Fantasy Baseball's Top 75 Starting Pitchers: Week 4 (April 26-May 2)

Our Top 75 Starting Pitcher rankings return, and it couldn’t come at a better time.  Many of the top pitchers in baseball are lined up for two-starts this week. 

Of course, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of attractive one-start options as well.  Let’s take a look at how things fall (two-start options are in bold):

1. Roy Halladay - Philadelphia Phillies - at SF, vs. NYM
2. Felix Hernandez - Seattle Mariners - at KC, vs. Tex
3. Yovani Gallardo - Milwaukee Brewers - vs. Pit, at SD
4. Zack Greinke - Kansas City Royals - vs. Sea, at TB
5. Josh Johnson - Florida Marlins - vs. SD, vs. Was
6. Chris Carpenter - St. Louis Cardinals - vs. Atl, vs. Cin
7. Dan Haren - Arizona Diamondbacks - at Col, at CHC
8. Tim Lincecum - San Francisco Giants - vs. Phi
9. Jered Weaver - Los Angeles Angels - vs. Cle, at Det
10. Josh Beckett - Boston Red Sox - at Tor, at Bal
11. Francisco Liriano - Minnesota Twins - at Det, at Cle
12. Justin Verlander - Detroit Tigers - vs. Min, vs. LAA
13. Adam Wainwright - St. Louis Cardinals - vs. Atl
14. CC Sabathia - New York Yankees - at Bal
15. Ubaldo Jimenez - Colorado Rockies - vs. Ari
16. Johan Santana - New York Mets - vs. LAD
17. Clayton Kershaw - Los Angeles Dodgers - vs. Pit
18. Hiroki Kuroda - Los Angeles Dodgers - at NYM, vs. Pit
19. Phil Hughes - New York Yankees - at Bal, vs. CWS
20. Roy Oswalt - Houston Astros - vs. Cin
21. Matt Garza - Tampa Bay Rays - vs. KC
22. Ricky Nolasco - Florida Marlins - vs. SD
23. Tim Hudson - Atlanta Braves - at Stl, vs. Hou
24. Edwin Jackson - Arizona Diamondbacks - at Col, at CHC
25. Wade Davis - Tampa Bay Rays - vs. Oak, vs. KC
26. Randy Wolf - Milwaukee Brewers - vs. Pit, at SD
27. Tommy Hanson - Atlanta Braves - vs. Hou
28. Jon Lester - Boston Red Sox - at Tor
29. A.J. Burnett - New York Yankees - at Bal
30. Jair Jurrjens - Atlanta Braves - at Stl
31. Jonathan Sanchez - San Francisco Giants - vs. Phi, vs. Col
32. Clay Buchholz - Boston Red Sox - at Tor
33. Kevin Slowey - Minnesota Twins - at Cle
34. Brett Anderson - Oakland Athletics - at Tor
35. Matt Cain - San Francisco Giants - vs. Col
36. James Shields - Tampa Bay Rays - vs. Oak
37. C.J. Wilson - Texas Rangers - vs. CWS, at Sea
38. Ryan Dempster - Chicago Cubs - vs. Was
39. Jorge De La Rosa - Colorado Rockies - at SF
40. David Price - Tampa Bay Rays - vs. KC
41. Colby Lewis - Texas Rangers - at Sea
42. Chad Billingsley - Los Angeles Dodgers - vs. Pit
43. Ricky Romero - Toronto Blue Jays - vs. Oak
44. Jeff Niemann - Tampa Bay Rays - vs. KC
45. Mat Latos - San Diego Padres - at Fla, vs. Mil
46. Carlos Silva - Chicago Cubs - vs. Was, vs. Ari
47. Mike Pelfrey - New York Mets - at Phi
48. John Lackey - Boston Red Sox - at Bal
49. Wandy Rodriguez - Houston Astros - at Atl
50. Scott Baker - Minnesota Twins - at Det
51. Fausto Carmona - Cleveland Indians - vs. Min
52. Cole Hamels - Philadelphia Phillies - at SF
53. Max Scherzer - Detroit Tigers - vs. Min
54. John Danks - Chicago White Sox - at NYY
55. Ben Sheets - Oakland Athletics - at TB, at Tor
56. Tom Gorzelanny - Chicago Cubs - vs. Was, vs. Ari
57. Jon Garland - San Diego Padres - at Fla, vs. Mil
58. Cliff Lee - Seattle Mariners - vs. Tex
59. Ted Lilly - Chicago Cubs - vs. Ari
60. Livan Hernandez - Washington Nationals - at CHC
61. Shaun Marcum - Toronto Blue Jays - vs. Bos, vs. Oak
62. Barry Zito - San Francisco Giants - vs. Col
63. Joel Pineiro - Los Angeles Angels - at Det
64. Mark Buehrle - Chicago White Sox - at Tex, at NYY
65. John Lannan - Washington Nationals - at CHC, at Fla
66. Oliver Perez - New York Mets - vs. LAD, at Phi
67. Zach Duke - Pittsburgh Pirates - at Mil, at LAD
68. Mitch Talbot - Cleveland Indians - at LAA
69. Matt Harrison - Texas Rangers - vs. Det, at Sea
70. Derek Lowe - Atlanta Braves - at Stl, vs. Hou
71. Javier Vazquez - New York Yankees - vs. CWS
72. Jake Peavy - Chicago White Sox - at Tex
73. Rich Harden - Texas Rangers - vs. CWS
74. Vicente Padilla - Los Angeles Dodgers - at NYM, vs. Pit
75. Brandon Morrow - Toronto Blue Jays - vs. Oak

