Draft Prep

2018 Starting Pitcher Rankings: Is It A Deep Position Or Not?

by
Michael Tomlin
March 10, 2018

Photo Credit: Erik Drost

When compiling starting pitcher rankings, I definitely had an epiphany. When comparing positions in Fantasy Baseball, the size/format of your league will affect the starting pitchers more than any other position.

What I am saying is that if you are in a smaller, 5X5 category league with normal starting pitching requirements, I would classify it as the second deepest position after shortstop. I am in an 8-team keeper league and you can build your whole staff in the mid-to-late rounds. When you can get guys like Rick Porcello and Cole Hamels in the last few rounds of your draft then that is some serious depth.

I am also in a 14-team, 40-man roster dynasty league. It is also a points setup. Even with a newly instituted weekly innings limit, starting pitching is BY FAR the shallowest position. It is a very active league with trade block/requests every day. Every day, the vast majority are requesting solid starting pitching in return.

What I am getting at is the steep drop-off in the starting pitcher rankings. What I am also warning is that the drop-off is really hard to ascertain. Once again, your league setup affects the starting pitcher rankings more than any other position. Some guys are great in points league while being terrible in category setups. It goes both ways.

So with all that said, I would be the trendsetter or the zig-zagger. If you are in a huge league with lots of roster spots, be the guy to start the starting pitcher run. Normally I am not an advocate for reaching, but the pool can dry up quickly. In a smaller league, wait. When the starting pitcher run begins, shore up the other spots on your roster. There will be guys available late that can get you what you need.

These starting pitcher rankings are for mixed leagues. The Average Draft Position and Expert Consensus Rankings (both overall and by position) are relative to FantasyPros.com as of March 1.

