The must haves
Tim Lincecum 1310 – Lincecum is our top ranked pitcher and a no-brainer in this contest. At his price he’s probably a must play almost every week.
Yovani Gallardo 670 – Gallardo is a top 15 pitcher at a very low salary. When he came back from injury at the end of last season he was phenomenal, although in only 24 IP. In his rookie campaign he struck out 101 batters in 110 IP to go along with 9 wins, a 3.68 ERA, and 1.27 WHIP. If Gallardo posts those numbers over an entire season, he is more than worth his salary
Francisco Liriano 830 – This one is another slam dunk. Liriano may not throw a ton of innings, preventing him from being a top 5 pitcher, but he excels in quality – low WHIP, low ERA, and a high K rate. Like Gallardo, Liriano was impressive in his return from injury last season, showing he can be the pitcher he was back in 2006 when he threw 121 innings, compiling 144 strikeouts while posting an impressive 1.00 WHIP and 2.16 ERA.
Solid plays
Felix Hernandez 960 – Hernandez is your classic high risk, high reward guy. He has too much potential though to leave off of your squad, and he should improve his win total as his 9 wins last season was 5 less than his deserved win total.
Chad Billingsley 980 – Billingsley might see a slight jump in his ERA this season, but despite some control problems (walked 80 batters last season) he is a stud. Billingsley struck out a batter an inning for 200 IP last season. We should expect to see more of the same this year. His WHIP might be a bit high, but you can counteract that by taking a WHIP specialist (James Shields?).
Possible dark horse
Javier Vazquez 1040 – I’m contemplating starting my squad with Vazquez. From one perspective it seems like a poor choice with all the alternative options at his salary or just below it that appear to have more upside. However, Vazquez has consistently had a high K rate. He struck out 413 batters over the past two seasons. Also, he has been durable posting 4 straight seasons of 200+ IP. Last season, Vazquez was unlucky with a high BABIP and low LOB%. Those should naturally rebound, especially with Vazquez switching to the NL. Vazquez has never been a lucky pitcher, with his expected ERA being consistently lower than his actual ERA. If Vazquez gets a little lucky this year combined with his normally high K rate and switch to the NL, he could have a monster season.
Rounding out the roster
Round out the rest of your starting pitching staff with mid-level priced pitchers with high K rates like Edinson Volquez, Scott Kazmir, and Zack Greinke (who I particularly like and has great breakout potential). They may have higher WHIPs and are a bit risky so definitely take Jake Peavy and possibly another low WHIP guy who is very consistent (Roy Halladay would be perfect if you have the room).
