The fantasy baseball season is right around the corner, which makes this the perfect time to start digging through stats and updating your player rankings. To help you get a head start, here are the top-25 starting pitchers for the 2015 fantasy baseball season.
25. Alex Cobb, Tampa Bay Rays
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25. Alex Cobb, Tampa Bay Rays
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Cobb was a hidden gem last season. He posted a 2.87 ERA to go along with a 1.14 WHIP in 166.1 innings of work. He has truly matured into the ace of this rotation and will be a steal as a SP3 this spring.
24. Matt Harvey, New York Mets
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24. Matt Harvey, New York Mets
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Harvey missed all of last year as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, but the young star should be ready to go by Opening Day. He has some of the best stuff in all of the majors and will quickly reclaim is spot among the top hurlers in fantasy. It just may take a month or two until he gets back into the groove.
23. Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies
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23. Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies
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Lee has a disastrous 2014 fantasy season. He spent the majority of the season on the DL with an elbow injury and ended the year on the shelf. It was the first time that the veteran failed to go over 200 innings since 2009. Luckily, it was the only time he missed significant time throughout his career. The elbow injury is certainly concerning, but his length track record will be wort gambling on after the top-20 arms come off the board.
22. Masahiro Tanaka, New York Yankees
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22. Masahiro Tanaka, New York Yankees
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Tanaka took the world by storm last season, as he jumped out to a 13-5 record with a sizzling 2.77 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. Unfortunately, he suffered a slight tear in the UCL in his right elbow and was consequently shutdown for the year. He made a brief comeback, but it will still be difficult to gauge his true fantasy value until he picks up a baseball again.
21. Gio Gonzalez, Washington Nationals
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21. Gio Gonzalez, Washington Nationals
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Gonzalez took a big step backward last year. He went from 195.2 innings in 2013, down to 158.2 innings in 2014. He posted a respectable 3.57 ERA and will be a safe bet as a top-20 arm, but grabbing earlier than that will be somewhat risky.
20. Hisashi Iwakuma, Seattle Mariners
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20. Hisashi Iwakuma, Seattle Mariners
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King Felix may be the top arm in Seattle, but Iwakuma is a strong number two.
He has won at least 14 games in back-to-back seasons and has a career WHIP of 1.09. He also posted a K-to-BB walk ratio of 7.3, which ranked third in baseball. Iwakuma has become a legit fantasy star and control artist will be a bargain as a SP2 this season.
19. Sonny Gray, Oakland Athletics
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19. Sonny Gray, Oakland Athletics
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Gray had a break out fantasy campaign in 2014. He finished with 219 innings, 183 strikeouts and an impressive 14-10 record. Gray will now be the leader of this rotation with Jon Lester and Jeff Samardzija both residing int he Chicago area. Look for the youngster to take another step forward this season.
18. Tyson Ross, San Diego Padres
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18. Tyson Ross, San Diego Padres
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Ross was a hidden gem this past season. He started 31 games and posted a sizzling 2.81 ERA to go along with 195 K’s in 195.2 innings of work. He has a nasty fastball/slider combo, which makes him one of the best ground ball pitchers in the game. Ross is only 27, so he doesn’t have much long-term appeal, but he will be a top-20 arm for the next couple of seasons.
17. Jeff Samardzija, Chicago White Sox
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17. Jeff Samardzija, Chicago White Sox
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Samardzija is one of the most underrated hurlers in fantasy. HIs 7-13 record last season leaves something to be desired, but he also finished with a 219.2 innings and 202 strikeouts. He also posted an ERA under 3.00 (2.99) and an impressive 1.07 WHIP. Don't let him fall too far this spring, because he is a safe bet as a top-20 arm.
16. Jordan Zimmermann, Washington Nationals
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16. Jordan Zimmermann, Washington Nationals
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Zimmermann just missed the 200-inning plateau (199.2) last year, and he has racked up 190 innings in three straight seasons. He also posted a career best 1.07 WHIP and 2.66 ERA. Zimmermann may technically be the number three pitcher on the team following the addition of Max Scherzer, but the Z-Man has earned his spot among the top-20 fantasy arms.
15. Julio Teheran, Atlanta Braves
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15. Julio Teheran, Atlanta Braves
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Teheran was a true workhorse for the Braves last year. He struck out 186 batters in 221 innings of work and finished with a winning 14-13 record. He may not get much run support, but he has the raw talent to finish inside the top-15.
