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2015 Fantasy Baseball Rankings > Cheat Sheets > Starting Pitchers

2015 Fantasy Baseball Cheat Sheets:
Starting Pitchers

This page is a quick reference that you can have open during your fantasy baseball draft or fantasy auction. Remember to balance out your pitching staff, especially your starting rotation. You need guys who pitch a lot of innings (hence the Innings Pitched category). You need a guy with a low WHIP, and you need a guy with good K/9 as well as a guy with a lot of total strikeouts (a guy with a high strikeout total is often a sign that he tends to stay healthy). Of course, you need a guy with a low ERA, too, so check out the cheat sheets below and visit this page often during your fantasy draft or auction.

2015 Starting Pitcher Cheat Sheets Sorted by Stat

SKIP TO: Innings Pitched | ERA (Earned Run Average) | Total Strikeouts | Strikeouts per 9 Innings | Back to all Cheat Sheets

Top 100: WHIP

RankStarting PitcherWHIPGSIP
1Pineda, M0.831376.3
2Kershaw, C0.8627198.3
3Fiers, M0.881071.7
4Hernandez, F0.9234236
5Fernandez, J0.95851.7
6Cueto, J0.9634243.7
7Sale, C0.9726174
8Arrieta, J0.9925156.7
8Carrasco, C0.9914134
10McHugh, C1.0225154.7
10Petit, Y1.0212117
12Wainwright, A1.0332227
13Richards, G1.0426168.7
14Iwakuma, H1.0528179
14Garcia, J1.05743.7
16Tanaka, M1.0620136.3
17Shoemaker, M1.0720136
17Zimmermann, J1.0732199.7
17Samardzija, J1.0733219.7
20Fister, D1.0825164
20Price, D1.0834248.3
20Teheran, J1.0833221
20Hendricks, K1.081380.3
24Kluber, C1.0934235.7
24Bumgarner, M1.0933217.3
24Roark, T1.0931198.7
27Lester, J1.132219.7
27Sanchez, A1.121126
29Duffy, D1.1125149.3
30Strasburg, S1.1234215
30Hammel, J1.1229176.3
30Pomeranz, D1.121069
33Hughes, P1.1332209.7
33Collmenter, J1.1328179.3
33Cashner, A1.1319123.3
36Wood, A1.1424171.7
36Kuroda, H1.1432199
36Cobb, A1.1427166.3
36deGrom, J1.1422140.3
40Greinke, Z1.1532202.3
40Lohse, K1.1531198.3
40Hamels, C1.1530204.7
40Latos, M1.1516102.3
44Kazmir, S1.1632190.3
44Smyly, D1.1625153
46Stroman, M1.1720130.7
46Beckett, J1.1720115.7
48Scherzer, M1.1833220.3
48Shields, J1.1834227
48Haren, D1.1832186
48Keuchel, D1.1829200
48Garza, M1.1827163.3
53Ryu, H1.1926152
53Gray, S1.1933219
53Baker, S1.19880.7
56Gonzalez, G1.227158.7
56Estrada, M1.218150.7
56Paxton, J1.21374
56Wacha, M1.219107
56Flande, Y1.21059
61Weaver, J1.2134213.3
61Simon, A1.2132196.3
61Ross, T1.2131195.7
61Cole, G1.2122138
61Worley, V1.2117110.7
61Hahn, J1.211273.3
61Skaggs, T1.2118113
61Despaigne, O1.211696.3
69Norris, B1.2228165.3
70Chen, W1.2331185.7
70Colon, B1.2331202.3
70Porcello, R1.2331204.7
70Dickey, R1.2334215.7
70Volquez, E1.2331192.7
70Tillman, C1.2334207.3
70Young, C1.2329165
70Bailey, H1.2323145.7
70Hudson, T1.2331189.3
79De La Rosa, J1.2432184.3
79Alvarez, H1.2430187
79Quintana, J1.2432200.3
79Wada, T1.241369.3
83Leake, M1.2533214.3
83Gee, D1.2522137.3
83Floyd, G1.25954.3
83Cain, M1.251590.3
87Lynn, L1.2633203.7
87Hutchison, D1.2632184.7
87Darvish, Y1.2622144.3
87Nuno, V1.2628161.7
91Vargas, J1.2730187
91Miller, S1.2731183
91Niese, J1.2730187.7
91Locke, J1.2721131.3
91Morton, C1.2726157.3
96Lackey, J1.2831198
96Odorizzi, J1.2831168
96Archer, C1.2832194.7
96McCarthy, B1.2832200
96Vogelsong, R1.2832184.7
96Peavy, J1.2832202.7
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Top 50: Wins

