Why are these 2013 Fantasy Baseball SP Rankings so important to Fantasy owners? Well, starting pitchers affect four separate categories, and usually are responsible for your ranking in each of those categories. With 14 hitters in your lineup, one or two hitters aren’t going to pace the rest of your team in four categories. But starting pitchers (both good and bad) are why you will sink or swim in 4 of 10 categories.
I think it’s also important to understand where we are at with pitching in the early part of the second decade in the 21st century. There’s no doubt that Major League Baseball is stronger from a pitching perspective, but much of that is because we’re realizing that the steroid era is officially behind us. Players might still be using PEDs, but definitely not at the same extreme as in the 2000s.
How do I know pitching is taking over? Well, last year, the league averaged 4.32 runs-per-game, and pitchers had an average ERA of 4.01. One year previous, the numbers were even lower, with 4.28 runs-per-game being scored, and pitchers averaging a 3.94 ERA.
Those two pairs of numbers were the lowest in the majors since – 1992 (4.12 RPG, 3.75 ERA), which was a couple years before the player’s strike, and the steroid boom. (In 2000, the league averaged 5.14 RPG, with a 4.77 ERA.)
But despite pitching being on the incline, we’re not seeing dominant pitchers like we did back in the late ‘90s, when Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez were striking out 300-plus hitters a season.
I wonder if we’ll see times like that again.
For instance, in 2012, there were 31 pitchers that threw at least 200 innings, and just three over 230 innings. But in 1999, we saw 44 pitchers go over 200 innings, and nine went over 230.
But we do still see a lot of quality pitching, despite the lack of relative quantity. In 1999, there were six pitchers that struck out 200 batters. But in 2012, despite having 13 fewer 200-inning pitchers, there were 13 pitchers that struck out 200 or more hitters. (That’s twice as many!)
So while we’re not seeing the Big Units and the Pedros and the Curt Schillings (although, we’ll see what a full season of Stephen Strasburg shows us), we seem to have a deeper class of quality pitchers to choose from. Let’s take a look at that group!
There are a few changes you’ll want to track, like:
Pitchers make up a good chunk of your team, and whether you are in Rotisserie or Head-to-Head leagues, these 2013 Fantasy Baseball SP Rankings could mean the difference between you coming in first, fifth or 12th.
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Lance Lynn is not even guaranteed a spot in the Cards rotation! How can he make the top 30?
He does a little bit of everything right. If you don't think he makes the rotation, don't draft him. I think he makes it and they're just motivating him. Led the team in wins, second-best ERA among starters -- with that said, having him that high is probably too big of a leap of faith. Thanks for reading and commenting, Frank! Good luck this season.
Jaime Garcia @ 49 & 56 - is one of those supposed to be someone else?
There were no duplicate Jaime Garcias ... These aren't the droids you're looking for ... (Thanks for catching that, Duff!)
Thanks for the list. You night want to reconsider Romero on your list. He is on a very short leash and word in Toronto is that a few weak starts and happ will be in his place.