2018 Starting Pitcher Rankings

Rk.	Player, Team	ADP	ECR	ECR (Pos.)
1	Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers	5	10	1
2	Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals	11	12	2
3	Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox	13	16	3
4	Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians	14	17	4
5	Noah Syndergaard, New York Mets	30	33	7
6	Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants	25	29	6
7	Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals	27	26	5
8	Jacob deGrom, New York Mets	35	34	8
9	Carlos Carrasco, Cleveland Indians	32	37	9
10	Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks	40	48	11
11	Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers	39	49	12
12	Luis Severino, New York Yankees	37	44	10
13	Chris Archer, Tampa Bay Rays	55	56	14
14	Carlos Martinez, St. Louis Cardinals	51	58	15
15	Robbie Ray, Arizona Diamondbacks	50	62	16
16	Yu Darvish, Chicago Cubs	48	51	13
17	Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies	70	70	17
18	Jose Quintana, Chicago Cubs	72	77	20
19	James Paxton, Seattle Mariners	77	71	18
20	Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros	59	76	19
21	Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels	73	90	23
22	Gerrit Cole, Houston Astros	79	82	21
23	Rich Hill, Los Angeles Dodgers	109	113	29
24	Kyle Hendricks, Chicago Cubs	98	108	28
25	Jon Lester, Chicago Cubs	101	100	26
26	Masahiro Tanaka, New York Yankees	85	83	22
27	Lance McCullers, Houston Astros	127	106	27
28	Jake Arrieta, Free Agent	87	97	25
29	David Price, Boston Red Sox	110	94	24
30	Alex Wood, Los Angeles Dodgers	97	115	30
31	Danny Salazar, Cleveland Indians	163	159	41
32	Johnny Cueto, San Francisco Giants	139	124	33
33	Luis Castillo, Cincinnati Reds	148	121	31
34	Jose Berrios, Minnesota Twins	96	122	32
35	Marcus Stroman, Toronto Blue Jays	111	129	34
36	Jeff Samardzija, San Francisco Giants	150	146	38
37	Luke Weaver, St. Louis Cardinals	115	136	36
38	Sonny Gray, New York Yankees	126	144	37
39	Zack Godley, Arizona Diamondbacks	125	134	35
40	Gio Gonzalez, Washington Nationals	132	164	42
41	Kenta Maeda, Los Angeles Dodgers	195	183	48
42	Danny Duffy, Kansas City Royals	159	152	39
43	Trevor Bauer, Cleveland Indians	137	168	43
44	Drew Pomeranz, Boston Red Sox	168	181	46
45	Jonathan Gray, Colorado Rockies	156	162	40
46	Charlie Morton, Houston Astros	182	188	49
47	Jameson Taillon, Pittsburgh Pirates	189	175	45
48	Garrett Richards, Los Angeles Angels	171	184	47
49	Taijuan Walker, Arizona Diamondbacks	197	210	55
50	Blake Snell, Tampa Bay Rays	213	202	52
51	Lance Lynn, Free Agent	196	222	57
52	Rick Porcello, Boston Red Sox	217	229	59
53	Cole Hamels, Texas Rangers	190	206	56
54	Kevin Gausman, Baltimore Orioles	186	200	53
55	Michael Fulmer, Detroit Tigers	164	172	44
56	J.A. Happ, Toronto Blue Jays	259	247	62
57	Chase Anderson, Milwaukee Brewers	172	193	50
58	Dylan Bundy, Baltimore Orioles	177	195	51
59	Sean Manaea, Oakland Athletics	250	238	60
60	Dinelson Lamet, San Diego Padres	221	208	54
61	Michael Wacha, St. Louis Cardinals	251	256	64
62	Tanner Roark, Washington Nationals	258	260	65
63	Julio Teheran, Atlanta Braves	211	236	63
64	Patrick Corbin, Arizona Diamondbacks	255	273	71
65	Jacob Faria, Tampa Bay Rays	218	231	58
66	Ervin Santana, Minnesota Twins	224	257	66
67	Michael Clevinger, Cleveland Indians	214	245	61
68	Brad Peacock, Houston Astros	222	261	70
69	Marco Estrada, Toronto Blue Jays	331	287	74
70	Alexander Reyes, St. Louis Cardinals	267	284	76
71	Alex Cobb, Free Agent	207	259	69
72	Jake Odorizzi, Minnesota Twins	276	275	72
73	Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners	249	297	77
74	Aaron Sanchez, Toronto Blue Jays	210	258	67
75	Jordan Montgomery, New York Yankees	262	269	68
76	Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox	235	276	73
77	Eduardo Rodriguez, Boston Red Sox	387	306	81
78	Jimmy Nelson, Milwaukee Brewers	359	272	75
79	Zach Davies, Milwaukee Brewers	268	300	80
80	Carlos Rodon, Chicago White Sox	388	280	78
81	C.C. Sabathia, New York Yankees	278	342	97
82	Luiz Gohara, Atlanta Braves	303	295	79
83	Matt Harvey, New York Mets	312	396	91
84	Chris Tillman, Baltimore Orioles	329	580	173
85	Steven Matz, New York Mets	338	372	93
86	Michael Kopech, Chicago White Sox	360	433	104
87	Mike Leake, Seattle Mariners	365	340	89
88	Sean Newcomb, Atlanta Braves	385	361	94
89	Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers	390	495	162
90	Jhoulys Chacin, Milwaukee Brewers	399	468	112

You’ll notice there are still some quality players in the starting pitcher rankings that are free agents. Keep an eye on where they end up as their ranking could be affected.
I am a little bit lower on Yu Darvish than the consensus. We will need to see that he has overcome that disastrous World Series performance.
I am also higher on Danny Salazar. I know he is dealing with an injury now, but he posted a 12.7 K/9 last season. Efficient strikeouts are my jam when it comes to roster construction.
My favorite late-round starting pitcher: Chris Tillman. First off, do you realize he is only 29? I thought he was closer to 40, but he broke into the Bigs when he was just 21. Yes, I know last year was quite awful for the Oriole. But four of the previous five years he had a sub-3.78 ERA. He had also pitched at least 172 innings in four straight seasons. I see him bouncing back into a solid starter. A solid starter you can get at pick 580.
Patrick Corbin is another guy that I like more in my starting pitcher rankings. He bounced back himself last year after a terrible 2016. And you know, humidor and stuff.
Garion Thorne brought me around on both Blake Snell and J.A. Happ.
In non-dynasty leagues with late-round keepers, Michael Kopech will be a guy to stash late. He has rookie of the year potential.

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Michael Tomlin

Michael Tomlin is an ESPY-nominated, former college football player who stays associated with the game through Fantasy Sports. He has been writing his personal blog, Dirkland.blogspot.com, for three years and it focuses on Fantasy Sports, as well as handicapping. He was born and raised in the DFW Metroplex, and he follows all of the Dallas teams, along with Texas Tech athletics and Manchester City F.C.

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