RankStarting PitcherWinsGSIP
1Kershaw, C2127198.3
2Cueto, J2034243.7
2Wainwright, A2032227
4Kluber, C1834235.7
4Bumgarner, M1833217.3
4Scherzer, M1833220.3
4Weaver, J1834213.3
8Greinke, Z1732202.3
8Peralta, W1732198.7
10Shoemaker, M1620136
10Fister, D1625164
10Lester, J1632219.7
10Hughes, P1632209.7
10Chen, W1631185.7
15Hernandez, F1534236
15Iwakuma, H1528179
15Price, D1534248.3
15Roark, T1531198.7
15Kazmir, S1532190.3
15Simon, A1532196.3
15Norris, B1528165.3
15Colon, B1531202.3
15Porcello, R1531204.7
15Lynn, L1533203.7
15Verlander, J1532206
26Zimmermann, J1432199.7
26Teheran, J1433221
26Strasburg, S1434215
26Shields, J1434227
26Ryu, H1426152
26Gray, S1433219
26Dickey, R1434215.7
26De La Rosa, J1432184.3
26Lackey, J1431198
26Ventura, Y1430183
26Santana, E1431196
37Richards, G1326168.7
37Tanaka, M1320136.3
37Lohse, K1331198.3
37Haren, D1332186
37Ross, T1331195.7
37Volquez, E1331192.7
37Tillman, C1334207.3
37Kennedy, I1333201
37Guthrie, J1332202.7
37Gibson, K1331179.3
37Cosart, J1330180.3
37Buehrle, M1332202
37Wilson, C1331175.7
50Sale, C1226174
50Keuchel, D1229200
50Young, C1229165
50Alvarez, H1230187
50Lincecum, T1226155.2
50Harang, A1233204.3
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Top 50 Innings Pitched

RankStarting PitcherInnings Pitched
1Price, D248.3
2Cueto, J243.7
3Hernandez, F236
4Kluber, C235.7
5Wainwright, A227
5Shields, J227
7Teheran, J221
8Scherzer, M220.3
9Lester, J219.7
9Samardzija, J219.7
11Gray, S219
12Bumgarner, M217.3
13Dickey, R215.7
14Strasburg, S215
15Leake, M214.3
16Burnett, A213.7
17Weaver, J213.3
18Hughes, P209.7
19Tillman, C207.3
20Verlander, J206
21Hamels, C204.7
21Porcello, R204.7
23Harang, A204.3
24Lynn, L203.7
25Peavy, J202.7
25Guthrie, J202.7
27Greinke, Z202.3
27Colon, B202.3
29Buehrle, M202
30Miley, W201.3
31Kennedy, I201
32Quintana, J200.3
33Keuchel, D200
33McCarthy, B200
35Zimmermann, J199.7
35Eovaldi, N199.7
37Kuroda, H199
37Kendrick, K199
39Roark, T198.7
39Peralta, W198.7
41Kershaw, C198.3
41Lohse, K198.3
43Lackey, J198
44Simon, A196.3
45Santana, E196
46Ross, T195.7
47Archer, C194.7
48Danks, J193.7
49Volquez, E192.7
50Gallardo, Y192.3
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Fantasy Pitching Strategies

What's the most-important fantasy pitching stat to look at when drafting starting pitchers?

As you've probably noticed by now, there are a lot of stats we've told you about in our cheat sheets that aren't tracked as scoring categories in your fantasy league, yet they are very indicative of predicting how a player will likely perform in your scoring categories. When it comes to drafting your starting pitchers, one category stands above the rest as your best bet to predicting success:
WHIP.
WHIP: Walks + Hits divided by Innings Pitched.

Essentially, a WHIP is the average number of base runners a pitcher allows on base every inning he pitches.

The basic logic here is just that: basic. The fewer base runners you allow on base, the fewer opportunities the other team has to score.

