We wrap up each week of positional coverage with our 2017 rankings. In addition to the rankings we will pose a number of questions to our panel covering topics such as reaches and targets, players to avoid and late round impact players.
Taking part in our rankings will be Kevin Jebens, Jim Finch, Ron Vackar, Josh Coleman, Andy Singleton, Mike Sheehan and Neil Kenworthy. Our seven “experts” each ranked their top-100 starting pitchers for the 2017 season. Players marked N/R were not ranked inside the top-100 by that particular person.
If you feel we overlooked someone or would like to debate a player’s ranking, feel free to do so in the comment section below.
| Player | Team | Kevin | Andy | Neil | Josh | Ron | Mike | Jim | |
| 1 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Max Scherzer | Nationals | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 3 | Madison Bumgarner | Giants | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| 3 | Noah Syndergaard | Mets | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 3 |
| 5 | Chris Sale | Red Sox | 4 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| 6 | Corey Kluber | Indians | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 7 |
| 7 | Jon Lester | Cubs | 7 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| 8 | Jake Arrieta | Cubs | 9 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 15 | 12 |
| 9 | David Price | Red Sox | 12 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 8 |
| 10 | Johnny Cueto | Giants | 10 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| 11 | Yu Darvish | Rangers | 16 | 11 | 10 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 6 |
| 12 | Stephen Strasburg | Nationals | 17 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 15 | 11 | 11 |
| 13 | Carlos Carrasco | Indians | 11 | 15 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | Chris Archer | Rays | 8 | 17 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 15 |
| 15 | Justin Verlander | Tigers | 14 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 14 | 22 |
| 16 | Jacob deGrom | Mets | 24 | 14 | 19 | 9 | 18 | 13 | 14 |
| 17 | Carlos Martinez | Cardinals | 18 | 22 | 15 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 17 |
| 17 | Masahiro Tanaka | Yankees | 13 | 19 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | Kyle Hendricks | Cubs | 21 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 25 | 19 |
| 20 | Gerrit Cole | Pirates | 22 | 28 | 20 | 20 | 29 | 20 | 16 |
| 21 | Cole Hamels | Rangers | 27 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 19 | 19 | 25 |
| 22 | Zack Greinke | Diamondbacks | 29 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 23 | 21 | 26 |
| 23 | Jose Quintana | White Sox | 15 | 23 | 22 | 30 | 22 | 28 | 20 |
| 24 | Danny Duffy | Royals | 19 | 16 | 29 | 29 | 24 | 22 | 29 |
| 25 | Kenta Maeda | Dodgers | 23 | 26 | 25 | 34 | 21 | 29 | 21 |
Which top-20 pitcher do you plan
on owning the most stock of?
Jim: I tend to go hitting with my first five picks, so I’ll most likely be taking back to back pitching in round six/seven. Based on NFBC ADP, that will be Jacob deGrom, Cole Hamels and Masahiro Tanaka. I’d be happy with deGrom or Tanaka to anchor my staff – I want both, but Hamels as my number two would be just as good.
Kevin: Because strikeouts are a bit more plentiful right now, I’m most focused on the top ERA guys. That means Kershaw, Bumgarner, Sale, and even Hendricks (though he’s not in my personal top-20).
Ron: The answer to this question is Yu Darvish. Contract year; check. Strikeout rate; check. Tommy John waving in the rear view mirror; check. Yu Darvish will be the AL version of Max Scherzer in 2017, minus some innings.
Andy: Jacob deGrom: I don’t place a particularly high premium on starting pitchers early, just because I’m willing to bet on landing some big risers in the middle rounds. In addition to him being one of my all time favorites, deGrom presents an unusually low buying price for a top-10 starter. I’ll gladly take him to lead my staff at his current ADP. Covered on The Baseball Show
Josh: Clayton Kershaw’s dominance among his peers cannot be ignored. So while selecting him may exclude me from a top-shelf hitter, I will pay that price often this draft season.
Mike: Johnny Cueto and Jon Lester both jump out at me as the most undervalued aces. I’m happy with either to lead my staff.
