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Updated Top 25 Starting Pitcher Rankings for 2014

After taking a look at Michael Wacha on Saturday, here is an updated look at my early top 25 starting pitcher rankings for 2014.

By Ray Guilfoyle
Pool

A few weeks ago, I published my early top 25 hitter rankings, and today, I take a look at my early starting pitcher rankings for 2014. Some of these guys were included in my Michael Wacha article on Saturday morning, but they were ranked in no particular order.

Here is a look at my early Top 25 Starting Pitcher Rankings for 2014:

Rank

Name

Team

W

L

K/9

BB/9

GB%

ERA

1

Clayton Kershaw

Dodgers

16

9

8.85

1.98

46.00%

1.83

2

Yu Darvish

Rangers

13

9

11.89

3.43

41.00%

2.83

3

Adam Wainwright

Cardinals

19

9

8.16

1.3

49.10%

2.94

4

Felix Hernandez

Mariners

12

10

9.51

2.03

51.40%

3.04

5

Cliff Lee

Phillies

14

8

8.97

1.29

44.30%

2.87

6

Max Scherzer

Tigers

21

3

10.08

2.35

36.30%

2.90

7

Justin Verlander

Tigers

13

12

8.95

3.09

38.40%

3.46

8

Stephen Strasburg

Nationals

8

9

9.39

2.75

51.50%

3.00

9

Jose Fernandez

Marlins

12

6

9.75

3.02

45.10%

2.19

10

Chris Sale

White Sox

11

14

9.49

1.93

46.60%

3.07

11

Zack Greinke

Dodgers

15

4

7.5

2.33

45.60%

2.63

12

Anibal Sanchez

Tigers

14

8

9.99

2.67

45.40%

2.57

13

Jordan Zimmermann

Nationals

19

9

6.79

1.69

47.60%

3.25

14

Cole Hamels

Phillies

8

14

8.26

2.05

42.70%

3.60

15

Madison Bumgarner

Giants

13

9

8.9

2.77

46.80%

2.77

16

David Price

Rays

10

8

7.28

1.3

44.90%

3.33

17

Matt Cain

Giants

8

10

7.71

2.69

37.70%

4.00

18

Mike Minor

Braves

13

9

7.96

2.02

35.00%

3.21

19

Matt Moore

Rays

17

4

8.56

4.55

39.40%

3.29

20

Gerrit Cole

Pirates

10

7

7.67

2.15

49.10%

3.22

21

Mat Latos

Reds

14

7

7.99

2.48

45.10%

3.16

22

James Shields

Royals

13

9

7.71

2.68

41.60%

3.15

23

Hisashi Iwakuma

Mariners

14

6

7.58

1.72

48.70%

2.66

24

Homer Bailey

Reds

11

12

8.57

2.33

46.10%

3.49

25

Francisco Liriano

Pirates

16

8

9.11

3.52

50.50%

3.02

Clayton Kershaw, LAD

There is no argument that Kershaw is the best starting pitcher in the game, his NLCS game 6 performance notwithstanding. Kershaw is on his way to his second National League Cy Young award and has led the NL in ERA in each of the past three seasons, with his 1.83 ERA being the lowest of his career.

Matt Cain, SFG

Dave Morris Jr. wrote up this piece on Cain on Sunday and you should make sure you check it out. Cain will probably be undervalued on draft day due to his poor 2013 season, but like Dave mentioned in his piece yesterday, he was the old Matt Cain in the second half of the season after a terrible first half.

Jose Fernandez, MIA

I have written several times about Fernandez in the daily Roto Roundups during the season, but will repeat here. He is already an ace, and Casey Stern from the MLB Network on Sirius/XM said he was the best pitcher in the game in the second half of the season, and that assertion would be hard to argue against after taking a look at his second half stats:

Record: 7-1

ERA/FIP: 1.32 ERA/1.99 FIP

WHIP: 0.82

K/9: 11.12

BB/9: 2.38

K%: 32.7%

Enough said.

Mike Minor, ATL

Minor had a terrific season for the Braves, and he is well on his way to becoming a fantasy ace, if he isn't there already. I would like to see a higher K/9, but that is nit-picking.

Gerrit Cole, PIT

For me, Cole is a fantasy ace right now, and his K/9 at season's end was brought down by a poor first month in the big leagues. After that, he struck out a batter per inning, and was just dominant down the stretch and in the playoffs. Draft with confidence.

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