Look at the leaders in WHIP. More specifically, look at the WHIP leaders who also threw a lot of innings:

Clayton Kershaw, Felix Hernandez, Johnny Cueto, Chris Sale, Adam Wainwright... these guys are household names. Sure, we know - we skipped over some of the others like Jake Arrieta and Collin McHugh who aren't necessarily household names... yet. But both of those guys had and ERA well under 3.00 which is no coincidence when you look at their respective WHIP.

In short, if you're trying to decide between a couple of pitchers on draft day, it's almost always a safer bet to choose the one with the lower WHIP.

What Fantasy Stats Tell Me to Stay Away from a Certain Pitcher?

When determining which fantasy starting pitchers are likely to ruin the season for you in 2015, we actually recommend you look at a combination of stats - just two at a time, for the most part.

Difference Between ERA and WHIP.
If you come across a starting pitcher in your fantasy draft who has a high WHIP (i.e.: over 1.25) but a low ERA (i.e.: under 3.50), we want you to bve careful.


Of the starting pitchers with a WHIP of 1.25 or more, only 12 had an ERA under 3.50.

Of the starting pitchers with a WHIP of 1.25 or more, 105 had an ERA over 3.50.


If it comes down to choosing a starting pitcher based on his WHIP vs. his ERA, we'd go with the lower WHIP every time (and we were right 89.7% of the time in 2014).


Strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (K/9) is more important on draft day than total strikeouts.

You probably noticed that we took the libery of showing you the number of innings a starting pitcher actually pitched in a lot of our cheat sheets. We have long per a proponent of abolishing the total strikeouts category in the pitching stats because it's largely reliant upon the randomness of the scheduling. If you have a crappy pitcher on your roster, but he pitches twice in a week (once on Monday, then again on Saturday or Sunday), he's likely to strike out more batters than your best strikeout pitcher for that week simply because he pitched twice thanks to the luck of the schedule.

Beyond that gripe, looking at a pitcher's K/9 gives you a much more accurate depiction of his capabilities and what you can expect out of him every time he takes the mound.

Take Yesmeiro Petit for example, and let's say he gets thrown into thestarting rotation again like he did last year. If you look at last year's stats, you can see that Petit struck out a total of 133 batters to which you would initially say, "Big deal. He sucks." But then we see that he started 12 games, but he pitched in 39 games total. Now what? Looking at his K/9, you know you can expect him to at least strike out a batter every inning he pitches, so if he gets thrown into the rotation, you know what to expect out of him every time he takes the mound.

James Shields is another guy who had a fantastic season in 2014. He struck out 180 batters, but it took him 227 innings pitched to do it. Keep in mind, this is fine - it's great to have a guy who pitches that many innings on your roster. If he lasts that long in every game, you know his numbers are going to be solid. But, if you're looking for a strikeout guy, you would have been better off with Yu Darvish (while he was healthy) or Zack Greinke or even Alex Wood, each of whom had more strikeouts per 9 innings pitched.

Keep in mind, we still want you to focus most of your attention on getting the lowest WHIP you can get, but you cant ignore the strikeout category. Understanding that drafting for K/9 is more important than total strikeouts will be key to your success.
You can also check out our fantasy rankings, too, if you need an easier time deciding.


