Last Friday, I published my early take on the Top 25 hitters for 2014 for fantasy purposes and today, I am doing the same with my Top 50 starting pitchers. At the top of the rankings is the best pitcher in the game, Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw. A little know fact, I once owned Kershaw in a keeper league and traded him for Kyle Blanks. I have no idea what got into me when making that deal, but it ranks right up there as one of the worst trades I have ever made.
I think everyone knows how much I like Yu Darvish, so I won't belabor the point, but he could approach 300 strikeouts one of these years.
I am giving Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg a pass this season, as the team was all out of sorts all season, not scoring runs, injuries, and all the rest. Strasburg's strikeout rate is down this season, but his ground ball rate is up. He can challenge for the National League Cy Young award in the very near future.
Zack Greinke is having a terrific season on the mound for the Dodgers this season, but has seen his strikeout and ground ball rates dip this season, but he has 14 wins with a month left in the season. And he missed a month of starts to boot. If there wasn't a guy named Kershaw on his team, he would be in the NL Cy Young award talk.
I might be high on Jose Fernandez here, but I have watched him pitch several times, and he holds his velocity deep into games, and is a lot of fun to watch on the mound. He is already an ace in my eyes.
A few more guys I am high on are Matt Moore, Mike Minor and Homer Bailey.
Moore just needs to clean up his command to become an ace. He's won 15 of his 22 starts, and you won't see that happen too often. While in the minors, Moore showed that he could improve his walk rate and he has yet to duplicate that in the majors. When he does, he will be a top 5-10 starter in the game.
Bailey is the cusp of becoming an ace as well, as his strikeout rate and ground ball rate are up, his walk rate and ERA are down, and he is learning to keep the ball in the park this season. He could push Mat Latos as the Reds best starter in 2014.
Minor is the Braves best starter right now, but I would like to see a few more strikeouts from him in 2014.
C.C. Sabathia and Matt Cain both took a steep fall in my rankings, and they will have to prove that they are still aces in 2014, as they may both be feeling the effects of all the innings they have thrown in their careers.
Another guy taking a hit in the rankings is Tigers "ace" Justin Verlander. I may drop him further during the offseason when I take a closer look at his 2013 season.
Two Rockies made my Top 50 Starting Pitcher Rankings! Shocking right? I am a big fan of Jhoulys Chacin, and I wouldn't sleep on him in drafts next year.
Here are my Top 50 Fantasy Starting Pitchers for 2014:
1 |
Clayton Kershaw |
2 |
Yu Darvish |
3 |
Felix Hernandez |
4 |
Adam Wainwright |
5 |
Stephen Strasburg |
6 |
Cliff Lee |
7 |
Max Scherzer |
8 |
Zack Greinke |
9 |
Jose Fernandez |
10 |
David Price |
11 |
Cole Hamels |
12 |
Justin Verlander |
13 |
Madison Bumgarner |
14 |
Chris Sale |
15 |
Jordan Zimmermann |
16 |
Mat Latos |
17 |
Matt Moore |
18 |
Mike Minor |
19 |
Homer Bailey |
20 |
Anibal Sanchez |
21 |
A.J. Burnett |
22 |
Hiroki Kuroda |
23 |
Patrick Corbin |
24 |
Hisashi Iwakuma |
25 |
Jered Weaver |
26 |
CC Sabathia |
27 |
Matt Cain |
28 |
Shelby Miller |
29 |
James Shields |
30 |
Jake Peavy |
31 |
Francisco Liriano |
32 |
Ervin Santana |
33 |
Jhoulys Chacin |
34 |
Jon Lester |
35 |
C.J. Wilson |
36 |
Gio Gonzalez |
37 |
Hyun-Jin Ryu |
38 |
Justin Masterson |
39 |
Ricky Nolasco |
40 |
John Lackey |
41 |
Jeff Samardzija |
42 |
Derek Holland |
43 |
Zack Wheeler |
44 |
Kris Medlen |
45 |
Jarrod Parker |
46 |
Roy Halladay |
47 |
Jorge De La Rosa |
48 |
Julio Teheran |
49 |
Lance Lynn |
50 |
Matt Garza |