2018 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Starting Pitcher

Where does a fantasy baseball owner even begin with starting pitcher rankings? Well, that's actually easy -- you begin with Clayton Kershaw -- but, in general, putting together SP rankings for your draft cheat sheet is as difficult as anything you'll do all season. Strikeouts are the most consistent statistic from year-to-year, so often sleepers and busts are based on Ks. But we all know that a little batted-ball or run-support luck can go a long way in helping a starter's fantasy value in any given season, turning the No. 60 pre-draft pitcher into a top-20 commodity by the end of the year.

In addition to the "luck factor" that advanced statheads love to talk about, you also have the injury factor. No pitcher is safe, and an "injury risk" with depressed value can just as easily have a healthy, breakout season as a "safe pitcher" can experience his first DL stint. 

This year, we have a few new variables -- a rookie pitcher who's also planning to be a semi-regular hitter (Shohei Ohtani); a new humidor in one of the most hitter-friendly parks in the league (Chase Field in Arizona)-- that are sure to make things even more complicated. 

MORE FANTASY BASEBALL: 2018 draft cheat sheet

As with any set of rankings, age, injury history, consistency, and advanced stats all carry a lot of weight, but when things get rolling in your draft, you can bet some people will place more trust in recent performance (i.e. last year) and/or age (i.e. veterans are all declining; youngsters are all improving), and overdraft/overlook certain players. We try to balance things out in our rankings, but we know this won't be the order in which these guys are drafted -- and it certainly won't be the order in which they finish.

Drafting pitching really comes down to one thing: The amount of risk with which you're comfortable. Of course, virtually any draft strategy is a risk. Drafting two bonafide aces early is riskier than drafting two stud hitters, but not drafting any "safe" pitchers can really put you behind early, even if you plan to be active on the waiver wire. Even a "balanced approach" can backfire depending on the players you take, but at least you give yourself outs.

If you dig into the advanced numbers and fall back on Ks when all else fails, you can put together a good rotation on draft day. Once the season starts, if you play the matchups with your back-end SPs, you can have even more success. Outside of the top 25 or 30 guys (and even some of them if they're in Coors Field or Yankee Stadium), any pitcher can be benched. Remember that before overdrafting a mediocre starter just because he's the last player in a certain tier.

2018 FANTASY BASEBALL RANKINGS:
Catcher | First | Second | Third | Shortstop | Outfield | Reliever

2018 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Starting Pitcher

Rankings based on Wins/Ks/ERA/WHIP. Eligibility based on Yahoo's default settings.