So, how’s everyone holding up without fantasy baseball every day? I don’t know what to do with myself! This weekend I wandered into a Starbucks and told the coffeerista about Giancarlo Stanton for 2014. Then I laughed hysterically for a good twenty minutes until someone asked me to leave. We’ve gone over the final 2013 fantasy baseball rankings for hitters and the top 20 starters. There’s no more of these godforsaken recap posts left before we’re into 2014 fantasy baseball. You’re welcome. Well, there are Rudy’s recaps of every fantasy sites projections that are coming eventually; I’m guessing they’ll be posted while I’m on my honeymoon. But I’m not sure, because I’ll be sipping motherf**king daiquiris while contemplating adultery for the first time. I got lust in my heart like Jimmy Carter! (That would be the worst rap lyric of all time.) Anyway, here’s the top 40 starters for 2013 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:
21. Julio Teheran – A recurring theme with these starters is I told you to draft a lot of them even if their rankings were much later. In reality, you could’ve drafted them late too. You didn’t need to draft The Sheik 21st overall for starters. He had an impressive season with his obvious peripherals like K and walk rate. A 8+ K-rate and very low 2 walk rate are going to give you a strong number two fantasy starter at worst, and a number one at best. He was a tad lucky with his ERA and his WHIP looks slightly deflated because of it. The Sheik’s year was still nothing to ptooey. Preseason Rank #91, 2013 Projections: 7-9/4.45/1.40/110, Final Numbers: 14-8/3.20/1.17/170
22. Patrick Corbin – He was unranked in the preseason because I had money on Randall Delgado or Tyler Skaggs making the rotation over him. Don’t worry about my lost bet, my Cougar didn’t need her mink stole anyway. I was a bit surprised that Corbin ended the year ranked so high. Not so much because he had a 4.54 ERA the previous year in 107 IP, but because his 5+ ERA in the 2nd half was real dreck. Usually real dreck doesn’t play well with other top ranked pitchers. Just shows you how crazy good his 1st half was (2.35 ERA). Oh, and, yeah, right around the All-Star break I told you to sell him. Zadow! Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 14-8/3.41/1.17/178
23. James Shields – His rankings, WHIP, strikeouts and wins being nearly identical to my preseason projections don’t entirely do justice to my Mr. Bungling of Shields. He was ranked in a tier of guys I was avoiding and I didn’t want any part of him. I did nail his wins, WHIP, ranking and Ks though, huh? Also, to further blow on my knuckles and wipe them on my shirt, other guys I told you to avoid were CC Sabathia, Cueto, Halladay and R.A. Dickey, so it wasn’t all bad. Preseason Rank #22, 2013 Projections: 13-10/3.77/1.26/198, Final Numbers: 13-9/3.15/1.24/196
24. Stephen Strasburg – This ranking is less indicative of him having a real off year, but more that wins are completely unpredictable. Give him 15 wins this year and he’s ranked in the top 15. I saw very little this year to think he can’t win the Cy Young next year and the year after and the year after…Assuming the Nats don’t shut him down for three months in the middle of the season, hoping to save him for the playoffs they never get to. Preseason Rank #2, 2013 Projections: 18-6/2.77/1.05/227, Final Numbers: 8-9/3.00/1.05/191
25. Homer Bailey – Here’s what I said in the preseason, “It feels like Bailey has been on the verge of greatest for the last ten years, but it’s only been the last 6 years. That alone makes him somewhat of a gamble. But now it’s looking like the Reds might have rushed him originally. He was a high K, low walk guy once upon a time in the minors. Then he was a low K, high walk guy in the majors for about five years. In 2011, he was on the verge with a solid K-rate and a solid walk rate. There was some thought he hadn’t put it all together, but he followed up 2011 with almost exactly the same peripherals, and now it’s just a matter if he can build on it. With all of this history, you’d think Bailey was on the wrong side of 30 years old. He’ll be 27 this year. It wouldn’t shock me to see him get 19 wins and a 3.50 ERA. Fo’ really.” And that’s me quoting me! I point that out because he finally made good on his promise of being a high K, low walk guy. If he can continue to bump up his K-rate as it was in the minors, Bailey could make further growth. Yeah, I’m gonna like him again next year. Preseason Rank #33, 2013 Projections: 16-9/3.57/1.20/188, Final Numbers: 11-12/3.49/1.12/199
26. Kris Medlen – I didn’t really set out to draft Medlen this year. If he was there later on than he was going, I would’ve, but he was going too early for my tastes. If you can remember all the way back to March, some sites had Medlen in their top 20. I knew there would be some disappointment. In 2012, Medlen was the hot girl you slept with. In 2013, he was the next six months of that relationship. Preseason Rank #25, 2013 Projections: 13-8/3.44/1.18/161, Final Numbers: 15-12/3.11/1.22/157
27. Chris Tillman – He falls into the Teheran theme. He wasn’t ranked crazy high in the preseason, but I liked him and told you to draft him. If it wasn’t for his 16 wins, we wouldn’t even be talking about him. A 3.71 ERA is solid for streams. I’m sure a lot of people owned him at times. If you owned him the whole year, it was a deep league. His peripherals suggest a two steps forward, one step back year. His K-rate went up nearly a K per inning, but his walk rate went up a half a walk per nine. And I thought the only players who did a half walk were Billy Butler or Matt Adams. Preseason Rank #67, 2013 Projections: 9-10/3.87/1.32/142, Final Numbers: 16-7/3.71/1.22/179
