The Dynasty Guru’s Top 200 Dynasty League Starting Pitchers, Nos. 121-140
It’s been over two months since the Cubs won their first World Series in 108 years, ending the 2016 baseball season. But if you’re like most fantasy baseball owners, those two months probably feel like two years. Considering it’s still another month until Spring Training even starts, late January has to be the worst time to be a baseball fan. It’s too late to reflect on last year, but next season is too far ahead to look forward to. Luckily, with a little help from The Dynasty Guru, the next month is survivable, as we’ll be ranking and commenting on a whole lot of players over the next six weeks.
The Dynasty Guru’s hard-working staff has spent countless hours crafting these rankings, and we hope you enjoy and continue to support our efforts by showing your appreciation through this link or via the splendid ‘donate’ button located on the upper right-hand corner of the homepage. Donations of any size are greatly appreciated.
You can view our rankings for previous positions, and the dates future rankings will come out, by clicking the link to TDG’s 2017 Consensus Dynasty Baseball Rankings splash page. With that, let’s continue our starting pitcher rankings, beginning with one of the more polarizing pitchers on this list.
121) Luis Severino, New York Yankees (Age: 23, Previous Rank: 40)
Severino’s had his ups and downs. At one point he looked like a front of the rotation arm, and now dynasty owners are left wondering whether he’ll ever be an effective major league starter again. His ERA more than doubled between 2015 and 2016, and while it’s not a great indicator of future performance, it’s hard to put much stock in the young right-hander’s struggles. His minor league numbers were still pretty sharp in 2016, and he still has an opportunity to be a lethal asset out of the bullpen. It’s too early to sever ties in deep leagues, but his stock has dropped significantly.
122) Hisashi Iwakuma, Seattle Mariners (Age: 36, Previous Rank: 68)
The end has been near for Iwakuma for a few years now, but he he keeps on producing when he’s actually on the mound. The numbers have never been too flashy, but the crafty righthanded veteran has a knack for inducing soft contact. If you’re in win-now mode, Iwakuma could be an excellent trade target.
123) Junior Guerra, Milwaukee Brewers (Age: 32, Previous Rank: N/A)
#2016BrewersAce, Junior Guerra, as one of the most pleasant surprises of the year. Having recently celebrated his 32nd birthday, Guerra’s dynasty value is significantly lower than your average pitcher coming off a rookie season in which he threw over 120 innings of sub-3.00 ERA ball. Utilizing an average strikeout and walk profile, the advanced metrics don’t like Guerra as much as the antiquated ones. Maybe he builds upon his stellar rookie season, or maybe he implodes. That’s the beauty of baseball, no one can possibly know.
124) A.J. Puk, Oakland Athletics (Age: 22, Previous Rank: N/A)
Six-foot-seven lefties don’t grow on trees, and they usually don’t touch 97 like Puk does. Good thing the A’s are perennially in competitive purgatory, allowing them to take arguably the best talent in the 2016 amateur draft with the sixth pick. There’s legit front-of-the-rotation potential here with a relatively safe floor of a high-quality reliever. He’s got the ballpark working in his favor as well, and could cut his ranking on this list in half by this time next year.
125) Alex Wood, Los Angeles Dodgers (Age: 26, Previous Rank: 123)
The numbers jump off the page, with a K/9 approaching 10 last season while keeping the walks fewer than 3 per nine innings. As with most pitchers, it comes down to health for Wood. If he throws 180 innings in 2017, he’ll probably be in our top-50 next year.
126) Jeff Hoffman, Colorado Rockies (Age: 24, Previous Rank: 102)
It’s tough enough as it is to pitch in Coors Field, but having a 2.01 HR/9 rate doesn’t make it any easier. He walked too many guys, didn’t strike out enough, and seemed prone to giving up the long ball. His Triple-A numbers were still solid last year, and it’s too early to give up on the prospect once traded for Rockies legend Troy Tulowitzki. At the same time, there’s a long road ahead for him to develop into a front of the rotation arm.
127) Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers (Age: 22, Previous Rank: N/A)
One of the few Dodgers pitching prospects last standing after a flurry of trades and Julio Urias’s promotion. Though he’s thrown just five innings as a pro, the upside is very real with Buehler. He hails from Vanderbilt, where they seem to produce a future Cy Young candidate every year. Buehler’s a risky asset, but could prove extremely valuable down the road.
128) Ian Anderson, Atlanta Braves (Age: 19, Previous Rank: N/A)
The third overall pick in last summer’s draft, Anderson’s value is somewhat inflated by his draft status. The Braves entered the draft with a strategy of spreading their bonus pool out across many rounds, otherwise they likely would’ve taken a higher-profile name like Jason Groome or Kyle Lewis with the pick. Anderson’s debut went very well, making five short starts in both the Gulf Coast League and the Appalachian League. He held his own in the more advanced Rookie league,
129) Luis Ortiz, Milwaukee Brewers (Age: 21, Previous Rank: 105)
Acquired by Milwaukee in the deal which brought Jonathan Lucroy to Texas, Ortiz has had prospect status for a while now. The numbers have never been incredible, but he was in Double-A before his 21st birthday. There’s some mid-rotation potential here, but the more likely outcome is a blasé back-of-the-rotation arm. His value is largely contingent on the depth of your league.