Neil: Carlos Martinez is someone I plan on targeting often in drafts. Coming off a strong 2016 season, Martinez has a chance to take another step forward if he can improve against lefties. I’m also a fan of his price right now as he is the 17th pitcher off the board in NFBC drafts. Martinez has top-10 upside if everything goes right in 2017 making him an enticing SP2 option.
| Player | Team | Kevin | Andy | Neil | Josh | Ron | Mike | Jim | |
| 26 | Julio Teheran | Braves | 31 | 29 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 30 | 27 |
| 27 | Danny Salazar | Indians | 25 | 27 | 31 | 50 | 30 | 24 | 23 |
| 28 | Aaron Sanchez | Blue Jays | 37 | 25 | 26 | 44 | 25 | 34 | 24 |
| 29 | Rick Porcello | Red Sox | 28 | 24 | 30 | 23 | 27 | 31 | 66 |
| 30 | Kevin Gausman | Orioles | 32 | 39 | 28 | 22 | 33 | 36 | 41 |
| 31 | Michael Fulmer | Tigers | 46 | 35 | 33 | 35 | 32 | 27 | 28 |
| 32 | Marcus Stroman | Blue Jays | 20 | 38 | 34 | 31 | 37 | 46 | 31 |
| 33 | Dallas Keuchel | Astros | 35 | 48 | 41 | 26 | 35 | 23 | 33 |
| 34 | Rich Hill | Dodgers | 66 | 30 | 35 | 28 | 28 | 35 | 36 |
| 35 | Felix Hernandez | Mariners | 38 | 41 | 27 | 39 | 31 | 54 | 30 |
| 36 | Sonny Gray | Athletics | 30 | 31 | 40 | 43 | 54 | 40 | 35 |
| 37 | Matt Harvey | Mets | 39 | 47 | 32 | 52 | 38 | 37 | 37 |
| 38 | Steve Matz | Mets | 33 | 51 | 46 | 37 | 43 | 39 | 34 |
| 38 | Jameson Taillon | Pirates | 26 | 42 | 58 | 38 | 36 | 51 | 32 |
| 40 | John Lackey | Cubs | 47 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 39 | 53 | 38 |
| 40 | Carlos Rodon | White Sox | 43 | 45 | 55 | 42 | 52 | 33 | 42 |
| 42 | Aaron Nola | Phillies | 36 | 52 | 44 | 32 | 59 | 52 | 45 |
| 43 | James Paxton | Mariners | 72 | 33 | 62 | 33 | 48 | 26 | 47 |
| 43 | Vince Velasquez | Phillies | 44 | 44 | 56 | 48 | 49 | 38 | 48 |
| 45 | Lance McCullers | Astros | 52 | 46 | 60 | 62 | 42 | 32 | 39 |
| 46 | Tanner Roark | Nationals | 98 | 37 | 39 | 46 | 34 | 40 | 43 |
| 47 | Sean Manaea | Athletics | 41 | 57 | 51 | 59 | 41 | 47 | 53 |
| 48 | Jon Gray | Rockies | 57 | 32 | 48 | 67 | 47 | 55 | 49 |
| 48 | Matt Shoemaker | Angels | 56 | 55 | 57 | 40 | 61 | 42 | 44 |
| 50 | J.A. Happ | Blue Jays | 54 | 40 | 52 | 45 | 45 | 70 | 61 |
| Page 2: Players 51 – 100 | |||||||||
Which pitcher(s) do you plan on avoiding in the draft?
Jim: I want no part of Rick Porcello at any ADP. As I outlined back in November, Porcello did nothing different in 2016; only the results changed. People talk about his command and pitch location, but they made the same claims about Phil Hughes in 2014 – look how that turned out.
Kevin: Overperformers like Tanner Roark, declining stars like Felix Hernandez, and SP not certain for 175 IP like Rich Hill and Lance Lynn are guys I won’t pay the going rate for.
Ron: The legendary Cole Hamels change-up lost its appeal in 2016. The batting average against the change was way up (.257 in 2016 vs. nothing better than .199 the previous 3 seasons) and it registered its lowest SwStr% of his career (22.8% from over 27%). He should be valued in the Matt Moore range, but someone will select Hamels about 100 picks earlier.
Andy: Piggybacking off of my answer above, Clayton Kershaw goes as high as #1 overall and no later than #10. When he is on, he is absolutely the best pitcher in the game today. But his back woes and other nicks in recent years are enough to give me pause. It’s ultimately just too high of a price for me to feel comfortable justifying.
Josh: I’m pumping the brakes on Chris Sale. The pitch to more contact narrative would be more believable if the K/9 drop wasn’t accompanied by a 2 MPH velocity drop on the fastball. How will Edward Scissorhands respond to the added scrutiny he’ll find in Boston? Lot of questions for the 4th SP off the board.
Mike: Jake Arrieta was pretty bad in the second half of last year, so I’m not going to pay an ace price for him.
Neil: Although I love Kyle Hendricks, his price is too high for me right now. I’m a firm believer in his ability to control the zone and induce weak contact, but currently, he’s going before guys like Carlos Martinez, Jacob deGrom, Cole Hamels and Masahiro Tanaka. Assuming some regression for Hendricks in 2017, all four of these guys have higher upside and/or lower floors.
Page 2: Players 51 – 100
