2017 Staring Pitcher Rankings: Top 100

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

Redraft Prospect Impact Rankings for 2017

The Baseball Show Episode 37: Pitchers part 12

The Top-250 for 2017

The Baseball Show Episode 34: Pitchers part 11