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//  Saturday, July 31, 2010

Fantasy Baseball Preview: Starting Pitchers Part 1

Monday, March 8, 2010
Posted by John Shields

When it comes to starting pitchers, I am breaking my preview down into three  sections. The first part will be a little bit different from the outfielders and include the Top 5. Part 2 will consist of pitchers 6-15 and part 3 will take pitchers 16-25. A laptop malfunction has caused me to change my routine so I apologize. Once it is up and running, I may switch my ways, but until then what I have written above it what to expect. Once again I do apologize for the sudden change.

1. Tim Lincecum – San Francisco Giants (15-7 2.48 ERA): Lincecum is a former Cy Young award winner and there is no reason to believe that he will continue that trend in the near future. He has led all National League Pitchers in strikeouts and innings pitched total the last two seasons. His WHIP was miniscule coming in at an impressive 1.05. By now he is a household name and is easily the top pitcher available come draft day.

2. Roy Halladay – Philadelphia Phillies (17-10 2.79 ERA): Halladay’s shift to the National League will provide an even boost to his fantasy value. That is not to say he was not a top fantasy option when he was with the Blue Jays, but moving to a lineup as powerful as the one that Philadelphia puts out on a daily basis is cause for fantasy owners to open their wallets and spend big money on Halladay who has a chance to have one of his greatest seasons ever in Philadelphia.

3. Zach Greinke – Kansas City Royals (16-8 2.16 ERA): The 26 year old phenom came out of nowhere to win the AL CY Young Award last season. He lead the majors in ERA, complete games and shutouts. If the Royals provided more run support then he may have won 25 games last season, but the lack of run support on some occasions limited him to just 16 wins. Will he be able to repeat what he accomplished last year? His talent level suggests that he could so he is a sure bet for a high draft pick this year.

4. Felix Hernandez – Seattle Mariners (19-5 2.49 ERA): Hernandez had to have the least known season of any 19 game winner in history last year. Greinke was taking all the headlines, but Hernandez was also having an amazing season for the Mariners. He finished amongst the league leaders in many categories and in the top 3 in CY Young voting in the American League. The most amazing part of Hernandez is that he sits at just 24 years of age with plenty of room to improve as he matures. Draft him very high.

5. Johan Santana – New York Mets (13-9 3.13 ERA): Does this pick surprise you, I admit it may be a shock to some to see Santana listed so highly on this list. However a healthy Santana for a full season equates to one of the best starters in all of baseball. When Santana is injury free, which he is entering this year, he will be amongst the top in pretty much all positive pitching categories excluding saves of course. Draft Santana high as if he is truly healthy right now, it will be a huge benefit for all owners. Expect 15-18 wins and an ERA in the low 3.00s.

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