Top 50 AL-Only Starting Pitcher Rankings for 2016

For those of you who play in mono or "only" leagues, I will be publishing my Top 50 AL-only starting pitcher rankings today and I published my Top 50 NL-only starting pitcher rankings yesterday. Ranking players at each position for an "only" league is highly recommended, as drafts are unpredictable and can take a turn that you did not expect, so it is smart to be prepared prior to your drafts.

White Sox ace Chris leads a group of eight American League starters who fall into the fantasy ace category. The group starts with Sale and ends with Indians starter Carlos Carrasco, who could be a top 5 starter overall in 2016. You can see three Indians starters in my top nine AL only starters this season, as all three put up the strikeouts and stand to benefit with an improved defense behind them, led by shortstop Francisco Lindor.

Mariners ace Felix Hernandez is no longer the top starter in the American League, and I recommended avoiding him in 2016 earlier this morning, as he might be in the beginning of his decline years. Next to the Indians, the White Sox have three of the top thirteen starters in the AL, and Jose Quintana could be the most underrated starter in baseball. For me, he is like the Hyun-Jin Ryu of the AL. Both put up solid performances year in and year out (when healthy), but don't get the acclaim that the dominating starters receive.

A couple starters that fantasy owners should keep a close eye on in shallower mixed leagues are two Twins starters, Kyle Gibson and Tyler Duffey. Gibson is an elite ground ball pitcher, who saw his strikeout rate increase last season, and he could be the next Dallas Keuchel. It's a stretch, but he increased his strikeout rate from 6.18 K/9 in the first half to nearly 7.50 K/9 in the second half. Duffey impressed in his ten starts last season, winning five and pitching to a low 3.00 ERA while striking out eight batters per nine.

Top 50 AL-only Starting Pitcher Rankings for 2016

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