I have already drafted my ‘Fantasy’ fantasy batters, so I will move on to the pitchers. This is a little bit harder because I don’t want to just pick the obvious; that is too boring and the top projected pitchers will not all pan out as predicted. I am going to pick based on my league’s seven stat categories which include: W, ERA, WHIP, CG, SO, SV, and K/9. Having wins, complete games, and shut outs definitely effects fantasy picks because I don’t want pitchers who are going to be limited in their innings, and I don’t want too many pitchers on the weaker squads.
So, here is my starting five in no particular order:
Justin Verlander: Verlander has definitely proved that he is durable, pitching well over 200 innings in each of his past five seasons. Coming into the year fully healthy, he has had a solid spring and The Tigers have it in them to make a good playoff run this year. Verlander is no stranger to the complete game either. The one thing that worries me however, is the question mark at the closer position for the Tigers. Although if Verlander is pitching complete games, who cares in my fantasy world!
David Price: The reigning AL Cy Young winner is 27, in his prime, and the face of the Tampa Bay Rays. With James Shields gone, Price is going to be the man in Tampa. He had 20 wins last year and a 2.56 ERA and I only see that improving. He is fully healthy to start the year. Price is also pretty hilarious and was very involved in MLB Fancave events last year. One of my favorite skits from last year was when Price and Shields were pranked by teammate Rodriguez. They were put in front of a green screen and were told they were filming a commercial. It was all bogus and they did a bunch of hilarious things. Price is also very active and entertaining on twitter.
Cole Hamels: Hamels is going to be the Phillies ace this year. He had 17 wins last year; I will take the over on that this year. He is durable and healthy; if he can take his games into 7 or 8 innings, I feel confident that Paps can close him out. I feel like Hamels will be in 2008 World Series form all season long. I also have to give him bonus points for being one of the only pitchers to just admit that he was intentionally throwing at a batter to make a point. And I LOVE that it was Bryce Harper. Harper needs some humbling. He will thank Hamels for that one day… Probably not one day soon, but one day!
Gio Gonzalez: Even though he will be opposing Hamels and The Phillies, I do like Gonzalez and give him a lot of credit. He was a reliable strength to my fantasy squad last year with 21 wins and a 2.89 ERA. As much as I hate to say this, the Nationals have a strong pitching squad with a quality bullpen from middle relief to closer, so I feel like Gonzalez has a very strong year ahead of him. He also gets bonus points in fantasy because of how many times he will face the Mets. Guaranteed wins and Ks/9… Oops, did I say that out loud? Sorry Mets fans!!
RA Dickey: Mr. Dickey is someone who I want to do well every time he steps on the mound. I have so much respect for the enthusiasm he has for the game and for the dedication he has put into his major league career. He is one of my favorite players in the Bigs and you can tell he is honored to be in each and every game he plays. I don’t think that he will be able to top the year he had last year, but he has a good squad behind him in Toronto. So, I think he will thrive off of that and put up some good numbers this year. I have trouble when he faces the Phillies because I always want him to do well. I am glad that he is in the AL now and I won’t have to deal with that dilemma too often.
When it comes to relievers that’s where fantasy gets tricky for me. I am not good at drafting middle relievers because they seem to fall between the cracks in a draft. They are however a good way to boost Ks/9 and occasionally get wins and saves. Relief pitchers and closers are also not something I put too much stock into because you can usually hawk the waiver for saves. Two years ago, I accidently drafted Neftali Feliz and was initially so annoyed because I had never heard of him. Well well, didn’t that one turn out in my favor? That is just an example of how it works with relief fantasy pitchers. So, here are my top four:
Jonathan Papelbon: I know that it has been a rough spring for Paps, but he has what it takes to get the job done. With the Phillies pitching staff being a bit older, Paps is going to get the ball in the majority of games that the Phillies are winning come 8th or 9th inning. I also love how intense he is on the mound and how hilarious he is off the mound. He has definitely brought me some good laughs in Boston and in Philly. Along with Hamels, the Phillies are going to be relying on Paps this year. I will take his tendency to walk batters for his tendency to close games!
Jim Johnson: Johnson killed it last year and I think that the Orioles are going to be better than people expect. With the AL East being pretty weak this year, I see the Orioles making a strong playoff run. 51 saves last year and a clean bill of health… sign me up!
Vinnie Pestano: With Chris Perez having an injured shoulder, Pestano should get the early opportunity to close out games. With him recently announcing to his Twitter family that he is in ‘the best shape I have been in a long time’, I feel like he is coming into the season with confidence. I know he only got 2 saves last year, but he had a 2.57 ERA through 70 innings pitched. I feel like he is just waiting for his moment, and it feels like his moment is coming. This is one of my non-traditional draft picks that I feel like I need every year to round out my squad. He is going to be my break through reliever.
Drew Storen: Ok, as much as it pains me, I feel like with the strength of the Nats pitching rotation, I have to go with one of their relievers on my dream team. It was between Clippard and Storen here and now that neither of them will be closing games regularly with the addition of Soriano, Storen is my choice to lock in better stats. I feel like he is a young pitcher on the brink of a breakout. And should Soriano get hurt, Storen will have an even bigger role.
So there is my Fantasy dream team. Similar to how my fantasy teams tend to look at the beginning of each season, my bullpen is the most random part of the team, and where I made wildcard choices. I am okay with that in fantasy however because there is always more than a few relievers on the waivers that turn out to be monster pick-ups as the season progresses. When I hear of an injured closer, I get to the waiver wire immediately and pick up his replacement…
I had a really good time putting together a no rules fantasy team and encourage you to do the same. It was a fun way to prepare for my upcoming fantasy draft and opens up exciting discussions. Please let me know if you have any thoughts after analyzing my fantasy dream team. T minus 23 days until we start setting our fantasy rosters! As exciting as that is, please always remember that reality trumps fantasy. For example, don’t ever hope for your favorite team’s starting pitcher to get shelled because you are playing against him in fantasy. That’s just not cool!!
-CL
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