Fantasy Baseball Player Rankings & Projections
2010 Starting Pitcher Preseason Preview
Tim Lincecum
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If two consecutive Cy Young
Awards doesn't convince you the Lincecum is the number one
starting pitcher in fantasy baseball maybe his dominating
10.17 K/9 ratio will. |
1. Tim Lincecum - Giants - 2010 Preview:
When drafting your number one fantasy starting pitcher strikeouts
should be on your mind. Wins and ERA are just as important, but
strikeouts are harder to find and generally lead to wins and a low
ERA. If you are drafting Tim Lincecum you should get all of the
above. Strikeuts are definitely on Linceum's prospecters mind. He
is one of the best starting strikeout pitchers in fantasy baseball.
The 25-year-old averaged about 16 wins, a 2.55 ERA and 263 strikeouts
in 226 innings over the last two seasons. That shows signs of consistency
and dominance. If you are drafting Lincecum, you are probably investing
a high draft-pick and consistency and dominance are a must when
drafting a pitcher high in fantasy baseball. In addition, the 2008
and 2009 Cy Young Award winner should get some desperately needed
run support in 2010 with the improving San Francisco offense that
includes new additions Aubrey Huff, Freddy Sánchez and Mark
DeRosa and upcoming star Pablo Sandoval.
2009 Statistics:
15-7 - 2.48 ERA - 261 K's - 225.1 IP
2010 Projection: 20-6
- 2.59 ERA - 251 K's - 222 IP
2. Félix Hernández - Mariners - 2009
Preview:
King Felix broke out in 2009 in a big way finishing with nearly
20 wins and on average team while posting a brilliant 2.49 ERA.
He added 217 strikeouts in 238.2 innings. Hernández will
just be turning 24 in April, yet he already has four-and-a-half
seasons under his belt. So his statistics should stay the same or
only get better for Hernández. What will help Hernández
even more are the improvements the Mariners made on offense by signing
Chone Figgins, Milton Bradley and Casey Kotchman not to mention
the improving Franklin Gutiérrez in the outfield. It will
be hard for Hernández to top last years brilliant Cy-Young-worthy
season, but if he does improve he will probably be the number one
pitcher in fantasy baseball.
2009 Statistics:
19-5 - 2.49 ERA - 217 K's - 238.2 IP
2010 Projection: 20-6
- 2.69 ERA - 208 K's - 229 IP
3. C.C. Sabathia - Yankees - 2010 Preview:
His move to the New York Yankees did exactly what it was supposed
to do, give Sabathia run support and thus more wins. He tied his
career-high of 19 wins in 2009, and that was after a very slow start
that had him at 8 wins and 6 losses at the All-Star break. Sabathia
finally got comfortable pitching in a New York uniform and dominated
the rest of the season going 11-2 with a 2.74 ERA and a 9.0 K/9-ratio,
not to mention his 3-1, 1.98 ERA playoff performance. You are not
gong to get the same strikeout numbers that you will see with some
of the other top fantasy pitchers, but his lifetime 7.57 K/9-ratio
is good enough, especially when pitching for the Yankees.
2009 Statistics:
19-8 - 3.37 ERA - 197 K's - 230 IP
2010 Projection: 21-7
- 3.24 ERA - 201 K's - 237 IP
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4. Jake Peavy - White Sox - 2010 Preview:
In between injuries and having little run support from the lowly
San Diego Padre offense, we have never really seen Peavy's full-potential.
With that said he has gone 19-6 with a 2.45 ERA in 2007 and 15-6
with a 2.27 ERA in 2004 with the Padres. In addition, his lifetime
K/9-ratio is just about 9.0 on the dot, and that is among the best
for any fantasy starting pitcher. Now you have Peavy moving to the
American League which could mean a raise in ERA, but in his short
time with the White Sox in 2009 he went 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA including
finishing with 15 consecutive scoreless innings. That is a pretty
good start and there is no reason to believe that with a very good
White Sox offense behind him that Peavy cannot pick up where he
left off in 2009 and have a Cy-Young-type 2010 season.
2009 Statistics:
9-6 - 3.45 ERA - 110 K's - 111.2 IP
2010 Projection: 19-7
- 3.19 ERA - 201 K's - 209 IP
5. Johan Santana - Mets - 2010 Preview:
He and basically the entire New York Met team would like to put
the 2009 season far behind them. It is not that Santana was horrible,
he went 13-9 with a 3.13 ERA, it is just the fact that he was not
what fantasy owners expected or paid for with a high draft-pick.
Much of Santana's mediocrity had to do with injury. He did have
surgery to have bone chips removed from his left elbow in September
and is expected to be fully recovered for the start of spring training.
A healthy Santana and a resurgent Met offense can have Santana fighting
to be the number one pitcher in fantasy baseball in 2010.
2009 Statistics:
13-9 - 3.13 ERA - 146 K's - 166.2 IP
2010 Projection: 18-7
- 2.86 ERA - 208 K's - 220 IP
6. Roy Halladay - Phillies - 2010 Preview:
The veteran just seems to get better and better and keeps putting
up excellent fantasy numbers. He has had some injury issues over
the years, but overall when you draft Halladay you are getting a
sure-thing Fantasy-All-Star starting pitcher. The two-time twenty-game-winner
posted another 17 wins in 2009 pitching for a sub par Toronto Blue
Jay team and has averaged over 17 wins for the last four seasons.
In 2010 he will move to the National League and pitch for the National
League Champion Philadelphia Phillies. The move should keep his
wins high and his losses low and it will put Halladay in serious
contention for the National League Cy Young Award not to mention
keep him among the best pitchers in fantasy baseball. If you get
points for complete games in your league you should move him up
a bit in the rankings. Halladay posted an incredible nine in 2009
and has averaged about seven over the last five seasons.
2009 Statistics:
17-10 - 2.79 ERA - 208 K's - 239 IP
2010 Projection:
18-7 - 2.87 ERA - 205 K's - 232 IP
