In fantasy baseball, you're looking for high strikeout pitchers who won't walk a ton of batters. With that in mind, here are you top starting pitchers for 2008.
Erik Bedard
Jake Peavy
Johan Santana
Scott Kazmir
Josh Beckett
Cole Hamels
Aaron Harang
C.C. Sabathia
Brandon Webb
John Lackey
1-10. Bedard is usually not ranked ahead of Santana and Peavy in any rankings. But you've got to think ahead in fantasy baseball. This year could be his Cy Young year. If not, it's not like you'll be "wasting" a high pick on him (unless he get injured). Same goes for Kazmir and Hamels. It's not unreasonable to target them as your superstar ace.
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Dan Haren
Carlos Zambrano
Roy Halladay
Fausto Carmona
Tim Lincecum
Chris Young
John Smoltz
Justin Verlander
Roy Oswalt
11-20. Why put Matsuzaka at No. 11 when he didn't live up to the mega-hype last year? Because this is the year he lives up to the hype. Imagine the psychological pressure he was under in Boston. In the end, he came through and helped them win the World Series. What else was he supposed to do? Win 20 games? Maybe this year. Look out for Haren. He's playing on a contender now. Lincecum's not, but he's got the rookie jitters out of his system now. He's locked and loaded.
Kelvim Escobar
Oliver Perez
Chad Billingsley
Felix Hernandez
John Maine
James Shields
Jeff Francis
Tim Hudson
Javier Vazquez
Brad Penny
21-30. Don't expect Perez to be the 22nd starting pitcher drafted. But that's where he should go, if he throws like he means it in 2008. This section has some high value pitchers with a lot of upside—Billingsley, Maine, Shields. If you can nab any three from 21-30 (assuming you have a five pitcher rotation), even without any Top 20 pitchers, your staff is solid.
A.J. Burnett
Rich Hill
Matt Cain
Chien-Ming Wang
Ian Snell
Ben Sheets
Barry Zito
Andy Pettitte
Jeremy Bonderman
Gil Meche
31-40. If the majority of this group falls into the eighth round or below, there will be quite a few bargains to be had. The big question is, which of these guys will stay healthy? Has Bonderman fully recovered from last year's arm troubles? Will Sheets and Burnett last a full season? Also, did Zito change his delivery during the off-season yet again? Ironically, the safest bet amongst this group might be $55 million-dollar man, Gil Meche.
Francisco Liriano
Dustin McGowan
Ted Lilly
Ervin Santana
Chris Capuano
Bronson Arroyo
Derek Lowe
Dontrelle Willis
Joba Chamberlain
Clay Buchholz
41-50. Obviously, if Liriano comes back at full strength or better than before, he needs to go higher than 41. The same goes for Chamberlain, if he secures a spot in the starting rotation and proves during spring training that he has the endurance to outlast the Joba Rules.
Boof Bonser
Jered Weaver
Brett Myers
Orlando Hernandez
Zack Greinke
Wandy Rodriguez
Tom Gorzelanny
Daniel Cabrera
Miguel Batista
Greg Maddux
51-60. Myers says he'd rather be a closer. But he's back in the starting rotation with the signing of Lidge. Does he have the discipline of Smoltz to alternate roles? Probably not. We've been waiting for Cabrera to throw some strikes. Maybe this will be the year. He's worth at least a spot on your bench. The sleeper pick here: Gorzelanny.
Claudio Vargas
Curt Schilling
Phil Hughes
Edwin Jackson
Hiroki Kuroda
Chad Gaudin
Shaun Marcum
Scott Olsen
Kip Wells
Yovani Gallardo
61-70. Hughes started a blog this year and that's got to be worth something. I guess you have to do something during your off days. Look for Kuroda to be an effective pitcher in Dodger Stadium, just not a high-strikeout pitcher.
Adam Wainwright
Doug Davis
Chuck James
Dave Bush
Kevin Millwood
Jon Lester
Jeremy Guthrie
Byung-Hyun Kim
Matt Belisle
Micah Owings
71-80. Guthrie is looking like a popular pick in early mock drafts. Will be difficult to let him slip very far. The same probably goes for Lester, who's a popular player off the field, for good reason. In an odd way, that boosts his fantasy value as well, rightly or wrongly.
Miguel Batista
Nate Robertson
Jamie Moyer
Kyle Lohse
Joe Blanton
Jose Contreras
Jarrod Washburn
Tim Wakefield
Mark Buehrle
Jason Marquis
John Danks
Kyle Kendrick
Jeff Suppan
Noah Lowry
Mark Buehrle
Tim Wakefield
Carlos Silva
Jon Garland
From a fantasy baseball standpoint, you don't want to pin your hopes on a championship on any of these bottom guys, even if some of them turn out to be fantasy stars this year. If you happen to pick one of them and reap the benefits, consider yourself lucky.