Top 5 Late-Round Starting Pitchers

Aug 27, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Phil Hughes (45) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Fantasy baseball is about drafting players with good value at the right time. You do not want to draft a player based on his name and not his actual production. Luckily, with the starting pitcher position being very deep this season, there will be a lot of top performers from last season available in the later rounds. Here are the top five late-round pitchers.

Phil Hughes, Minnesota Twins

Something must have clicked for Hughes when he left New York. As a Yankee, Hughes averaged a 4.53 ERA and 1.322 WHIP in seven seasons. In his first season with the Twins, Hughes recorded a 3.52 ERA and 1.130 WHIP. His ERA was below 4.00 for the first time since 2009 and he pitches over 200 innings for the first time in his career.

Even with a good 2014 season, Rotochamp.com has him ranked 113 overall (12th round). If Hughes can build on that performance this season, there is no question he will be a top 30 pitcher for 2015.

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Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Verlander went from being one of the most dangerous pitchers on the mound to being a No. 3 starter at best. In 2014, Verlander finished with a 15-12 record, 4.54 ERA (104 runs earned) and 1.398 WHIP. While he still made 32 starts, there was something bothering Verlander throughout the season.

With all of the injury and age concerns, many fantasy owners are staying away from Verlander. I would too, for the first 10 rounds. There are too many younger pitchers to draft over Verlander. Now, in the 14th or 15th round, Verlander becomes a standout player. As your No. 4 or 5 starting pitcher, you can do much worse than Verlander.

Yusmeiro Petit, San Francisco Giants

A surprisingly unknown pitcher, Petit has been in the major leagues for seven seasons. It was not until last year when fantasy owners became aware of Petit. He made a few starts in 2013, but made a bigger impact the following season. In 10 starts, Petit had a 3.69 ERA and 1.017 WHIP. While those numbers were average, the standout number was his strikeout totals. He finished the season with a 10.2 K/9 rate and 133 strikeouts on the season.

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Petit will have to compete with Tim Lincecum and Ryan Vogelsong for the No. 5 spot. If he could win, then he becomes a nice No. 4 pitcher in a 10-team league.

Brandon McCarthy, Los Angeles Dodgers

What a difference a change of scenery makes. McCarthy turned his season around when he was traded to the New York Yankees. In the first half of the season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, he had a 5.01 ERA and a 3-10 win-loss record. In the second half, he went 7-5 with a 2.89 ERA. The Yankees decided to let him go, and the Dodgers swooped in and signed him.

If remains to be seen if McCarthy can pitch well on the West Coast. His career numbers would say otherwise. I would draft McCarthy between rounds 10-12 as my fourth starter.

Matt Shoemaker, Los Angeles Angels

The Angels went with a younger pitching staff in 2014. Shoemaker was one of their breakout pitchers (Garrett Richards is the other) last year. In his second season, Shoemaker had an impressive 16-4 record, which was the second-most on the team along with a 3.04 ERA and 1.074 WHIP. He also struck out 124 batters. Shoemaker was a streaming option last year, Shoemaker will be a more consistent option in 2015.

Shoemaker is the most valuable pitcher of the five. While a ranking of 33 does not seem like sleeper status, but at the prime age of 28, he is the No. 4 pitcher on the Angels when he could be a No. 2 option or even an ace with any other team.