2013 Fantasy Baseball Rankings For Starting Pitchers

R.A Dickey is criminally underrated in the consensus 2013 fantasy baseball rankings.

How you feel about starting pitchers in relation to the rest of the 2013 fantasy baseball rankings determines the type of fantasy baseball player you are. None of my roto baseball teams will include Steven Strasburg, Justin Verlander or any other top tier pitcher. Hitting is such a scare commodity, specifically with homeruns, that wasting a pick in the first five rounds on a pitcher just is not worth it. There are hundreds of pitchers who will start against weak offenses and be available for you stream off of the waiver wire. That being said, it is still important to identify several mid round starters who will rack up the innings and consistently produce for your team at a reasonable price.

The time to analyze pitchers at a deeper level will come, but for now I will identify 3 starters to target in the middle rounds, utilizing these 2013 fantasy baseball rankings. After years of reigning supreme, Roy Halladay has finally fallen in the consensus 2013 fantasy baseball rankings. His 2012 was filled with injury and inconsistent performances, leaving him with a 4.49 ERA and only 132 strikeouts. It is very possible that Halladay has reach a point of no return as his physical skills erode. However, if he has recovered from injury and is his old self, he will end up being a top 5 pitcher and helping your team dramatically. Next, Dan Haren of the Washington Nationals struggled through a similarly injury riddled season and it appears much more likely that his skills have eroded. After 5 years of sub 4.00 ERA’s, Haren struggled through a disappointing 2012 that saw him miss starts for the first time. Haren is in a similar situation to Holladay, in that if he recovers from injury, he will provide a surplus of value. A dipping average fastball velocity, from 90.5 to 88.5 is concerning, but he is also worth the gamble. Finally, the continually underrated Jermey Hellickson. His advanced outlying metrics always paint him as a lucky pitcher, but after 3 straight years of defying his metrics, it is clear that there is just something about how he pitches and the park he pitches in that allows him to excel. Many sabremetrically leaning fantasy baseball analysts will tell you to avoid Hellickson, which allows for him to be available at a reasonable price. More to come later in a more detailed post! For now, leave comments below or find me on twitter, @davismattek.

2013 Fantasy Baseball Rankings For Starting Pitchers

(The rest of my rankings can be found at fantasypros.com)

Rank	Player	2012 Finish
1	Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers	2
2	Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals	18
3	Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers	3
4	Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners	11
5	David Price, Tampa Bay Rays	4
6	Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants	5
7	Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies	8
8	Zack Grienke, Los Angeles Dodgers	20
9	Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies	22
10	Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels	7
11	Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants	14
12	R.A Dickey, Toronto Blue Jays	1
13	Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers	29
14	C.C Sabathia, New York Yankees	16
15	Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals	36
16	Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies	77
17	Gio Gonzalez, Washington Nationals	6
18	Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds	10
19	Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox	13
20	Max Scherzer, Detroit Tigers	25
21	James Shields, Kansas City Royals	15
22	Kris Medlen, Atlanta Braves	9
23	Yovani Gallardo, Milwaukee Brewers	31
24	Matt Moore, Tampa Bay Rays	64
25	Dan Haren, Washington Nationals	78
26	Mat Latos, Cincinnati Reds	21
27	Jordan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals	23
28	Brandon Morrow, Toronto Blue Jays	40
29	Josh Johnson, Toronto Blue Jays	67
30	Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants	148
31	Jake Peavy, Chicago White Sox	17
32	Doug Fister, Detroit Tigers	44
33	Jeff Samardzija, Chicago Cubs	48
34	Hiroki Kuroda, New York Yankees	19
35	Ian Kennedy, Arizona Diamondbacks	43
36	C.J Wilson, Los Angeles Angels	55
37	Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox	131
38	Lance Lynn, St. Louis Cardinals	34
39	Jeremy Hellickson, Tampa Bay Rays	46
40	Anibal Sanchez, Detroit Tigers	59
41	Jonathon Niese, New York Mets	28
42	Brett Anderson, Oakland Athletics	128
43	Mike Minor, Atlanta Braves	49
44	Matt Harvey, New York Mets	104
45	Ryan Vogelsong, San Francisco Giants	30
46	Matt Garza, Chicago Cubs	100
47	Wade Miley, Arizona Diamondbacks	24
48	Tommy Milone, Oakland Athletics	52
49	Jarrod Parker, Oakland Athletics	42
50	Homer Bailey, Cincinnati Reds	35
51	Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves	39
52	Jaime Garcia, St. Louis Cardinals	116
53	Derek Holland, Texas Rangers	73
54	Brandon McCarthy, Arizona Diamondbacks	84
55	Matt Harrison, Texas Rangers	27
56	Shaun Marcum, New York Mets	86
57	Marco Estrada, Milwaukee Brewers	63
58	Ryan Dempster, Boston Red Sox	32
59	Trevor Cahill, Arizona Diamondbacks	50
60	Josh Beckett, Los Angeles Dodgers	129
61	Jason Vargas, Los Angeles Angels	33
62	Edwin Jackson, Chicago Cubs	51
63	Phil Hughes, New York Yankees	47
64	James McDonald, Pittsburgh Pirates	65
65	Chris Capuano, Los Angeles Dodgers	38
66	Wei-Yin Chen, Baltimore Orioles	57
67	Wandy Rodriguez, Pittsburgh Pirates	54
68	Kyle Lohse, Free Agent	12
69	A.J Burnett, Pittsburgh Pirates	26
70	Mark Buehrle, Toronto Blue Jays	37
71	Bud Norris, Houston Astros	119
72	Andy Pettitte, New York Yankees	89
73	Johan Santana, New York Mets	143
74	Alex Cobb, Tampa Bay Rays	N/A
75	Alexi Ogando, Texas Rangers	N/A
76	Ivan Nova, New York Yankees	142
77	Vance Worley, Minnesota Twins	N/A
78	Ricky Nolasco, Miami Marlins	107
79	Brandon Beachy, Atlantra Brave	53
80	Trevor Bauer, Cleveland Indians	N/A
81	Paul Maholm, Atlanta Braves	41
82	Jason Hammel, Baltimore Orioles	71
83	Clayton Richard, San Diego Padres	58
84	Gavin Floyd, Chicago White Sox	87
85	Jacob Turner, Miami Marlins	163
86	Jeff Niemann, Tampa Bay Rays	N/A
87	Dillon Gee, New York Mets	N/A
88	Tyler Skaggs, Arizona Diamondbacks	N/A
89	Justin Masterson, Cleveland Indians	N/A
90	Francisco Liriano, Chicago White Sox	N/A