by 2010 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings Outlook: Each fantasy season is a reminder that there never seems to be a “sure thing” when it comes to starting pitchers. Let’s take a quick flashback to last year’s draft and two top-five pitchers. Johan Santana, the first pitcher taken in most drafts, had his season cut short because of elbow surgery and Brandon Webb only managed to pitch four innings before missing the remainder of the year with shoulder surgery.
Santana no longer sits atop the pitcher rankings, and unlike most other positions, there is not a unanimous No. 1 pick this year. Tim Lincecum, Felix Hernandez, Zack Greinke, and Roy Halladay could all make a case for this year’s top fantasy pitcher and are the closest to a “sure thing” that you’ll find in this year’s draft.
Draft-Day Advice: There are a couple schools of thought when it comes to drafting starting pitchers. Some managers prefer to load up on elite aces early, while some would rather wait until the later rounds, and a large portion fall somewhere in the middle. Whatever your strategy, its inevitable that every season brings surprise late-round gems so do your homework and cross your fingers.
The following are our 2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings, which are based on standard 5×5 scoring and take into account projected stats as well as upside and risk. Offensive categories include BA, HRs, Runs, RBIs, and SBs. Pitching categories are Wins, ERA, WHIP, Ks, and Saves. Although several players are eligible at multiple positions, they are listed at the position that they will most likely play the most in 2010. All leagues have different position eligibility requirements so be sure to check your settings before draft day.
2010 Rankings: C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP | Top 150 | 
Cheatsheet
| Rank | Player | IP | W | K | BB | ERA | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Lincecum | 225.1 | 15 | 261 | 68 | 2.48 | 1.05 |
| 2 | Felix Hernandez | 238.2 | 19 | 217 | 71 | 2.49 | 1.14 |
| 3 | Zack Greinke | 229.1 | 16 | 242 | 51 | 2.16 | 1.07 |
| 4 | Roy Halladay | 239 | 17 | 208 | 35 | 2.79 | 1.13 |
| 5 | CC Sabathia | 230 | 19 | 197 | 67 | 3.37 | 1.15 |
| 6 | Adam Wainwright | 233 | 19 | 212 | 66 | 2.63 | 1.21 |
| 7 | Justin Verlander | 240 | 19 | 269 | 63 | 3.45 | 1.18 |
| 8 | Dan Haren | 229.1 | 14 | 223 | 38 | 3.14 | 1.00 |
| 9 | Jon Lester | 203.1 | 15 | 225 | 64 | 3.41 | 1.23 |
| 10 | Tommy Hanson | 127.2 | 11 | 116 | 46 | 2.89 | 1.18 |
| 11 | Johan Santana | 166.2 | 13 | 146 | 46 | 3.13 | 1.21 |
| 12 | Chris Carpenter | 192.2 | 17 | 144 | 38 | 2.24 | 1.01 |
| 13 | Clayton Kershaw | 171 | 8 | 185 | 91 | 2.79 | 1.23 |
| 14 | Cliff Lee | 231.2 | 14 | 181 | 43 | 3.22 | 1.24 |
| 15 | Josh Beckett | 212.1 | 17 | 199 | 55 | 3.86 | 1.19 |
| 16 | Josh Johnson | 209 | 15 | 191 | 58 | 3.23 | 1.16 |
| 17 | Matt Cain | 217.2 | 14 | 171 | 73 | 2.89 | 1.18 |
| 18 | Javier Vazquez | 219.1 | 15 | 238 | 44 | 2.87 | 1.03 |
| 19 | Yovani Gallardo | 185.2 | 13 | 204 | 94 | 3.73 | 1.31 |
| 20 | Cole Hamels | 193.2 | 10 | 168 | 43 | 4.32 | 1.29 |
| 21 | Wandy Rodriguez | 205.2 | 14 | 193 | 63 | 3.02 | 1.24 |
| 22 | Ubaldo Jimenez | 218 | 15 | 198 | 85 | 3.47 | 1.23 |
| 23 | Jake Peavy | 101.2 | 9 | 110 | 34 | 3.45 | 1.12 |
| 24 | Ricky Nolasco | 185 | 13 | 195 | 44 | 5.06 | 1.25 |
| 25 | Chad Billingsley | 196.1 | 12 | 179 | 86 | 4.03 | 1.32 |
| 26 | Brett Anderson | 175.1 | 11 | 150 | 45 | 4.06 | 1.28 |
| 27 | Matt Garza | 203 | 8 | 189 | 79 | 3.95 | 1.26 |
| 28 | Brandon Webb | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 13.5 | 2.00 |
| 29 | Scott Baker | 200 | 15 | 162 | 48 | 4.37 | 1.19 |
| 30 | Neftali Feliz | 31 | 1 | 39 | 8 | 1.74 | 0.68 |
| 31 | Jair Jurrjens | 215 | 14 | 152 | 75 | 2.6 | 1.21 |
| 32 | John Lackey | 176.1 | 11 | 139 | 47 | 3.83 | 1.27 |
| 33 | Ryan Dempster | 200 | 11 | 172 | 65 | 3.65 | 1.31 |
| 34 | A.J. Burnett | 207 | 13 | 195 | 97 | 4.04 | 1.40 |
| 35 | Carlos Zambrano | 169.1 | 9 | 152 | 78 | 3.77 | 1.38 |
| 36 | Roy Oswalt | 181.1 | 8 | 138 | 42 | 4.12 | 1.24 |
| 37 | Max Scherzer | 170.1 | 9 | 174 | 63 | 4.12 | 1.34 |
| 38 | Clay Buchholz | 92 | 7 | 68 | 36 | 4.21 | 1.38 |
| 39 | Francisco Liriano | 136.2 | 5 | 122 | 65 | 5.8 | 1.55 |
| 40 | Jered Weaver | 211 | 16 | 174 | 66 | 3.75 | 1.24 |
| 41 | Kevin Slowey | 90.2 | 10 | 75 | 15 | 4.86 | 1.41 |
| 42 | James Shields | 219.2 | 11 | 167 | 52 | 4.14 | 1.32 |
| 43 | John Danks | 200.1 | 13 | 149 | 73 | 3.77 | 1.28 |
| 44 | Rick Porcello | 170.2 | 14 | 89 | 52 | 3.96 | 1.34 |
| 45 | Rich Harden | 141 | 9 | 171 | 67 | 4.09 | 1.34 |
| 46 | J.A. Happ | 166 | 12 | 119 | 56 | 2.93 | 1.23 |
| 47 | Tim Hudson | 42.1 | 2 | 30 | 13 | 3.61 | 1.46 |
| 48 | Edwin Jackson | 214 | 13 | 161 | 70 | 3.62 | 1.26 |
| 49 | Hiroki Kuroda | 117.1 | 8 | 87 | 24 | 3.76 | 1.14 |
| 50 | Randy Wells | 165.1 | 12 | 104 | 46 | 3.05 | 1.28 |
| 51 | Ben Sheets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | Stephen Strasburg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 53 | Brian Matusz | 44.2 | 5 | 38 | 14 | 4.63 | 1.48 |
| 54 | Mark Buehrle | 213.1 | 13 | 105 | 45 | 3.84 | 1.25 |
| 55 | Gavin Floyd | 193 | 11 | 163 | 59 | 4.06 | 1.23 |
| 56 | David Price | 128.1 | 10 | 102 | 54 | 4.42 | 1.35 |
| 57 | John Smoltz | 78 | 3 | 73 | 18 | 6.35 | 1.45 |
| 58 | Joba Chamberlain | 157.1 | 9 | 133 | 76 | 4.75 | 1.54 |
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