14. Jon Lester, Chicago Cubs
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14. Jon Lester, Chicago Cubs
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Lester signed with Chicago this offseason to the tune of six years, $155 million. Between Boston and Oakland last year, Lester racked up 220 K's in 219.2 innings of work to go along with a 2.46 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. Lester has reestablished himself as one of the top arms in fantasy, so consider him a steal as a SP2 this spring.
13. Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies
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13. Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies
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Hamels is rumored to be on the trading block, but as of right now now, he is still remains on the Phillies roster. The southpaw had a brilliant 2014 season, by racking up 198 K's in 204 innings pitched. Hamels may walk the occasional batter and give up some long balls, but he is a true top-15 pitcher.
12. Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers
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12. Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers
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After posting 277 K’s in 209.2 innings in 2013, Darvish took a big step backwards in 2014. He only made 22 starts due to a back injury and his 1.26 WHIP was hard to look at. He will still be a top-15 arm, but concerns about his walks and injury history will keep him out of the top-10 this season.
11. Zack Greinke, Los Angeles Dodgers
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11. Zack Greinke, Los Angeles Dodgers
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Greinke had another sensational season in 2014. He threw 202.1 innings and struck out 207 batters in the processes. He also amassed a 2.71 ERA to go along with a 1.15 WHIP.
10. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
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10. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
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After missing time in the first four seasons of his professional career, Strasburg started a career-high 34 games in 2014. He threw 215 innings to go along with a 3.14 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. He may not receive the attention he once did with Max Scherzer in town, but Strasburg may benefit from the lack of pressure. Look for him have another top-10 season.
9. David Price, Detroit Tigers
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9. David Price, Detroit Tigers
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Between Tampa and Detroit, Price didn't miss a beat last season. He threw a career-high 248.1 innings, which was over 20 innings more than his previous career-high. he fanned 271 batters in the process to go along with a 3.26 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Price has earned a spot among the top-10 arms.
8. Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals
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8. Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals
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Washington made a huge splash in free agency by bringing in Scherzer to their already stacked rotation. He has posted back-to-back seasons of 200 innings/240 strikeouts and will give the Nats the best rotation in baseball.
7. Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians
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7. Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians
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Kluber was one sleeper that actually panned out this season. The veteran finished with an 18-9 record to go along with a 2.44 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. He even struck out a staggering 269 batters through 235.2 innings of work. He likely won’t mirror those numbers in 2015, but he will still be a top-10 arm in all formats.
6. Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants
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6. Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants
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Bumgarner has quietly amassed four consecutive seasons with over 200 innings and 190 strikeouts, capped off by 217.1 innings and 219 K’s this year. He was the key to San Fran's title run this past year, and considering the southpaw is entering his prime, he will be ranked much higher on 2015 draft boards.
5. Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox
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5. Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox
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Sale has established himself as one of the top arms in all of fantasy. He struck out 208 batters in 174 innings of work to go along with a 2.17 ERA and 0.97 WHIP. The southpaw will be worth a top-five starter in all formats this spring.
4. Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
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4. Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
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Wainwright has thrown at least 198 innings in five straight seasons, including four seasons with at least 230 innings. He also posted a career-low 2.38 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 2014. Wainwright will be good for another 220 innings and 200 K's in 2015.
3. Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds
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3. Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds
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After missing the majority of the 2013 season due to injury, Cueto had a Cy Young caliber season in 2014. He won a career-high 20 games to go along with a 2.25 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. Cueto won't be as expensive as Clayton Kershaw or Felix Hernandez, but he will be a great consolation prize.
2. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
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2. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
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Hernandez would have run a way with the fantasy Cy Young this past season if it wasn’t for the performance of Clayton Kershaw. King Felix posted a 2.14 ERA through 236 innings of work. He will always be a top-five arm on draft day and will be an ideal backup option if you miss out on Kershaw.
1. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
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1. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
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Kershaw once again proved why he is the best arm in fantasy. Despite missing the first several weeks due to a back injury, Kershaw was electric start after start. He ended the year with a 21-3 record to go along with an equally impressive 1.77 ERA and 0.86 WHIP. Clay-K deserves to be the top arm off the board in every fantasy format.
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