Fake Teams 2013 Consensus Starting Pitcher Rankings: 51 - 100

I published player profiles for our Top 25 starters on Monday, and followed that up with player profiles for starters ranked 26- 50 on Wednesday. Today, I provide you with our Starting Pitcher Rankings for pitchers ranked 51 - 100., along with player profiles for a few that could fly under the radar on draft day.

Below is our rankings for starters ranked 51 - 100:

Here are a few starters who I think could outperform their draft round in 2013:

Trevor Bauer, CLE

Bauer was traded to the Indians this offseason, and I can just picture his face when he heard the news. Bauer will be moving form one of the better hitters parks in baseball, Chase Field, which improved run scoring by 17% and home runs by 19% in 2012, to Progressive Field, which depressed run scoring by 10% and home runs by 7.5% in 2012. He dominated AA and AAA last season, going 12-2 with a 2.42 ERA and a 1.289 WHIP, striking out 157 while walking 61 in 130.1 innings. He may struggle with his control in 2013, but all young pitchers do. But what he will do is strikeout a ton of guys.

Wandy Rodriguez, PIT

Wandy was once a hot commodity in fantasy drafts for his ability to strike out batters and keep his ERA low. Well, he now calls PNC Park home, and one thing you can say about PNC Park is that it is one of the more beautiful parks in baseball. The other thing you can say about it is that it was the third hardest park to score runs in last season. PNC Park depressed run scoring by 24% and home runs by 37% last season. Wandy doesn't strike out as many batters as he used to, but he keeps the ball on the ground at a 48% rate. I think we can see Wandy outperform his draft round in 2013.

Andy Pettitte, NYY

Pettitte made just 12 starts last season, going 5-4 with a 2.87 ERA, 3.48 FIP, 3.27xFIP and a 1.14 WHIP in just 75.1 innings. What jumped out at me when reviewing his player page over at FanGraphs was his 8.24 K/9 and his 2.51 BB/9. The K rate was his highest since 2004. 2004!! And the walk rate was his lowest since 2008. Pettitte will turn 41 in June, and may not be drafted in many mixed leagues, but he should be someone you consider late in your drafts. The AL East isn't the strong hitting division it used to be.

Marco Estrada, MIL

I wrote about Estrada yesterday in Bret's Who's My Guy article. Here is what i wrote:

You probably never heard of Brewers starter Marco Estrada before last year, and it's probably because he's a 29 year old pitcher who had made just 9 career starts before the 2012 season. He probably won't be drafted in many mixed leagues, but he should. Of all the starting pitchers who threw more than 130 innings last season, only six of them had a higher strikeout per nine rate (9.30 K/9) than Estrada, but none of them had a lower walk rate than Estrada (1.89 BB/9). That list of starting pitchers includes Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer, Gio Gonzalez and Yu Darvish. Yeah, he's in good company.

Estrada made 23 starts last season, going 5-7 with a 3.64 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 3.48 xFIP and a 1.14 WHIP. He is prone to giving up the long ball (1.17 per nine), but that should regress a bit in 2013, as Miller Park played as an extreme home run park last season. Miller Park increased home runs to left handers by 42% and right handers by 30%. Extreme with a capital E. Estrada was successful last season as he threw first pitch strikes to almost 62% of the batters he faced, so he likes to get ahead of hitters. He also induced swinging strikes at a 10.2% rate, ranking 21st amongst all starters.

Estrada should continue to provide value to fantasy owners in 2013, as he is slated to start the season in the Brewers rotation, and could strike out 180 batters in 2013.

Scott Baker, CHC

The Cubs signed Baker this offseason with the hope to trade him for a prospect sometime in June or July. Now that that is out of the way, I like the move by the Cubs. Baker hasn't started a game since 2011, when he made 21 starts, going 8-6 with a 3.14 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 3.61 xFIP, and a 1.17 WHIP. He strikeout rate was in an uptrend before his Tommy John surgery, and his walk rate has been steadily in the low 2's, so Baker has a very good shot at outperforming his draft round with the move to the National League in 2013.

Shelby Miller, STL

Miller was the subject of many prospect ranking downgrades last season, but he turned things around in the second half of the season in AAA, earning himself a promotion to the big league club. He may not make the active roster on Opening Day, but he will be the first pitcher called up if any starter lands on the DL in St. Louis, and they do have a few guys who landed there last season (Chris Carpenter and Jaime Garcia). Miller made 27 starts in AAA last season, going 11-10 with a 4.74 ERA. Take that ERA with a grain of salt as Miller was pitching in the Pacific Coast League, where hitters parks are as plentiful as pints of Guinness on St. Patty's Day at your local Irish Pub. I expect Miller to start the season in AAA to keep his arm stretched out, but he should get a call up by June at the latest, and should provide fantasy owners with solid strikeout totals.