Fantasy Focus: SP's I Like

In order to do justice to the SP position in a straight ranking, I would need to rank at least 100 pitchers.  That is not really practical and would probably bore all of you to death.  Instead, I'm going to discuss several SP's I really like and will be targeting in my own fantasy draft.

Aces:

Justin Verlander, Tigers:         17 Wins, 2.64 ERA, 239 K, 1.06 WHIP.
Stephen Strasburg, Nationals:  15 Wins, 3.16 ERA, 197 K's, 1.15 WHIP.
David Price, Rays:                  20 Wins, 2.56 ERA, 205 K's, 1.10 WHIP.

I would not be afraid to pay top dollar for any of these 3.  Price is the value pick as he is going half a round later in snake drafts and for $5-10 cheaper in auction drafts.  I'm staying away from Kershaw due to his hip issue late last year.

#2's

Matt Cain, Giants:             16 Wins, 2.79 ERA, 193 K's, 1.04 WHIP.
Zack Greinke, Dodgers:     15 Wins, 3.48 ERA, 200 K's, 1.20 WHIP
CC Sabathia, Yankees:       15 Wins, 3.38 ERA, 197 K's, 1.14 WHIP
Yu Darvish , Rangers:        16 Wins, 3.90 ERA, 221 K's, 1.28 WHIP
Johnny Cueto, Reds:           19 Wins, 2.78 ERA, 170 K's, 1.17 WHIP
Mat Latos, Reds:                14 Wins, 3.48 ERA, 185 K's, 1.16 WHIP.
Felix Hernandez, Mariners: 13 Wins, 3.06 ERA, 223 K'S, 1.14 WHIP.
Cole Hamels, Phillies:        17 Wins, 3.05 ERA, 216 K's, 1.12 WHIP

Cainer is finally getting some run support and he certainly put up ace numbers last year.  I am concerned that he is building up tremendous mileage on his arm and he was visibly fatigued down the stretch an into the postseason.  Darvish has tremendous upside and seemed to turn a corner down the stretch last year, but needs to prove he can keep his walks down over a full season.  I worry about whatever is going on with Hernandez' elbow and I question Hamels' longterm durability.  Sabathia and Cueto may be the two value picks here.  I am avoiding Wainwright, Halladay, Sale and Dickey for various reasons.

Breakout Specials:

Matt Moore, Rays:       11 Wins, 3.81 ERA, 175 K's, 1.35 WHIP
Matt Harvey, Mets:      3 Wins, 2.73 ERA, 70 K's, 1.15 WHIP.(59.1 IP).
Brett Anderson, A's:     4 Wins, 2.57 ERA, 25 K's, 1.03 WHIP(35 IP).
Homer Bailey, Reds:    13 Wins, 3.68 ERA, 168 K's, 1.24 WHIP.

These are the guys I think are going to have huge breakouts in 2013.  I intend to get at least 2 of them for my fantasy team.  Moore has a little post-hype sleeperishness to him.  Harvey looks like beast.  Anderson should be fully recovered from TJ surgery.  Bailey was a beast down the stretch last year and is a classic post-post-hype sleeper.

WHIPping Boys:

Madison Bumgarner, Giants:       16 W, 3.37 ERA, 191 K, 1.11 WHIP
Jordan Zimmermann, Nationals:  12 W, 2.94 ERA, 153 K, 1.17 WHIP
Doug Fister, Tigers:                   10 W, 3.45 ERA, 137 K, 1.19 WHIP
Hiroki Kuroda, Yankees:            16 W, 3.32 ERA, 167 K, 1.17 WHIP
Mike Minor, Braves:                  11 W, 4.12 ERA, 145 K, 1.15 WHIP
Jonathan Niese, Mets:                 13 W, 3.40 ERA, 155 K, 1.17 WHIP
Mark Buehrle, Blue Jays:            13 W, 3.74 ERA, 125 K, 1.17 WHIP

WHIP often gets ignored as a category by fantasy managers, so it presents an opportunity for undervalued commodities.  If you are in a H2H league and can use your bench as a rolling extension of your SP rotation, it can pay off big time to load up on modestly priced pitchers with a low WHIP and plan on winning your K's and W's just by shear volume.  All of the above pitchers should be reasonably priced in your draft.  WHIP's under 1.20 are a big plus!

SP's With RP Eligibility:

Lance Lynn, Cardinals:       18 W, 3.78 ERA, 180 K's, 1.32 WHIP
Marco Estrada, Brewers:      5 W, 3.64 ERA, 143 K, 1.14 WHIP.
Alexi Ogando, Rangers:       2 W, 3.27 ERA, 66 K, 1.00 WHIP.
Wade Davis, Royals:            3 W, 2.43 ERA, 87 K, 1.09 WHIP
Shelby Miller?, Cardinals:    1 W, 1.32 ERA, 16 K, 0.95 WHIP
Hisashi Iwakuma, Mariners:  9 W, 3.16 ERA, 101 K, 1.28 WHIP
Erasmo Ramirez, Mariners:   1 W, 3.36 ERA, 48 K, 1.00 WHIP.

If you are thinking of punting Saves, then you will want to use your RP slots to boost your W and K totals and surest way to do that is to have a SP in those slots.  These are some guys you will want to have on your list should you decide to go that direction come draft day.  Some of these situations bear watching in spring training, but all are pretty good bets to make their respective team's rotation.