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Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings: Early Top 25 for 2014

By Clave Jones

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Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

We’ve shared early rankings of all the hitting positions, so now we move to the pitching side. This is an early look at fantasy baseball’s top 25 starting pitchers for 2014.

If you haven’t done so already, check out our rankings for catcher, first base, second base, third base, shortstop, and the outfield.

  1. Clayton Kershaw – You’d be hard pressed to find any disagreement here. Anyone that has anyone other than Kershaw in this spot is just being a contrarian.
  2. Yu Darvish – Filthy and will reward you with 250+ strikeouts.
  3. Felix Hernandez – He’s been tops for so long that he is almost overlooked.
  4. Jose Fernandez – I’m starting to wonder if there is anything he can’t do. We profile him here.
  5. Adam Wainwright – Don’t overlook the consistent veteran.
  6. Stephen Strasburg – He has the fragile label, but he also has off-the-charts talent.
  7. Justin Verlander – I’m expecting a bounce-back in 2014.
  8. Max Scherzer – I still think he’ll be fantastic, but I’m thinking he’ll fall back to earth a bit.
  9. David Price – He may be pitching for a new team.
  10. Cliff Lee – The last time he walked someone was 1879. Trust me on this.
  11. Chris Sale – He looks like a string bean being whipped around in the wind, but he pitches like an Ace.
  12. Cole Hamels – Hard to believe he has the trusty veteran label now.
  13. Madison Bumgarner – There is still upside left with him. Trust me on this.
  14. Zack Greinke – His second half was monstrous. He also seems like the kind of guy that would play Pathfinder, so I like him.
  15. Anibal Sanchez – He’s found new life with Detroit and infield defense around him goes from embarrassing to meh.
  16. Mike Minor – He takes the next step in 2014. Before you know it he’ll be pitching for the Braves in Cobb County.
  17. Gio Gonzalez – His entire team will bounce back in 2014. The entire town of DC has nowhere to go but up.
  18. Homer Bailey – He’s ready to finally fulfill his promise. (Oops, did’t realize he already did that in 2013!)
  19. Mat Latos – Steadily turning into a front of the rotation guy, but I still don’t like how he spells his name.
  20. Jordan Zimmermann – In Strasburg’s shadow but he holds his own. The third National on this list.
  21. Matt Cain – I think he bounces back in 2014. We’re not done seeing vintage Cain.
  22. Alex Cobb – Trust me on this.
  23. Julio Teheran – Showed flashes of absolute brilliance in 2013. We profile him here.
  24. Gerrit Cole – He’s legit. He’ll be an Ace for the Pirates for years to come.
  25. Kris Medlen – He really warmed up late in 2013. Let’s hope it carries into early 2014.

Just Missed the Cut: 25 guys. Seriously. There are a ton of starting pitchers that will be drafted somewhere as the 20th to 50th pitcher off the board, but could provide easy top 20 return. Just remember that that doesn’t include any pitchers from the Minnesota Twins. Trust me on this.

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