2010 Top 25 Starting Pitcher Rankings

January 25th, 2010 by Ryan Lester Leave a reply »

Here’s an early look at Starting Pitcher Rankings.

 

1.  Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
 The most dominant pitcher in baseball.

 

2.  Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals
 He’s basically 1-A. Imagine what he and Lincecum would do with more run support.

 

3.  C.C. Sabathia, New York Yankees
 Proved his worth in New York, and should challenge for most wins in 2010.

 

4.  Johan Santana, New York Mets
 He usually starts off a little slowly, but nobody pitches like he does down the stretch.

 

5.  Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
 Hopefully, his new contract won’t go to his head.

 

6.  Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies
 His wish to play for a contender was granted. His win total should increase. Not having to face designated hitters will likely offset any bump from pitching at Citizens Bank Park.

 

7.  Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks
 His WHIP has been 1.130 and 1.003 in his two years in Arizona. Simply amazing.

 

8.  Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
Verlander bounced back in 2009 and established himself as one of the game’s best pitchers.

 

9.  Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox
 Lester replaced Josh Beckett as the ace of the staff.

 

10.  Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
 I don’t think he can live up to the standard he set last year, but he should still be a Top 10 pitcher.

 

11.  Cliff Lee, Seattle Mariners
 When’s the last time the M’s had two arms like they have in King Felix and Lee? He should remain a top-tier fantasy pitcher despite the move.

 

12.  Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox
 Beckett struggled at times last year, but he should challenge for 20 wins in 2010.

 

13.  Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
 With Matt Holliday back, the win total is fairly safe. He also sported a low ERA and a healthy K total.

 

14.  Yovani Gallardo, Milwaukee Brewers
 Gallardo had a nice year, and seems locked and loaded to be even better in 2010. He oozes talent.

 

15.  Jake Peavy, Chicago White Sox
 He should be healthier in 2010 and resume his dominance over hitters. He pitched well in his brief debut with the Sox last year.

 

16.  Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies
 Playing in Coors Field is OK by Jimenez. He’s one of the best young pitchers in the game.

 

17.  Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
 He must have channeled Matt Cain to pitch as well as he did (2.79 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 185 Ks) and only win eight games. Look for that number to take off in 2010.

 

18.  Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants
 Speaking of Matt Cain, he pitched amazingly last season. He did only manage 14 wins, which is to be expected. Expect another stellar year from him.

 

19.  Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies
 Everything that could go wrong did for Coles last year. He’s had plenty of time to clear his mind and should return as a high-end starter in 2010.

 

20.  Javier Vazquez, New York Yankees
 Vazquez returns to the Bronx a much different pitcher than he was in his first stint. He’s going to strike out a ton and pick up a bunch of wins for the defending champs.

 

21.  Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins
 He’s fully recovered from his Tommy John surgery and has emerged as one of the best pitchers in baseball.

 

22.  Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves
 Pitched remarkably well for the Braves last year and should only continue to improve.

 

23.  James Shields, Tampa Bay Rays
 Big Game James should continue to come up big for the Rays and his fantasy owners.

 

24.  John Lackey, Boston Red Sox
 Lackey should continue to do what he does best: win a bunch of games while posting a low ERA and WHIP. Strikeouts are where he’s lacking.

 

25.  Chad Billingsley, Los Angeles Dodgers
 Billingsley took a step back last year, but should bounce back closer to his career 3.55 ERA with around 15 wins and 200 strikeouts.

 

Also check out:
2010 Top 15 First Basemen
2010 Top 15 Second Basemen
2010 Top 15 Third Basemen
2010 Top 15 Shortstops
2010 Top 15 Catchers
2010 Top 25 Outfielders
2010 Top 11 Designated Hitters


Originally published at LestersLegends.com .

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