BretskyBall.com

Fantasy Baseball 2018 Rankings: Starting Pitcher

The starting pitcher position is perhaps the most fluid on draft day and I’ve found that my overall strategy can shift heavily depending on whether I grab a top tier arm. I tend to favor offense over pitching in the early rounds, but if you are picking at the back end in a 14 or 15 team league, I’ll would not shrug off the idea of picking a stud with one of those first two picks given how quickly the top-20 arms fly off the board in deep leagues.

If I do indeed miss out on a true ace, I’ll likely aim to grab three or four starters ranked in tiers two and three, focusing on guys like Lance McCullers, Garret Richards, and Zack Godley who have all flashed top-15 upside in the past.

Top Tier Bargains

Jacob DeGrom and his ADP of 37 overall represents the lowest cost in my top tier. He’s got a 2.98 ERA and 1.12 while striking out over a better per inning over his four year career.

Reaching into tier-two, Dallas Keuchel emerges as a bargain option and if you believe David Price can stay healthy, there is a lot to like about his potential return with an eighth or ninth round selection.

Though I didn’t expect to be quite this high on Garrett Richards heading into this draft season, his strong finish to the 2017 season gives us hope that the former top-20 starter can get back to fantasy stardom if he can just stay on the field. He’s currently going at pick 166 on average and I’d certainly reach a round or two ahead of that to secure his services.

Luis Castillo looks to have the makings of a fantasy ace after compiling a 3.12 ERA with 9.87 K/9 over his first 89.1 major league innings. He’s shown solid control throughout the minors and looks poised to take a leap.

Deep Thoughts

There is a ton of talent outside to top-200 ADP. Dinelson Lamet and his 10.94 K/9 certainly looks attractive. JA Happ has put together a very useful 3.33 ERA and 1.23 WHIP over the past two seasons. Joe Musgrove and his move the NL has me buying. After an injury-marred season, Vincent Velazquez is going undrafted in most 10 and 12 team leagues. Sean Manaea, Matt Shoemaker, Jacob Faria, Michael Wacha, Daniel Mengden and Nate Karns are among the other pitchers I am targeting late.

Starting Pitcher Draft Rankings 2018

RankNameTeamPositions
TierOne
1Clayton KershawLADSP
2Max ScherzerWSHSP
3Corey KluberCLESP
4Chris SaleBOSSP
5Stephen StrasburgWSHSP
6Noah SyndergaardNYMSP
7Madison BumgarnerSFSP
8Carlos CarrascoCLESP
9Jacob deGromNYMSP
10Justin VerlanderHOUSP
TierTwo
11Yu DarvishCHCSP
12Luis SeverinoNYYSP
13Zack GreinkeARISP
14Dallas KeuchelHOUSP
15Carlos MartinezSTLSP
16Chris ArcherTBSP
17Jose QuintanaCHCSP
18Robbie RayARISP
19Gerrit ColeHOUSP
20Aaron NolaPHISP
21David PriceBOSSP,RP
22James PaxtonSEASP
23Masahiro TanakaNYYSP
TierThree
24Jose BerriosMINSP
25Shohei OhtaniLAASP,DH
26Zack GodleyARISP
27Alex WoodLADSP
28Luis CastilloCINSP
29Jake ArrietaPHISP
30Jon LesterCHCSP
31Kyle HendricksCHCSP
32Garrett RichardsLAASP
33Johnny CuetoSFSP
34Lance McCullersHOUSP
35Rich HillLADSP
36J.A. HappTORSP
37Dinelson LametSDSP
38Jeff SamardzijaSFSP
39Luke WeaverSTLSP
TierFour
40Chase AndersonMILSP
41Sonny GrayNYYSP
42Sean ManaeaOAKSP
43Danny DuffyKCSP
44Jacob FariaTBSP
45Kevin GausmanBALSP
46Drew PomeranzBOSSP
47Marcus StromanTORSP
48Gio GonzalezWSHSP
49Michael FulmerDETSP
50Jameson TaillonPITSP
51Vincent VelasquezPHISP
52Blake SnellTBSP
53Charlie MortonHOUSP
54Julio TeheranATLSP
55Kenta MaedaLADSP
56Jonathan GrayCOLSP
57Cole HamelsTEXSP
58Dylan BundyBALSP
59Trevor BauerCLESP
60Danny SalazarCLESP
61Joe MusgrovePITSP,RP
62Taijuan WalkerARISP
63Lance LynnMINSP
64Alex CobbFASP
65Michael WachaSTLSP
TierFive
66Rick PorcelloBOSSP
67Michael ClevingerCLESP,RP
68Brad PeacockHOUSP,RP
69Tanner RoarkWSHSP
70Ervin SantanaMINSP
71Aaron SanchezTORSP
72Lucas GiolitoCWSSP
73Jordan MontgomeryNYYSP
74Jimmy NelsonMILSP
75Michael FoltynewiczATLSP
76Jake OdorizziMINSP
77Alexander ReyesSTLSP
78Patrick CorbinARISP
79Jake JunisKCSP
80Tyler ChatwoodCHCSP,RP
81Carlos RodonCWSSP
82Marco EstradaTORSP
83Zach DaviesMILSP
84Luiz GoharaATLSP
85Felix HernandezSEASP
86Ivan NovaPITSP
87Eduardo RodriguezBOSSP
88Matt ShoemakerLAASP
89Andrew HeaneyLAASP
90Jerad EickhoffPHISP
91Tyler GlasnowPITSP,RP
92Daniel StrailyMIASP
93Mike LeakeSEASP
94Miles MikolasSTLSP
95German MarquezCOLSP
96Hyun-Jin RyuLADSP
97Matt HarveyNYMSP
98Mike MinorTEXSP,RP
99Steven MatzNYMSP
100Sean NewcombATLSP
101CC SabathiaNYYSP
102Ian KennedyKCSP
103Daniel MengdenOAKSP
104Collin McHughHOUSP
105Anthony DeSclafaniCINSP
106John LackeyFASP
107Reynaldo LopezCWSSP
108Jack FlahertySTLSP
109Matt BoydDETSP
110Tyler SkaggsLAASP
111Jhoulys ChacinMILSP
112Brandon McCarthyATLSP
113Tyler AndersonCOLSP
114Robert StephensonCINSP,RP
115Matt MooreTEXSP
116Mike MontgomeryCHCSP,RP
117Jaime GarciaTORSP
118Adam WainwrightSTLSP
119Brandon WoodruffMILSP
120Kyle GibsonMINSP
121Nathan KarnsKCSP
122Jason HammelKCSP
123Andrew TriggsOAKSP
124Zack WheelerNYMSP
125Michael KopechCWSSP

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *