National League Pitchers

Worth the Money

Tim Lincecum – San Francisco Giants – This is a pretty obvious selection but needs to be said.  I would spend whatever it takes to get Lincecum on my team.  He has a funky delivery that not only fools batters but also is suppose to be healthy for his arm. He hasn’t had any arm issues in his career which is a great thing for fantasy owners.  Keeping him off the DL is a plus but his stat line in his first few seasons is what makes him worth the crazy amount of money.  In his last two seasons he has pitched in over 225 innings, fanning over 260 batters, and winning over 15 games. If Lincecum is available in fantasy leagues you better throw everything in including the kitchen sink if that is what it takes.

Jair Jurrjens – Atlanta Braves – Jurrjens has silently been a pitching stud who continues to produce for Atlanta.  In the last two years with Atlanta he has produced 27 wins and a 3.14 ERA.  Outside of Atlanta he is a unknown star but this year he should break out even more and should be a well known name throughout fantasy baseball leagues.  Last year he finished with his lowest ERA at 2.60 and 152 strikeouts.  He only finished with 14 wins but I expect him to be close to 20 wins in 2010.

Josh Johnson – Florida Marlins – Fantasy owners may be a little scared to spend their money on Josh Johnson due to his inconsistency in the past 4 years.  He has had a few arm injuries in his career which is defiantly a concern but when healthy he is no doubt one of the most dominant pitcher in the major leagues.  Last year he logged his most innings with 209 a 3.23 ERA and 15 wins.  I expect similar if not better numbers this fantasy season.

Yovani Gallardo – Milwaukee Brewers – The ace of the Milwaukee staff had a very good 2009 season but only had a 13-12 record.  He is only 23 years old so he will get better with more experience.  He is a strikeout master who should continue to rack up the wins throughout his long career.

Dan Haren – Arizona Diamondbacks – The two years that he has spent with Arizona have been very successful so if Dan Haren is on the market you should be opening your bank account for him.  In both years he has started 33 games and has pitched in over 200 innings.  This tells fantasy owners that he is durable and reliable.  Along with the consistancy he has averaged 14 wins every year as well as an ERA just above 3.

Tommy Hanson – Atlanta Braves – Hanson has been a big time prospect for the past few years and last year he showed why.  He finished with a record of 11-4 and 2.89 ERA in 21 games.  He has only been in the big leagues for one year but from what I saw last year  he should be a big time pitcher in the National League for many years to come.  Fantasy owners may be wary to spend a lot of money on him but that will be their loss when he nears 20 wins in 2010 along with his teammate Jair Jurrjens.

Not Worth the Money

Chris Carpenter – St. Louis Cardinals – After coming off a Cy Young type of year, many people may be asking why is he not worth the money.  I agree that when healthy he is a top tier pitching in the whole MLB but before last year he hasn’t been healthy.  Before last year he had only pitched in 21 innings between 2007-2008.  He did pitch in over 200 innings last year but I am not taking my chances on Carpenter and his history.  I’ll spend my money elsewhere.

Ubaldo Jimenez – Colorado Rockies – He had a very good 2009 season so you may think why he is not worth the money.  Last year he finished with 15 wins and a 3.47 ERA.  One of the biggest reasons for me being wary of a Colorado Rockie pitcher is the home stadium that they play in half the year.  Colorado is a hitting park which everyone knows and although he has produced very well throughout his short career there, I’m not spending a lot of money on him.

Cole Hamels – Philadelphia Phillies – After coming off a phenomenal year in 2008, Hamels was a big disappointment to fantasy owners in 2009.  Last year he was 10-11 and had a 4.32 ERA.  He was also very bad in the postseason not able to get deep into the game which is a big reason that the Phillies lost the World Series last year.  In 2010, I am not expecting anything to change from last year to this year.

Carlos Zambrano – Chicago Cubs – Last year was one of his worst seasons in the big leagues and it wasn’t even that bad.  He ended up with 9 wins and a 3.77 ERA.  Before last season he had pitched in over 30 games since 2003.  Last year he started to have some arm trouble which really scares me going into this fantasy season.  I am not putting my money towards Zambrano but some fantasy owners may.

Under the Radar Keepers

Ricky Nolasco – Florida Marlins – Many fantasy owners were high on him last year due to his great year in 2008.  I was very excited last year when I drafted him but he had a down year.  One positive was that he started in over 30 games in 2009 and 32 in 2008.  Despite having a 5.06 ERA he still finished with 13 wins which could be something to look at going into this fantasy season.

Jonathan Sanchez – San Francisco Giants – Going with Sanchez as a sleeper is bit of a stretch but that is the definition of a sleeper.  He has a career ERA of 4.81 which doesn’t open fantasy owners eyes the least bit or does his 21-30 career record.  One thing that he does bring to the table is his strikeout total.  Last year he pitched in 163.1 innings and had 177 strikeouts.  Sanchez would be a good addition to a fantasy team that needs strikeouts.  Something that I see that makes him a sleeper in my eyes is that his ERA has dropped in the last three seasons.  The Giants’ left hander is still young and could have a breakout year for any fantasy owner willing to take a chance.

Johnny Cueto – Cincinnati Reds – Cueto has all the stuff to be a great pitcher but hasn’t been able to put it all together.  With Edinson Volquez on the DL for a good part of the year he will have to step up and show what he has.  He hasn’t been able to keep his ERA and WHIP low which hurt his fantasy stock but he is a specialist in the strikeout category.  He also should win more than 10 games each year so it is worth to spend a little money on him.

Zach Duke – Pittsburgh Pirates – He has only had a 4.30 ERA in the last 5 years and a 37-55 record.  He is a long shot sleeper but had his lowest ERA and most amount of wins last season.  That can give some hope to fantasy owners.  He also can eat up a lot of innings.  So towards the end of the auction or draft and you want to fill in a spot with a sleeper Zach Duke could be your guy.

Brett Myers – Houston Astros – Brett Myers was a big disappointment in Philadelphia.  He has a great array of pitches but has struggle with his command.  My thinking with him here is a new city, new attitude, new results.  Moving to Houston may be just the thing he needs to turn his career around.  Look for him to be a quality pitcher for fantasy owners willing to take a chance on him.

Minor Leagues

Aroldis Chapman – Cincinnati Reds – The Reds have recently been making moves to improve their roster and one was signing Aroldis Chapman to 5 year $30 million contract.  Scouts have been saying that he isn’t ready to pitch in the big leagues yet and will start in the minors.  If he does come up this year he could be a good help for your fantasy squad.  If he doesn’t join the big league team this year he will be a great asset to your fantasy team in years to come.

Madison Bumgarner – San Francisco Giants – Bumgarner is a top prospect in the Giants’ organization and he showed it a few times last season.  Last season he pitched in 4 games and started one.  The one game that he started was against the Padres where he lasted 5.1 innings, 2 earned runs, and 4 strikeouts.  Look for him to break out this year.

Jordan Zimmerman – Washington Nationals – Before Stephen Strasburg, Zimmerman was the Nationals top pitching prospect.  Last year he struggled in his starts.  He started in 16 games and 4.63 ERA.  This year with a little experience under his belt look for him to have a nice rebound year.

Stephen Strasburg – Washington Nationals – Everyone should know the name Stephen Strasburg.  100 MPH consistent fastball with major league type stuff.  He will probably be in the minor leagues for most of this year but stash him there for the future.