2012 Fantasy Baseball: MLB Starting Pitcher (SP) Rankings

2012 Rankings: C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP | Cheatsheet

After a career best 2.35 ERA last season, Roy Halladay remains an elite SP option, worth taking in the first few rounds on draft day. (photo by SD Dirk)

2012 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings Outlook:
Lets start off with saying it is rare if not impossible for someone to repeat what Justin Verlander did a season ago. Which is part of the reason why he is not our number one pitcher. You should never draft simply based on what people did the past season because no two years are ever the same. We got the young gun Clayton Kershaw as the number one guy – he has all the tools and should be a Cy Young candidate again. Rounding out tier one is Verlander and Mr. Reliable Roy Halladay. This year if you don’t land a top ace you should not panic too much, there is a ton of talent in the middle to late tiers that you can target.

Like no other position, league settings plays a huge factor when deciding on what pitchers to take. Typically we like to look for players that have a low walk ratio and just about a strikeout per inning but, if your league puts more focus on wins then of course grabbing pitchers on great offenses is more important.

In our rankings you will find studs, sleepers, and upside guys but two I would like to touch on is Strasburg and Darvish. Both of these guys are risky but both have the upside to be an elite pitcher. Strasburg bursted onto the scene a few years back with great stuff but tommy john surgery basically had him miss all of last year. Darvish is coming over from Japan and is being touted as the real deal, his numbers were fantastic in Japan and his array of pitches makes some top baseball minds think he will be dominate in the big leagues as well.

Draft-Day Advice: It’s all about league settings here, make sure you know what to look for in terms of starting pitching and draft accordingly.

The following are our 2012 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 2012. All leagues have different position eligibility requirements so be sure to check your settings before draft day.

Rank	Tier	Player	Tm	IP	W	K	BB	ERA	WHIP
1	1	Clayton Kershaw	LA	233.1	21	248	54	2.28	0.98
2	1	Justin Verlander	DET	251	24	250	57	2.40	0.92
3	1	Roy Halladay	PHI	233.2	19	220	35	2.35	1.04
4	2	Felix Hernandez	SEA	233.2	14	222	67	3.47	1.22
5	2	Cliff Lee	PHI	232.2	17	238	42	2.40	1.03
6	2	Tim Lincecum	SF	217	13	220	86	2.74	1.21
7	2	Jered Weaver	ANA	235.2	18	198	56	2.41	1.01
8	2	CC Sabathia	NYY	237.1	19	230	61	3.00	1.23
9	3	Cole Hamels	PHI	216	14	194	44	2.79	0.99
10	3	David Price	TB	224.1	12	218	63	3.49	1.14
11	3	Yovani Gallardo	MLW	207.1	17	207	59	3.52	1.22
12	3	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	24	1	24	2	1.50	0.71
13	4	Dan Haren	ANA	238.1	16	192	33	3.17	1.02
14	4	Jon Lester	BOS	191.2	15	182	75	3.47	1.26
15	4	Yu Darvish	TEX	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	4	Madison Bumgarner	SF	204.2	13	191	46	3.21	1.21
17	4	Zack Greinke	MLW	171.2	16	201	45	3.83	1.20
18	5	Michael Pineda	NYY	171	9	173	55	3.74	1.10
19	5	Tommy Hanson	ATL	130	11	142	46	3.6	1.17
20	5	James Shields	TB	249.1	16	225	65	2.82	1.04
21	5	Matt Moore	TB	9.1	1	15	3	2.89	1.29
22	5	Matt Cain	SF	221.2	12	179	63	2.88	1.08
23	5	Adam Wainwright	STL	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	5	Neftali Feliz	TEX	62.1	2	54	30	2.74	1.16
25	6	Ian Kennedy	ARZ	222	21	198	55	2.88	1.09
26	6	Brandon Beachy	ATL	141.2	7	169	46	3.68	1.21
27	6	Matt Garza	CHC	198	10	197	63	3.32	1.26
28	6	Josh Johnson	FLA	60.1	3	56	20	1.64	0.98
29	7	Jeremy Hellickson	TB	189	13	117	72	2.95	1.15
30	7	Ricky Romero	TOR	225	15	178	80	2.92	1.14
31	7	Daniel Hudson	ARZ	222	16	169	50	3.49	1.20
32	7	Daniel Bard	BOS	73	2	74	24	3.33	0.96
33	7	Jordan Zimmermann	WAS	161.1	8	124	31	3.18	1.15
34	8	Cory Luebke	SD	139.2	6	154	44	3.29	1.07
35	8	C.J. Wilson	ANA	223.1	16	206	74	2.94	1.19
36	8	Mat Latos	CIN	194.1	9	185	62	3.47	1.18
37	8	Josh Beckett	BOS	193	13	175	52	2.89	1.03
38	8	Johnny Cueto	CIN	156	9	104	47	2.31	1.09
39	8	Anibal Sanchez	FLA	196.1	8	202	64	3.67	1.28
40	8	Chris Carpenter	STL	237.1	11	191	55	3.45	1.26
41	9	Hiroki Kuroda	NYY	202	13	161	49	3.07	1.21
42	9	Max Scherzer	DET	195	15	174	56	4.43	1.35
43	9	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	202	16	197	91	3.12	1.32
44	9	Ubaldo Jimenez	CLE	188.1	10	180	78	4.68	1.40
45	9	Clay Buchholz	BOS	82.2	6	60	31	3.48	1.29
46	9	Aroldis Chapman	CIN	50	4	71	41	3.60	1.3
47	9	Ervin Santana	ANA	228.2	11	178	72	3.38	1.22
48	10	Jaime Garcia	STL	194.2	13	156	50	3.56	1.32
49	10	Doug Fister	DET	216.1	11	146	37	2.83	1.06
50	10	Justin Masterson	CLE	216	12	158	65	3.21	1.28
51	10	Tim Hudson	ATL	215	16	158	56	3.22	1.14
52	10	Mike Minor	ATL	82.2	5	77	30	4.14	1.49
53	10	Brad Peacock	OAK	12	2	4	6	0.75	1.08
54	10	Bud Norris	HOU	186	6	176	70	3.77	1.33