Top 100: ERA

RankStarting PitcherERAIP
1Kershaw, C1.77198.3
2Pineda, M1.8976.3
3Fiers, M2.1371.7
4Hernandez, F2.14236
5Sale, C2.17174
6Cueto, J2.25243.7
7Pomeranz, D2.3569
8Wainwright, A2.38227
9Fister, D2.41164
10Kluber, C2.44235.7
10Fernandez, J2.4451.7
12Lester, J2.46219.7
12Hamels, C2.46204.7
12Hendricks, K2.4680.3
15Arrieta, J2.53156.7
15Duffy, D2.53149.3
17Carrasco, C2.55134
17Cashner, A2.55123.3
19Richards, G2.61168.7
20Alvarez, H2.65187
20Floyd, G2.6554.3
22Zimmermann, J2.66199.7
23deGrom, J2.69140.3
24Greinke, Z2.71202.3
25McHugh, C2.73154.7
26Lynn, L2.74203.7
27Tanaka, M2.77136.3
28Wood, A2.78171.7
29Ross, T2.81195.7
30Roark, T2.85198.7
30Worley, V2.85110.7
32Cobb, A2.87166.3
33Beckett, J2.88115.7
34Teheran, J2.89221
35Anderson, B2.9143.3
36Keuchel, D2.93200
37Bumgarner, M2.98217.3
38Samardzija, J2.99219.7
39Shoemaker, M3.04136
39Volquez, E3.04192.7
39Paxton, J3.0474
42Darvish, Y3.06144.3
43Hahn, J3.0773.3
44Gray, S3.08219
45Strasburg, S3.14215
46Scherzer, M3.15220.3
47Ventura, Y3.2183
47Wacha, M3.2107
49Shields, J3.21227
50Gonzalez, M3.23159
51Smyly, D3.24153
52Latos, M3.25102.3
52Wada, T3.2569.3
54Price, D3.26248.3
55Quintana, J3.32200.3
56Archer, C3.33194.7
57Tillman, C3.34207.3
58House, T3.35102
59Despaigne, O3.3696.3
60Ryu, H3.38152
60Liriano, F3.38162.3
62Buehrle, M3.39202
63Niese, J3.4187.7
64Porcello, R3.43204.7
64Sanchez, A3.43126
66Simon, A3.44196.3
67Chavez, J3.45146
68Collmenter, J3.46179.3
69Hammel, J3.47176.3
70Gallardo, Y3.51192.3
71Hughes, P3.52209.7
71Iwakuma, H3.52179
73Peralta, W3.53198.7
74Chen, W3.54185.7
74Lohse, K3.54198.3
74Wheeler, Z3.54185.3
77Kazmir, S3.55190.3
78Harang, A3.57204.3
78Gonzalez, G3.57158.7
78Hudson, T3.57189.3
78Gausman, K3.57113.3
82Weaver, J3.59213.3
83Kennedy, I3.63201
84Garza, M3.64163.3
85Norris, B3.65165.3
85Young, C3.65165
85Stroman, M3.65130.7
85Cole, G3.65138
85Lee, C3.6581.3
90Cosart, J3.69180.3
90Petit, Y3.69117
92Leake, M3.7214.3
93Dickey, R3.71215.7
93Kuroda, H3.71199
93Vargas, J3.71187
93Bailey, H3.71145.7
97Morton, C3.72157.3
98Peavy, J3.73202.7
99Miller, S3.74183
99Feldman, S3.74180.3
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Top 100: Total Strikeouts

RankStarting PitcherStrikeoutsIP
1Price, D271248.3
2Kluber, C269235.7
3Scherzer, M252220.3
4Hernandez, F248236
5Cueto, J242243.7
5Strasburg, S242215
7Kershaw, C239198.3
8Lester, J220219.7
9Bumgarner, M219217.3
10Sale, C208174
11Greinke, Z207202.3
11Kennedy, I207201
13Samardzija, J202219.7
14Hamels, C198204.7
15Ross, T195195.7
16Burnett, A190213.7
17Wheeler, Z187185.3
18Teheran, J186221
18Hughes, P186209.7
20Hutchison, D184184.7
21Gray, S183219
21Miley, W183201.3
23Zimmermann, J182199.7
23Darvish, Y182144.3
25Lynn, L181203.7
26Shields, J180227
27Wainwright, A179227
27Santana, E179196
29Quintana, J178200.3
30McCarthy, B175200
30Liriano, F175162.3
32Odorizzi, J174168
33Dickey, R173215.7
33Archer, C173194.7
35Wood, A170171.7
36Weaver, J169213.3
37Arrieta, J167156.7
38Leake, M164214.3
38Lackey, J164198
38Kazmir, S164190.3
38Richards, G164168.7
42Gonzalez, G162158.7
43Harang, A161204.3
44Verlander, J159206
44Ventura, Y159183
46Peavy, J158202.7
46Hammel, J158176.3
48McHugh, C157154.7
49Peralta, W154198.7
49Iwakuma, H154179
51Koehler, T153191.3
52Colon, B151202.3
52Vogelsong, R151184.7
52Wilson, C151175.7
55Tillman, C150207.3
56Cobb, A149166.3
57Keuchel, D146200
57Kuroda, H146199
57Gallardo, Y146192.3
57Wood, T146173.7
61Haren, D145186
62deGrom, J144140.3
63Elias, R143163.7
63Bauer, T143153
65Eovaldi, N142199.7
66Lohse, K141198.3
66Tanaka, M141136.3
68Volquez, E140192.7
68Carrasco, C140134
70De La Rosa, J139184.3
70Norris, B139165.3
70Ryu, H139152
73Roark, T138198.7
73Niese, J138187.7
73Cole, G138138
76Chen, W136185.7
76Chavez, J136146
78Lincecum, T134155.2
79Lewis, C133170.3
79Happ, J133158
79Smyly, D133153
79Petit, Y133117
83Buchholz, C132170.3
84Porcello, R129204.7
84Danks, J129193.7
84Nuno, V129161.7
87Vargas, J128187
88Simon, A127196.3
88Miller, S127183
88Estrada, M127150.7
91Garza, M126163.3
91Morton, C126157.3
93Guthrie, J124202.7
93Bailey, H124145.7
93Shoemaker, M124136
96Noesi, H123172.3
96Jackson, E123140.7
98Kendrick, K121199
99Hudson, T120189.3
99Minor, M120145.3
99Salazar, D120110
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Top 100: Strikeouts per 9 Innings (K/9)

