Barracuda Sports Current Top 40 Starting Pitchers:

Comments:

“Follow through and pick up that dollar bill son” That’s the advice that Tim Lincecum’s father used to give him every day when he was practicing; boy has that paid off! Lincecum not only picked up a fat new contract, but he was able to sign for just two seasons with the Giants leaving him a huge chance to be a Yankee or Red Sox before to long. But, before he joins their team, you could have him join your fantasy team as clearly the best available fantasy pitcher on draft day. As you can see I am one that believes in the Doc! Halladay that is…I don’t think the switch of stadium is going to hurt him and other than the usual injury risk that any pitcher who tosses that many innings has, I think he is a stud this season. Another player you see in the rankings for us that is much higher than other web sites and other experts is Chris Carpenter. He had just 28 starts last season, but was dominant in those starts! Obvious risk reward, but all pitchers are…I wouldn’t pass on him for those players listed behind him; you can do what you want. Sabathia is just such a darn slow starter…not sure I would like him in my line-up for the first month of the season, but after that he is as dominating as they come with a 2.52 ERA in the final couple months of the season last year. Be careful with Cliff Lee and his foot surgery, but otherwise I think his move to the NL will only help him maintain the dominating stuff he has had over the last two seasons…don’t be afraid of him.

Now this is the point in the rankings where I feel that many players go different directions and are high on or low on certain players so I’ll do my best to give you guys a glimpse into what my thoughts are on the players I have ranked higher than others. Ubaldo Jimenez should continue his climb into the upper echelon of fantasy pitchers, don’t miss him. Nolasco was so bad last season that he got sent to the minors, but after he returned and figured out his mechanical glitch, he posted 158 K’s in just 141 innings! He is for real and should be targeted on draft day. I think Jake Peavey is going to find the AL a bit tougher than his time in the NL, but his division is not great and he should still post solid numbers with good K rates. He likely will get drafted because of name value, but if he slips, you should pull the trigger. Matt Garza got hit hard last season and the numbers indicate a bit of bad luck on balls in play. I expect a bounce back and feel that Garza can be drafted late and will return more toward his 08’ numbers. James Shields is another who I think will return toward his previous year’s numbers and should not be forgotten about on draft day. Despite my high rankings, I think you can also get him later in the draft for good value. Brett Anderson looked like the real deal, showing why he was a high draft pick for the Athletics. Expect a solid season, but you can also expect inconsistency from him and I would watch out for a late season cut in innings as they try to protect his golden arm. Gavin Floyd showed a big increase in K’s per nine last season and a decrease in walks. I expect more progress this year for the White Sox star and I think you would be happy if you added him to your fantasy team.

As always, I am available to share my thoughts on players in the Barracuda Sports Forums. If you have questions about these rankings or other questions about players and my opinions of them, head into the forum and post a question of simply email me cudajoe@BarracudaFantasySports.com