershaw

34 votes

Cain

21 votes

WandyRod

72 votes

127 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 2 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

WandyRod?

I am a little surprised he won the vote so far. I think he can reach ace status next season….ok, I hope he does. I own him in the UBA league, along with Kershaw. I honestly thought readers would vote Kershaw for sure.
Then again, Kershaw may be the most unlucky pitcher I have owned in quite some time. He has pitched great this season, especially since May, and only has 8 wins to show for it. If my memory serves me correctly, his 3 most dominant starts this season resulted in zero wins.

raygu

by Ray Guilfoyle on Sep 17, 2009 10:09 PM EDT reply actions

RE:

I voted Wandy without really thinking about it at all. So after your post, I took a closer look, and wow it’s very close. Cain has the weakest peripherals but he’s still very young, whereas Wandy is 30 and somewhat of an injury risk. Kershaw I believe definitely belongs in the top 10. Those strikeout numbers and that age are worth drooling over, despite the walks. Gun to my head I think I’ll retract my vote and throw out Cain.

by ILLZ on Sep 18, 2009 8:28 AM EDT up reply actions