RankStarting PitcherK/9IPGS
1Fernandez, J12.1951.78
2Darvish, Y11.35144.322
3Kershaw, C10.85198.327
4Sale, C10.7617426
5Scherzer, M10.29220.333
6Kluber, C10.27235.734
7Petit, Y10.2311712
8Strasburg, S10.1321534
9Price, D9.82248.334
9Salazar, D9.8211020
11Liriano, F9.7162.329
12Arrieta, J9.59156.725
13Fiers, M9.5471.710
14Hernandez, F9.4623634
15Carrasco, C9.413414
16Sabathia, C9.39468
17Odorizzi, J9.3216831
18Tanaka, M9.31136.320
19Kennedy, I9.2720133
19Greene, S9.2778.714
21deGrom, J9.24140.322
22Greinke, Z9.21202.332
23Gonzalez, G9.19158.727
24McHugh, C9.14154.725
25Wheeler, Z9.08185.332
26Bumgarner, M9.07217.333
27Lester, J9.01219.732
28Cole, G913822
29Ross, T8.97195.731
29Hutchison, D8.97184.732
31Cueto, J8.94243.734
32Wood, A8.91171.724
33Richards, G8.75168.726
34Hamels, C8.71204.730
35Cingrani, T8.6763.311
35May, T8.6745.79
37Hahn, J8.5973.312
38Cahill, T8.54110.717
39Montero, R8.5344.38
40Matsuzaka, D8.4283.39
41Bauer, T8.4115326
42Chavez, J8.3814621
43Pomeranz, D8.356910
44Jimenez, U8.33125.322
44Beckett, J8.33115.720
46Samardzija, J8.28219.733
47Anderson, C8.27114.321
48Bolsinger, M8.2552.39
49Ryu, H8.2315226
50Santana, E8.2219631
51Shoemaker, M8.2113620
52Zimmermann, J8.2199.732
53Miley, W8.18201.333
54Peacock, B8.13131.724
54Tomlin, J8.1310416
54Straily, D8.13528
57Masterson, J8.11128.725
58Hammel, J8.06176.329
58Cobb, A8.06166.327
60Garcia, J8.0443.77
61Burnett, A8213.734
61Lynn, L8203.733
61Quintana, J8200.332
61Archer, C8194.732
65Hughes, P7.98209.732
66Lee, C7.9781.313
67Wacha, M7.9110719
68McCarthy, B7.8820032
69Jackson, E7.87140.727
70Elias, R7.86163.729
71Ventura, Y7.8218330
71Smyly, D7.8215325
73Lincecum, T7.77155.226
73Capuano, C7.7797.312
75Kazmir, S7.75190.332
76Iwakuma, H7.7417928
76Wilson, C7.74175.731
76McAllister, Z7.748615
79Bailey, H7.66145.723
80Stroman, M7.65130.720
81Santiago, H7.63127.324
81Hellickson, J7.6363.713
83Bedard, E7.6175.715
84Estrada, M7.59150.718
85Happ, J7.5815826
86Teheran, J7.5722133
86Wood, T7.57173.731
86Norris, B7.57165.328
89Gray, S7.5221933
90Pino, Y7.4660.311
91Lackey, J7.4519831
91Floyd, G7.4554.39
93Minor, M7.43145.325
94Deduno, S7.42100.79
95Wada, T7.469.313
95Nelson, J7.469.312
97Vogelsong, R7.36184.732
98Phelps, D7.3311317
99Sanchez, A7.2912621
100Workman, B7.248715
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