Fantasy Pitcher Rankings:

Fantasy Pitcher Rankings:

Time for my annual fantasy rankings. I’ll be posting one position per day as well as giving draft advice. My method is proven, having won my head to head fantasy league 3 straight years before teaching my fiancé how to play last season only to have her use my rankings against me and take the Championship. This year I’ll look to rebound from last year’s disappointing 2^nd place finish.

Pitching is by far the deepest and most volatile of all the positions. You should never reach to draft a pitcher because there is bound to be another guy almost as good available next round. I’ll usually take a stud ace with a proven record in the first 4-5 rounds. Brandon Webb and Eric Bedard are the kind of guy you can get in the fourth or fifth round and while they aren’t as hyped as CC Sabathia, Josh Beckett or Johan Santana, you can usually get them a round or two later and use those earlier picks on studs at positions with less depth. I like to fill my lineup before I take my fourth pitcher. I’ll try to get two high-value starting pitchers and a solid, if lesser name, closer. You should have three or four guys from the list below filling out the front of your rotation:

Name, Team	Remarks (# games)
Johan Santana, NYM	+W, !K, +ERA, !WHIP
Jake Peavy, SD	+PARK, !W, !K, !ERA, !WHIP
Brandon Webb, ARI	!W, +K, !ERA, +WHIP
Josh Beckett, BOS	!W, +K, +ERA, +WHIP
Erik Bedard, SEA	!K, +ERA, !WHIP
CC Sabathia, CLE	!W, +K, +ERA, +WHIP
Cole Hamels, PHI	-PARK, +W, +K, +ERA, +WHIP
Dan Haren, ARI	+W, +K, !ERA
Aaron Harang, CIN	-PARK, +W, !K, +WHIP
John Lackey, LAA	!W, +K, !ERA
Justin Verlander, DET	!W, +K
John Smoltz, ATL	+K, +ERA, +WHIP
Scott Kazmir, TB	!K
Roy Oswalt, HOU	+ERA,
Carlos Zambrano, CHC	+W, +K,
Felix Hernandez, SEA
Javier Vazquez, CWS	+W, !K, +WHIP
Chris Young, SD	+PARK, +ERA, !WHIP (17)
Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS	+W, +K
Roy Halladay, TOR	+W
Fausto Carmona, CLE	!W, !ERA,
Yovani Gallardo, MIL	-K (14)
Kelvim Escobar, LAA	!W, +ERA
AJ Burnett, TOR	MED, +K, +WHIP
Tim Lincecum, SF	+PARK, -W, (12)
Rich Hill, CHC	+K, +WHIP
Brett Myers, PHI	-PARK, -W, -K (12)
James Shields, TB	+K, +WHIP
Pedro Martinez, NYM	MED, -W, -K, !ERA (4)
John Maine, NYM	+W, +K
Matt Cain, SF	+PARK, -W
Ben Sheets, MIL	-K
Brad Penny, LAD	+W, !ERA
Chad Billingsley, LAD	+ERA
Ted Lilly, CHC	+W, +K, +WHIP
Tim Hudson, ATL	+W,
Chien-Ming Wang, NYY	!W, -K
Jeff Francis, COL	-PARK, !W
Adam Wainwright, StL
Jered Weaver, LAA
Dustin McGowan, TOR
Francisco Liriano, MIN	MED, +PARK, No Stats in 2007
Ian Snell, PIT	+K
Jeremy Bonderman, DET	-ERA
Derek Lowe, LAD
Phil Hughes, NYY	-W, -K, (8)
Clay Buchholz, BOS	-W, -K, !ERA, !WHIP (4)

The rest of your rotation should primarily come from this list, but realize that even in Fantasy, back of the rotation guys are a crapshoot, so don’t reach.

