Tiered Up: Starting Pitchers

Ready to go the extra mile? Tiered Up looks at a more thorough way to set up your draft board than simple rankings.

Figuring out when to draft your starting pitchers could be the hardest part about preparing for your draft. If you settle on a mid-round second basemen you want, you're set at that position, provided you prepare one or two fall-back options.

With the SP position, you'll likely be drafting anywhere from five to ten guys, and that likely prevents you from being too closed-minded about pitchers. You have to prepare for almost every single starter to be available to you at some point in the draft, and chances are you'll be faced with a tough decision of selecing between a starting pitcher and a position player pretty quickly.

Here's where the tiered rankings come in handy. If you're on the clock and there's only one starter left in the top tier available, then grab that guy, as there's a big talent drop-off at the position if you pass on him. I tabbed Zack Greinke as a Tier 2 guy last year and placed him with other pitchers that were being selected 40-60 picks earlier. This allowed me to draft Greinke in many of my leagues; while others thought I was reaching for him at about 100 or 110, I was actually getting great value, according to my tiered rankings.

Can we rustle up some more diamonds this year? Let's find out now. Each player is listed with his Median Draft Position (explained here).

Tier 1

Tim Lincecum, Giants (12)
Roy Halladay, Phillies (19)
Zach Greinke, Royals (27)
CC Sabathia, Yankees (32)
Felix Hernandez, Mariners (29)

Here are your big five. If you're on the clock in the first few rounds and you really don't like the options available to you on offense, don't be afraid to grab your ace. With enough research and preparation, you should be able to identify some good offensive talent that can be had later in the draft to make up for passing on offense early for one of these guys.

Tier 2

Justin Verlander, Tigers (48)
Dan Haren, Diamondbacks (45)
Jon Lester, Red Sox (58)
Adam Wainwright, Cardinals (55)
Johan Santana, Mets (49)
Cliff Lee, Mariners (61)
Josh Beckett, Red Sox (77)
Josh Johnson, Marlins (71)
Chris Carpenter, Cardinals (57)

Here are the rest of your No. 1 SPs. If you grabbed one of our Tier 1 SPs, you can probably afford bypassing this entire tier. If you didn't, it would be wise to try and grab two of these guys. A good strategy to me seems to be to grab four infielders with your first four picks, two of these guys in the next two rounds, then a couple outfielders in the next few rounds (or other players if the value lies somewhere else).

Tier 3

Cole Hamels, Phillies (95)
Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies (90)
Javier Vazquez, Yankees (76)
Wandy Rodriguez, Astros (107)
Jake Peavy, White Sox (88)
Matt Cain, Giants (89)
Tommy Hanson, Braves (81)
Ricky Nolasco, Marlins (106)
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers (92)
Yovani Gallardo, Brewers (78)
Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks (110)
John Lackey, Red Sox (112)

Everyone should have at least two starters after this tier comes off the board, and I usually like to have three. I'd be very happy to own Rodriguez or Nolasco, two guys that are being picked outside the top 100, as a No. 3 SP. Webb and Lackey are going to be your last chances to get your No. 2 SP, if you haven't already.

Tier 4

Brett Anderson, A's (143)
Scott Baker, Twins (146)
Chad Billingsley, Dodgers (109)
Roy Oswalt, Astros (150)
Jered Weaver, Angels (116)
Jair Jurrjens, Braves (123)
Matt Garza, Rays (120)

These guys fill out your possible No. 3 SPs. I think Baker, Anderson and Oswalt are going for great value, and I'd probably grab one once Garza and Jurrjens get drafted. Billingsley feels like an overdraft right now, at least until he gets his walk rate in check.

Tier 5

James Shields, Rays (130)
Ted Lilly, Cubs (170)
Gavin Floyd, White Sox (179)
Ryan Dempster, Cubs (167)
David Price, Rays (171)
Kevin Slowey, Twins (203)
Jeff Niemann, Rays (221)
A.J. Burnett, Yankees (124)
Scott Kazmir, Angels (162)

After this group comes off the board, you should be looking at owning four starters. Lilly's injury looks like it'll be nothing to worry about, and there's even a chance he'll be ready by Opening Day. Price has the highest upside of the group, if you're looking to potentially strike gold here. Slowey's incredible K/BB ratios could have him contending for a Cy Young one day.

Tier 6

Clay Buchholz, Red Sox (184)
Aaron Harang, Reds (258)
Rich Harden, Rangers (160)
Francisco Liriano, Twins (200)
Jonathan Sanchez, Giants (216)
Max Scherzer, Tigers (147)
Jorge De La Rosa, Rockies (192)
Mark Buerhle, White Sox (230)
Carlos Zambrano, Cubs (155)
Marc Rzepczynski, Blue Jays (325)
Johnny Cueto, Reds (235)
John Danks, White Sox (159)
Brian Matusz, Orioles (297)
Ben Sheets, A's (186)
Tim Hudson, Braves (185)
Edwin Jackson, Diamondbacks (161)

You should be holding on to at least five starters by the time this tier dries up. It becomes clear that I'll be looking at owning Matusz and/or Rzepczynski to round out my staff in my leagues. Since I don't see much difference between Zambrano, Scherzer, Jackson, Harden and the rest of these guys, I can probably write those four off as SPs that will be drafted long before I'm ready to pull the trigger on them.

Tier 7

Joba Chamberlain, Yankees (206)
Ervin Santana, Angels (217)
Hiroki Kuroda, Dodgers (250)
Andy Pettitte, Yankees (255)
Joe Blanton, Phillies (248)
Derek Lowe, Braves (256)
Gil Meche, Royals (292)
Randy Wolf, Brewers (188)
Chris Tillman, Orioles (358)
Rick Porcello, Tigers (189)
Shaun Marcum, Blue Jays (322)
J.A. Happ, Phillies (196)

This group should round out your top six starters. Chamberlain will fight Phil Hughes for a rotation spot. Porcello has a spot locked up, but I prefer the higher ceiling of Tillman. I would bypass safe options Pettitte, Blanton and Lowe for upside guys like Tillman, Marcum, or any of the youngsters you like in Tier 8, unless you play in a really deep league and need the stability that those vets bring to the table.

Tier 8

Brett Myers, Astros (327)
Jon Garland, Padres (n/a)
Carl Pavano, Twins (373)
Randy Wells, Cubs (296)
Joe Saunders, Angels (272)
Bronson Arroyo, Reds (277)
Jason Hammel, Rockies (n/a)
Wade Davis, Rays (266)
Stephen Strasburg, Nationals (212)
Kevin Correia, Padres (275)
Rick VandenHurk, Marlins (n/a)
Daisuke Matsuzaka, Red Sox (195)
Joel Pineiro, Angels (291)
Mat Latos, Padres (273)
Justin Masterson, Indians (339)
Erik Bedard, Mariners (233)

Feel free to take these guys at the end of your deep-league draft, or any other sleeper SPs that you've fallen in love with. I love the move to San Diego for Garland. Davis and Strasburg will be hot commodities when they reach the majors. Latos should be on a strict innings limit. Dice-K and Bedard are being drafted on name recognition alone right now.