Regardless of what type of league format you choose for your MLB fantasy baseball league, picking the right starting pitchers is a vital part of your team’s success. Here are the top 10 fantasy baseball pitchers for 2013 along with a couple of honorable mentions, and a description of why each pitcher is worthy of their ranking.
Honorable Mention – Max Scherzer Detroit Tigers
Max Scherzer was 2nd in strikeouts to teammate Justin Verlander while pitching 50 fewer innings. Scherzer led the league in average strikeouts per 9 innings, and also had 16 wins, and an ERA of 3.74. Scherzer should continue to improve in 2013 and may lead the league in strikeouts if his innings increase to over 200.
Honorable Mention – Matt Cain San Francisco Giants
Matt Cain stepped up for the 2012 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants. After winning just 12 games in 2011, Cain recorded 16 wins, an ERA of 2.79, 193 strikeouts and two complete game shutouts. Cain’s history doesn’t support the notion that we hill have a similar or better year this upcoming season, but he was a dominant pitcher last season and is worthy of a high draft pick.
#10. Cole Hamels Philadelphia Phillies
With a new career high of 17 wins and 216 strickouts, Cole Hamels lived up to the hype of being a top ten pitcher last season. Winning 17 games even with the Philadelphia Phillies struggling throughout the year is a sign that there might be even greater things in store for Hamels in the future. Expect Hamels to put up similar if not better numbers next year, and to crack the top ten in fantasy pitcher statistics.
#9. R.A. Dickey New York Mets
R.A. Dickey had a historical season which won him the National League Cy Young award. With a 2.73 ERA, 20 wins, and 230 strikeouts, it is hard to ignore Dickey when drafting your fantasy team. Although he is just starting to make his mark in professional baseball, Dickey is 38 years old. His throwing style should allow him to have several productive seasons before his age catches up with him. Look for R.A. Dickey to fall back to earth just a little bit next year, but he will still have top 10 numbers.
#8. Johnny Cueto Cincinnati Reds
After injuries limited Johnny Cueto’s 2011 season, he came out blazing in 2012 with 19 wins, an ERA of 2.78, and 170 strikeouts. Cueto helped propel the Reds to a National League Central title, and into the playoffs. Although he did suffer an oblique strain that kept him out of the playoffs, Cueto looks to be healthy for the upcoming season and has the potential put up even better numbers next year. When drafting, take into consideration that Cueto has a history of injuries and that his season best win total prior to this past season was 12 wins in 2012.
#7. Jered Weaver Los Angeles Angels
Jered Weaver had a Cy Young quality season with 20 wins, a 2.81 ERA, and 142 strikeouts in only 188.2 innings. Weaver had 18 wins two seasons ago and was able to improve on that this past year. Although he is not likely to break over 20 wins in 2012, expect him to come close to matching it with more innings pitched and more strikeouts.
#6. Gio Gonzalez Washington Nationals
Gio Gonzalez turned a lot of heads this past season with an MLB leading 21 wins for the Washington Nationals. Out of every starting pitcher in MLB who started more than 20 games this past season, Gonzalez allowed the most home runs, giving up only 9 home runs in 199 innings over 32 starts. Gonzalez is only 27 and has gotten better all three years he has been in the majors.
#5. Felix Hernandez Seatlle Mariners
Felix Hernandez is the best pitcher in all of baseball who averages less than 14 wins over the past 7 seasons. Hernandez constantly receives a lack of run support from his Mariners lineup, but remains one of the toughest pitchers to face. Hernandez had 223 strikeouts, an ERA of 3.06, and a league leading five complete game shutouts. If a pitcher’s wins are more important in your fantasy league that strikeouts, shutouts, and ERA, than you may want to look somewhere else.
#4. Stephen Strasburg Washington Nationals
Stephen Strasburg has 28 starts for the Washington Nationals before being shut down for the rest of the year to save his arm for future seasons. This move hurt fantasy owners as they lost the best pitcher on their fantasy team for the final month of the season. Strasburg excelled during the games he was allowed to play with 15 wins, 197 strikeouts, and an ERA of 3.16. I do not expect the Nationals to hold him back this season, so feel safe in having a full year of Strasburg on your pitching staff.
#3. David Price Tampa Bay Rays
David Price edged out Justin Verlander for the 2012 AL Cy Young. Price had 20 wins for the Tampa Bay Rays along with 205 strikeouts and an impressive ERA of 2.56. Fantasy owners are hoping that Price doesn’t have another down season like he did in 2011 after a great season in 2010. Just two seasons ago, Price went 12-13 with a 3.49 ERA. I do expect Price to put up weaker numbers than last season, but not enough to make him not one of the best three fantasy pitchers in baseball.
#2. Clayton Kershaw Los Angeles Dodgers
Clayton Kershaw led the league in ERA with 2.53, had 229 strikeouts, and help opposing batters to an average of .210. He went 14-9 on a Dodgers team that often struggled to give him run support. Expect Kershaw to increase his win total closer to his 2011 number of 21 wins. He has the skills and potential to be the best pitcher in all of baseball, but he still is a distant second to the #1 pitcher on this list.
#1. Justin Verlander Detroit Tigers
Justin Verlander is the top fantasy baseball pitcher for the 2013 season, not only because of his 2012 performance, but because of his dominant results over the past few seasons. Over the past four seasons, Verlander is averaging 19.5 wins and 244.5 strikeouts per season. Expect 20 wins in 2013 with a strong Tigers team poised to win a lot of games.