Thoughts:

• Lots of questions regarding the Mariners rotation, with Cliff Lee returning to the fold.  Who will be bumped?  Will they go with a six-man rotation for this week, meaning Felix Hernandez will not get a two-start week?  I’d be shocked if they didn’t try to maximize Hernandez’ opportunities, however.
• Adam Wainwright and Ubaldo Jimenez have been among the best pitchers in the game.  Why does Wainwright get the nod?  The Braves have been among the worst offensive teams in baseball while the Diamondbacks have been in the Top 10.  That’s the only difference.
• Hiroki Kuroda in the Top 20?  He’s been tremendous this season, with a 2.18 ERA and 1.21 WHIP and has favorable match-ups against the Mets and Pirates.  It’s not something that you should get used to, but he’s always been a solid source of WHIP, so use him with confidence this week.
• I know how good Jonathan Sanchez has been, but have we really gotten to the point that we trust him 100 percent?  Couple his enigmatic history with his match-up against the Phillies and you get a huge risk, dropping him down the rankings.
• Just how good has Carlos Silva been?  Still, it’s Carlos Silva.  Is there any reason to truly trust him?
• One bad start does not drop Matt Garza down the rankings, nor should it.  Everyone is allowed one, but with the struggling Royals on the agenda you would have to expect a solid rebound performance.
• Wade Davis has been solid and has two fantastic match-ups.  Clearly, he’s a must use option in all formats.  Now, if he can just get his control in order (11 BB in 13 innings), and he’d be a Top 15 option this week.
• I know, Jon Lester has struggled but he showed signs of coming to life in his last start and he pitches for the Red Sox.  That’s enough for me, keeping him as one of the top options in baseball.
• Did anyone actually anticipate C.J. Wilson developing into a must use option?  Even in a two-start week?  Granted, sooner or later his luck is going to run out, but he’s got the White Sox and Mariners on the schedule this week.  That certainly makes him worth the gamble.
• I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a big fan of Ryan Dempster.  Those who regularly read the site know that.  Still, given his success early on in the season it’s hard not to give him a favorable ranking.
• Mike Pelfrey has been among the best starters in the game in 2010, but against the Phillies?  He’s clearly usable, but how much do you trust him especially in that ballpark?  If he was pitching at home it may have been a different story.
• There are some pitchers that it still is just too early for me to fully buy into the success they’ve shown.  Guys like Livan Hernandez, Barry Zito and Tom Gorzelanny fall into this category.  They are clearly usable options at this point, but they easily could come crashing down at any moment.
• John Danks has been fantastic, but he gets the Yankees in the New Yankee Stadium.  That’s a tough match-up, which suppresses his potential value for this week.
• Rich Harden, Javier Vazquez & Jake Peavy have all struggled, but have a huge upside, as we all know.  That earns them a spot on these rankings.

Unranked Two-Start Options:

• Jeremy Bonderman - Detroit Tigers - at Tex, vs. LAA
• Kyle Davies - Kansas City Royals - vs. Sea, at TB
• Dana Eveland - Toronto Blue Jays - vs. Bos, vs. Oak
• Jason Hammel - Colorado Rockies - vs. Ari, at SF
• Aaron Harang - Cincinnati Reds - at Hou, at Stl
• David Huff - Cleveland Indians - at LAA, vs. Min
• Kyle Lohse - St. Louis Cardinals - vs. Atl, vs. Cin
• Daniel McCutchen - Pittsburgh Pirates - at Mil, at LAD
• Kevin Millwood - Baltimore Orioles - vs. NYY, vs. Bos
• Bud Norris - Houston Astros - vs. Cin, at Atl

What are your thoughts on these rankings?  Who's too high?  Too low?  Who do you think was left off?

Curious how the starting pitchers were ranked prior to the season?  Check out our pre-season rankings, click here .

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