28. C.J. Wilson – This guy falls into the same category as Liriano in the top 20 starters, as in I never believed him this year, and when I finally did, it was too late. Thankfully, I don’t neglect my dandruff as irresponsibly. I use Head & Shoulders. Thanks for the endless reminders, C.J.! Preseason Rank #56, 2013 Projections: 12-8/3.97/1.33/160, Final Numbers: 17-7/3.39/1.34/188
29. Hyun-Jin Ryu – I ranked him about 30 spots higher than 65 at the start of the preseason rankings, but a few things happened: A) There was talk he wouldn’t make the rotation. B) Some sites *cough* ESPN *cough* didn’t even rank him so I didn’t feel the need to reach for him. C) There is no C. As always, I should’ve trusted my first instinct. Blink, Gladwell. Luckily, he really wasn’t even drafted, so if you wanted him, you were able to get him. Preseason Rank #65, 2013 Projections: 8-6/3.95/1.19/110, Final Numbers: 14-8/3.00/1.20/154
30. A.J. Griffin – Alfredo Jettuccine gave up a league leading 36 homers this year. Imagine if he would’ve pitched his home games in Coors. He would’ve challenged the pre-World War II record by Jasper “Toothy” Jennings, who gave up 156 homers in one year. Toothy, you might remember, was banned from the game after Kenesaw Mountain Landis found teeth marks on his wife’s inner thigh. Preseason Rank #61, 2013 Projections: 9-11/3.45/1.19/135 in 170 IP, Final Numbers: 14-10/3.83/1.13/171
31. Matt Moore – Whew. That’s my reaction to getting through a whole season with Moore having an ERA as low as 3.29. I hate his walk rate (4.55) and I don’t want any Moore. Preseason #16, 2013 Projections: 15-9/3.19/1.23/225, Final Numbers: 17-4/3.29/1.30/143
32. Clay Buchholz – I’m sure if he would’ve pitched more than 108 1/3 innings his ERA wouldn’t have stayed so tidy. I’m sure because I have a crystal ball. Preseason Rank #104, 2013 Projections: 12-8/4.02/1.31/138, Final Numbers: 12-1/1.74/1.02/96
33. A.J. Burnett – You been staying up at night wondering where Apricot Juice Burnett will be ranked next year? Assuming he doesn’t retire, which I doubt he does, then he’ll be ranked just about the same spot where he was ranked this preseason. As long as he gets Ks like he gets tattoos, he will be ranked right around 40 overall. Preseason #37, 2013 Projections: 13-11/3.67/1.25/184, Final Numbers: 10-11/3.30/1.21/209
34. Justin Verlander – He killed teams this year. Not so much because he was dreadful like, say, Sabathia, but because you expected a lot more from Verlander. If you drafted him (which I wouldn’t have advised), you needed a high 2-something ERA to balance your pitching staff. Or a low 1-something WHIP. Instead, he gave you a solid Yovani season. That’s so JV, JV. Preseason Rank #1, 2013 Projections: 20-7/2.71/1.03/234, Final Numbers: 13-12/3.67/1.31/217
35. Ubaldo Jimenez – Back to the old credo I just made up in the past week, there’s so much pitching. Here’s an example. A guy like Ubaldo, who finished in the top 40 starters for all of fantasy baseball, I was able to stream all through the 2nd half of the season. Why would you own a lot of pitchers for the whole year if you can stream a guy that had a 1.82 ERA in the 2nd half? Rhetorical! Preseason Rank #106, 2013 Projections: 10-14/4.42/1.45/140, Final Numbers: 13-9/3.30/1.33/194
36. Gio Gonzalez – Unlike Verlander, Gio didn’t kill you. He didn’t necessarily make it easier on you, but, with a few more wins, he would’ve ranked a lot higher and you can’t count on wins anyway. Throw in a middle reliever for five wins and decent ratios and Gio was just fine. Yeah, I’m making excuses for him. So what? Preseason Rank #10, 2013 Projections: 17-10/3.29/1.16/207, Final Numbers: 11-8/3.36/1.25/192
37. Lance Lynn – For about two-thirds of the season, he was doing dirt like it was Earth Day, Pusha T, so his ranking here surprised me. This ranking is definitely being buoyed by Ks and wins. His ratios were the new blech. Preseason Rank #48, 2013 Projections: 12-7/3.94/1.34/182, Final Numbers: 15-10/3.97/1.31/198
38. David Price – It’s time for no one’s favorite game, “How did Grey’s trade of Manny Machado for David Price work out?” On my team, Machado had 25/5/22/.306/4 in 147 ABs and Price had 7 wins/2.82/1.00/91 in 118 IP. For the other guy, Machado had 63/9/49/.277/2 in 520 ABs and Price had 1 win/4.78/1.39/48 in 52 2/3 IP. I also traded him Glen Perkins, but SAGNOF on that and I just picked up five other closers. All and all, I get a small booya. Preseason Rank #3, 2013 Projections: 16-8/2.90/1.09/210, Final Numbers: 10-8/3.33/1.10/151
39. Alex Cobb – I’ll just say that I love me some Tampa Bay Peach and have already gone over my Alex Cobb 2014 fantasy. I wrote it while holding Pop Rocks in my mouth. Preseason Rank #68, 2013 Projections: 10-8/3.86/1.30/147, Final Numbers: 11-3/2.76/1.15/134
40. Jon Lester – He ended up as a poor man’s Lance Lynn, also being buoyed by Ks and wins. At least none of his fantasy owners caused anyone to catch charges by screaming they wanted, “Mo’ Lester!” Preseason Rank #29, 2013 Projections: 14-9/3.78/1.28/186, Final Numbers: 15-8/3.75/1.29/177