130) Triston McKenzie, Cleveland Indians (Age: 19, Previous Rank: N/A)
Did someone say, “helium”? Cause McKenzie rocketed up prospect lists this year. In three abbreviated minor league stops since being drafted in 2015, McKenzie is yet to post a WHIP above 0.971. He’s only thrown 95.1 innings as a pro across two years, but the 11.4 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 scream upside.
131) Sean Newcomb, Atlanta Braves (Age: 23, Previous Rank: 81)
Newcomb still has a chance to develop into the mid-rotation starter prospect pundits hoped he’d become, but his stock took a hit in 2016. It’s pretty difficult to be a successful big league starter unless you throw a lot of strikes, which is something Newcomb has struggled with since his pro debut. At this point there’s a reasonable chance dynasty owners get a lights-out lefty reliever out of Newcomb.
132) Wei-Yin Chen, Miami Marlins (Age: 31, Previous Rank: nice)
One of the prime ‘sleeper’ candidates in redraft leagues last year, Chen disappointed even those who acquired him on the cheap. There’s a chance he’s got another 3.50 ERA/1.20 WHIP season left in him, but it’s less likely today than it was a year ago.
133) Tyler Anderson, Colorado Rockies (Age: 27, Previous Rank: N/A)
One of the big surprises of the 2016 season, the Rockies’ 26-year-old rookie put up some stellar numbers. It’s hard to argue with a combination of a near-8 K/9 and near-2 BB/9, and a groundball rate over 50 percent. We’re hesitant to go all-in on Anderson due to his home park, but there’s a reasonable chance he vastly outperforms his ranking in 2017.
134) Jaime Garcia, Atlanta Braves (Age: 30, Previous Rank: 88)
Maybe the Braves know how to keep him healthy. Maybe he’ll pump out 2-3 more 120-inning seasons where his value surges and he becomes a trade commodity before hitting the shelf again. Maybe. Maybe not. Fantasy baseball.
135) Jason Hammel, Kansas City Royals (Age: 34, Previous Rank: 127)
The fact that the Cubs let him walk this offseason is a bit disheartening, especially after he put in a productive 2016 campaign and the Cubs don’t have a clear-cut 5th starter. He turns 35 this September, and odds are he only has another season or two left as a reasonably productive starter.
136) Robert Stephenson, Cincinnati Reds (Age: 23, Previous Rank: 87)
TINSTAAP. The good news is, Stephenson’s minor league number didn’t degrade upon arriving in the show. The bad news is, those numbers were never that impressive in the first place. A league average strikeout rate combined with subpar command and control. Stephenson has a shot to break out in 2017, but is equally as likely to pitch his way out of a starting gig.
137) Homer Bailey, Cincinnati Reds (Age: 31, Previous Rank: 136)
Other than “Can’t Get Anyone Out”, Homer is probably the worst nickname a pitcher could have. It has nothing to do with David Dewitt Bailey’s value, but I’ve always thought it was interesting. He returned from Tommy John Surgery after the All-Star Break last year, but was shut down after throwing just 23 innings. He’s since been diagnosed with bone spurs in his elbow and will likely start the season on the DL. It’s a shame really, as he had broken out during the 2014 season and looked to be a rising ace. There’s still hope, but there might not be too much gas left in the tank for the nearly-32-year-old.
138) Matt Wisler, Atlanta Braves (Age: 24, Previous Rank: 101)
Early in the season Wisler was trending in the right direction, albeit while performing a bit over his head. The cruel world of regression came raining down on the young righty, even spending time back at Triple-A. His statline showed 156 ⅔ innings of cool 5.00 ERA baseball (with an additional 26 ⅔ innings in Triple-A). He’s stretched out and ready to eat innings if he can carve out a spot in a suddenly packed Braves rotation.
139) Grant Holmes, Oakland Athletics (Age: 21, Previous Rank: 106)
One of three pitching prospects acquired by Oakland in exchange for GOAT Rich Hill and Josh Reddick, Holmes probably has the most name value of the trio. Cotton’s the safer option, Montas has the most upside, and Holmes is somewhere in between. While there likely isn’t frontline upside here, Oakland has elevated relatively pedestrian pitchers into fantasy relevancy in the past.
140) Hyun-Jin Ryu, Los Angeles Dodgers (Age: 30, Previous Rank: 83)
Ryu teased us with consecutive productive seasons to start his MLB career, but has thrown just 4 and ⅔ innings since the end of the 2014 season. There’s still a chance he gets healthy and returns to mid-rotation status, but he’ll be 30 by Opening Day and at this point it’s hard to put much stock in him.
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[…] 2017 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: TheDyanstyGuru.com continues their release of the top 200 starting pitchers for keeper/dynasty leagues with #121-140. […]