Oliver Perez, NYM

Jon Garland, LAA

Carlos Villanueva, MIL

Kenny Rogers, DET

Mike Mussina, NYY

Ervin Santana, LAA

Dontrelle Willis, FLA

Chris Capuano, MIL

Andy Pettitte, NYY

Rich Harden, OAK

Bronson Arroyon, CIN

Barry Zito, SF

Randy Johnson, ARI

Freddy Garcia, PHI

Dave Bush, MIL

Josh Johnson, FLA

Chuck James, ATL

Jose Contreras, CHW

Nate Robertson, DET

Greg Maddux, SD

Jason Schmidt, LAD

Anibal Sanchez, FLA

Scott Olsen, FLA

Kevin Millwood, TEX

John Patterson, WAS

Jeff Suppan, MIL

Daniel Cabrera, BAL

Joe Blanton, OAK

Jason Jennings, HOU

Jake Westbrook, CLE

Cliff Lee, CLE

Zach Duke, PIT

Homer Bailey, CIN

Jon Lester, BOS

Tim Wakefield, BOS

Matt Garza, TB

Gil Meche, KC

As for closers, if you’re going to punt any statistical category in your draft, punt saves. You can always find closers on the waiver wire during the season and unless you have a stud, they’ll do just as well as a draft pick in the late teen rounds. Here are the studs:

Name, Team	Remarks
Jonathan Papelbon, BOS	+SV, +K, +ERA, !WHIP
JJ Putz, SEA	!SV, +K, !ERA, !WHIP
Joe Nathan, MIN	+PARK, +SV, +ERA, !WHIP
Francisco Rodrigues, LAA	!SV, +K
Takashi Saito, LAD	+SV, !ERA, !WHIP
Billy Wagner, NYM	+K, +WHIP
Mariano Rivera, NYY	-ERA, +WHIP
Bobby Jenks, CWS	!SV, -K, !WHIP
Francisco Cordero, CIN	-PARK, !SV, +K, +WHIP
Jose Valverde, HOU	!SV, +WHIP
Huston Street, OAK	!WHIP
Brad Lidge, PHI	-PARK, +K, -ERA
Matt Capps, PIT	!WHIP
Trevor Hoffman, SD	-PARK, !SV, -K, +WHIP
Manny Corpas, COL	-PARK, -K, +ERA, !WHIP
Joakim Soria, KC	!WHIP
Rafael Soriano, ATL	-SV, -ERA, !WHIP
Jason Isringhausen, StL	-K, !WHIP
Chad Cordero, WAS	+SV, -ERA,
Brett Myers, PHI	-PARK, +K, -ERA
Carlos Marmol, ChC	-SV, !K, !ERA, !WHIP
Kevin Gregg, FLA	+K, -ERA
Joe Borowski, CLE	!SV, -K, -ERA,
Eric Gagne, MIL	-K, -ERA, !WHIP
Chad Billingsley, LAD	-SV, +K, -ERA
Todd Jones, DET	+SV, -K, -ERA

In the keys below, some notes:

+/- PARK means different things to different folks. In the pitcher lists, +PARK is one of the top 3 pitchers parks For position players, +PARK is one of the top 3 hitters parks. Anyone with a ! can carry your team for a week or two in that category. –BA should be seen as the kiss of death. These guys are not starters for a contending fantasy team. You’re better off taking a flier on a rookie than drafting one of these siphons. Also note the difference between keys when dealing with Starters versus Relievers.

KEY	Numbers based on last years stats
MED	History of medical issues or coming off injury
+PARK	Park is a serious advantage (top 3)
-PARK	Park is a serious disadvantage (bottom 3)

For SP, the Key will be:

- + !

W <8 >15 >17

SV NA

K <110 >170 >210

ERA >4.60 <3.40 <3.10

WHIP >1.50 <1.20 <1.10

For RP, the Key will be:

- + !

W NA

SV <10 >35 >40

K <60 >80 >95

ERA >3.00 <2.15 <1.50

WHIP >1.50 <1.20 <1.10