MLB season is upon us and Fantasy Baseball is back and better than ever! Over the next few weeks we are planning on getting you ready for any of the upcoming Fantasy drafts that you have. This week we are sending out our initial 2014 rankings that will be updated as Spring Training progresses. The week after we are going to answer 5 questions about each position as well as giving you some insight into some players that we like as well. Matt Bell is joining me today as we rank Starting Pitchers as well as take a look at one guy we like higher than his ADP and one we have lower than his ADP.
2014 Fantasy Baseball Starting Picther Rankings (as of 2/24/14)
*Cole Hamels dropped in the rankings due to reports he will not pitch in the 1st month of the season
| Rank | Ricky Valero | Matt Bell |
| 1 | Clayton Kershaw | Clayton Kershaw |
| 2 | Adam Wainwright | Yu Darvis |
| 3 | Yu Darvish | Stephen Strasburg |
| 4 | Cliff Lee | Adam Wainwright |
| 5 | Felix Hernandez | Chris Sale |
| 6 | Madison Bumgarner | Felix Hernandez |
| 7 | Max Scherzer | Jose Fernandez |
| 8 | Zack Greinke | David Price |
| 9 | David Price | Max Scherzer |
| 10 | Chris Sale | Justin Verlander |
| 11 | Jose Fernandez | Cliff Lee |
| 12 | Stephen Strasburg | Madison Bumgarner |
| 13 | Anibal Sánchez | Zack Greinke |
| 14 | Gio Gonzalez | Anibal Sánchez |
| 15 | Justin Verlander | Gio Gonzalez |
| 16 | James Shields | James Shields |
| 17 | Mat Latos | Hisashi Iwakuma |
| 18 | Cole Hamels | Gerrit Cole |
| 19 | Mike Minor | Shelby Miller |
| 20 | Hisashi Iwakuma | Mat Latos |
| 21 | Gerrit Cole | Cole Hamels |
| 22 | Jered Weaver | Mike Minor |
| 23 | Shelby Miller | Jered Weaver |
| 24 | Homer Bailey | Homer Bailey |
| 25 | Jordan Zimmerman | Jordan Zimmerman |
| 26 | Matt Moore | Matt Moore |
| 27 | Matt Cain | Matt Cain |
| 28 | Masahiro Tanaka | Hyun-Jin Ryu |
| 29 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | Masahiro Tanka |
| 30 | Alex Cobb | Alex Cobb |
| 31 | Doug Fister | Julio Teheran |
| 32 | Julio Teheran | Doug Fister |
| 33 | RA Dickey | Hiroki Kuroda |
| 34 | Hiroki Kuroda | RA Dickey |
| 35 | Kris Medlen | Patrick Corbin |
| 36 | CC Sabathia | Michael Wacha |
| 37 | Johnny Cueto | Kris Medlen |
| 38 | Patrick Corbin | Johnny Cueto |
| 39 | CJ Wilson | CC Sabathia |
| 40 | Francisco Liriano | CJ Wilson |
| 41 | Zack Wheeler | Franciso Liriano |
| 42 | Michael Wacha | Zack Wheeler |
| 43 | Jon Lester | Sonny Gray |
| 44 | Sonny Gray | Andrew Cashner |
| 45 | Andrew Cashner | Jon Lester |
| 46 | Jeff Samardzija | Matt Garza |
| 47 | Matt Garza | Jeff Samadzija |
| 48 | Clay Buchholz | Clay Bucholz |
| 49 | Jarod Parker | Jarod Parker |
| 50 | Lance Lynn | Tony Ciniragi |
| 51 | Justin Masterson | Justin Masterson |
| 52 | Jake Peavy | Lance Lynn |
| 53 | Dan Straley | Dan Straley |
| 54 | AJ Burnett | Jake Peavy |
| 55 | Chris Archer | Chris Archer |
| 56 | John Lackey | John Lackey |
| 57 | Chris Tillman | Bartolo Colon |
| 58 | Tony Ciniragi | Aj Burnett |
| 59 | Bartolo Colon | Chris Tillman |
| 60 | Dan Haren | Dan Haren |
Why I ranked (blank) higher than his Current ADP (ADP average comes from the rankings at Fantasypros.com)
Ricky – Zack Greinke – Current ADP 13th – I have him 8th – Post All-Star he was 7-2 with a 1.85 ERA and .98 WHIP. He will pick up where he left off in 2013. I really like him ahead of guys like Strasburg, Fernandez and even Scherzer all of whom are being drafted ahead of him.
Matt Bell – Chris Sale comes in a bit higher in my rankings at number 5 while carrying an ADP of 10th. He’s going to be one of the first pitchers I’ll target this year based on where I can grab him in drafts. He can rack up the strike outs and keeps the ERA low enough to dominate the starting pitching categories. The problem last year was his lack of offense from the White Sox and if he can get some run support a 15 to 20 win season is not out of the question for Sale.
Why I ranked (blank) lower than his current ADP.
Ricky – Stephen Strasburg – Current ADP 6 – I have him ranked 12th – It’s crazy how his split at home and are so different. He was 5-4 with a 1.73 ERA at home and 3-5 with a 4.50 ERA on the road. He ranks in the same boat as Harper this season. Both have all the potential in the world but I am not riding the boom or bust wagon for either of them this year.
Matt Bell – Cole Hamels is the biggest dropper from my rankings at 21 with an ADP of 14th. The drop in my rankings isn’t all about the fact of Hamels declining, but it’s more about the fact that he’s just not dominant with the Phillies offense to justify a higher pitcher ranking for me. Hamels has to do better than his 3.6 ERA he carried last year to be a worthy fantasy pitcher this year.
In case you missed these, here are my Catcher Rankings (http://wp.me/p2MUTr-BY), 1st baseman (http://wp.me/p2MUTr-BZ), 2nd baseman rankings (http://wp.me/p2MUTr-C2), 3rd Baseman Rankings (http://wp.me/p2MUTr-C7), Shortstop rankings(http://wp.me/p2MUTr-Cb) and Outfield rankings (http://wp.me/p2MUTr-Ch).
If you have any questions about the upcoming Fantasy Baseball season make sure to hope on over to twitter and ask. You can follow me @rickygangster and I will answer any and all questions.
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