11. Dan Haren, D-BacksOutperformed expectations last season in a smaller ballpark. Again, weaker league and a steady climb in his K rate. All good things.
12. Roy Oswalt, AstrosMight be high for the veteran pitcher. He came on strong in the second half of 2008 and the Astros should score enough runs as long as Michael Bourn isn't hitting leadoff again.
13. John Lackey, AngelsContract year. Steady performer on a very good team. Misses enough bats. Although this may be the highest he is ranked for the forseeable future as he is leaving his prime years.
14. Josh Beckett, Red SoxThe injury concerns may be legit, but if he is healthy, he'll win a lot of games and strikeout over 200 batters. Tough division, but Beckett has always shown that he can dominate lineups, regardless of talent level.
15. Cliff Lee, IndiansI just had to throw him in here. Yes, his 2008 will be almost impossible to repeat, but it's still something that can't be ignored. Indians are the best team in that division, so that helps too.
16. A.J. Burnett, YankeesYou'd think he would be ranked higher after last seasons performance, but he just isn't good enough of a bet to stay on the field. When healthy, the dominance is unquestionable though.
17. Edinson Volquez, RedsHis minor league track record and scouting reports didn't exactly have all the experts envisioning the year he just had. He is still way too talented to pass up on here. Reds may actually suprise this year, although their manager will do everything in his power to screw it up.
18. Felix Hernandez, MarinersUpside. It's a term often used in fantasy that can lead to owners passing on more dependable sure things and get them in trouble. Oh yea, and the Mariners are terrible. All that said, Felix is turning 23 years old this year. He has already logged 660+ innings in his young career and at some point will breakthrough and be a annual Cy Young candidate.
19. Justin Verlander, TigersSee Felix, except that the Tigers aren't as bad as the Mariners. His drop in velocity is scary but his strong 2006 and 2007 mean that the talent is certainly there. A successful April would go a long way instilling confidence in fantasy owners.
20. Daisuke Matsuzaka, Red SoxLuck plays a big role in baseball and sports overall. Let me repeat myself, Luck plays a big role in baseball. Give him credit, he got out of all of those sticky situations. Why isn't he striking more hitters out? The stuff is there but Japanese pitchers tend to be too fine in their approach.
Pitchers you might of thought should of been there:
Scott Kazmir, Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, James Shields. Huge red flag over Zambrano this season. His K rate has declined and he is becoming more hittable. Kazmir is an injury concern. Shields is good but you have to wonder how the always improving AL East lineups will effect him. Dempster may very well be a one year wonder.
Sleepers: Clayton Kershaw, Zach Grienke, Matt Cain, Josh Johnson, David Price. Kershaw might be better than Billingsley soon. Grienke is on the Royals, but he was excellent last year and has seemed to get past his personal troubles. Cain has to start winning games at some point, right? Too good not to. Johnson may be the third best pitcher in the NL East when this season is over. Price, at some point, will be the Rays ace.
http://fantasysportingnewsandpicks.blogspot.com/2009/02/top-20-fantasy-starting-pitchers.html - the list 1-10 done yesterday.
-Efrim
