Top 25 Starting Pitchers for 2014

Zack Greinke 

The following list is composed of the top 25 starting pitchers for the 2014 season. After each player's name is their current team and their ERA+ for the 2013 season. ERA+ is a statistic that compares a player's ERA to league average and is adjusted to home ball park. Previous seasons and consistency are considered in the ranking. There are several players that deserve to be on the list statistically but will need to prove themselves in the upcoming seasons.

1. Clayton Kershaw - Los Angeles Dodgers         194 ERA+
2. Felix Hernandez - Seattle Mariners                   121 ERA+
3. David Price - Tampa Bay Rays                        114 ERA+
4. Madison Bumgarner - San Francisco Giants      120 ERA+
5. Zack Greinke - Los Angeles Dodgers               135 ERA+
6. Yu Darvish - Texas Rangers                            145 ERA+
7. Justin Verlander - Detroit Tigers                      121 ERA+
8. Adam Wainwright - St. Louis Cardinals            123 ERA+
9. Jered Weaver - Los Angeles Angels                  115 ERA+
10. Stephan Strasburg - Washington Nationals      126 ERA+
11. James Shields - Kansas City Royals                131 ERA+
12. Chris Sale - Chicago White Sox                      140 ERA+
13. Cole Hamels - Philadelphia Phillies                   106 ERA+
14. Max Scherzer -   Detroit Tigers                      145 ERA+
15. Shelby Miller - St. Louis Cardinals                   119 ERA+
16. Jose Fernandez - Miami Marlins                      176 ERA+
17. Hisashi Iwakuma - Seattle Mariners                 138 ERA+
18. Gio Gonzalez - Washington Nationals              113 ERA+
19. Anibal Sanchez - Detroit Tigers                       163 ERA+
20. CC Sabathia - New York Yankees                   85 ERA+
21. Mike Minor - Atlanta Braves                           120 ERA+
22. Matt Latos - Cincinnati Reds                           121 ERA+
23. Jordan Zimmerman - Washington Nationals       116 ERA+
24. Hiroki Kuroda - New York Yankees                  122 ERA+
25. Garret Cole - Pittsburgh Pirates                        109 ERA+

Not Living Up to the Hype

The 2006 draft featured several players who have accumulated their fair share of accolades. Tim Lincecum drafted 10th overall won back to back Cy Young Awards in 2008 and 2009 along with World Series victories in 2010 and 2012. Clayton Kershaw was selected 7th overall and has Cy Young awards for the 2011 and 2013 season. Max Scherzer was selected 11th overall and won the 2013 Cy Young Award. Finally third baseman Evan Longoria was drafted 3rd overall and has appeared in 3 All Star Games, won the 2008 Rookie of the Year Award and 2 Gold Glove Awards. These players are definitely living up to their hype, but who was drafted first overall in the 2006 draft?

Luke Hochevar

Luke Hochevar was drafted first overall in the 2006 draft and signed with the Kansas City Royals for 4 years $5.3 Million. From 2008-2012 Hochevar pitched 758 innings to a 5.45 ERA. In 128 games pitched Hochevar started 127 games. His ERA never dropped below 4.68 and his WHIP over that time period was 1.407. Hochevar was nothing short of a disappointment for the Royals from 2008-2012, but the tides did shift in 2013.

Hochevar was moved to the bullpen in 2013 and found much success for the Kansas City Royals. We saw Tim Lincecum find a lot of success out of the bullpen for the San Francisco Giants in the 2012 playoffs. Hochevar pitched 70 innings in 2013 all out of the bullpen totaling 58 total appearances.  Hochevar's ERA dropped dramatically to the lowest it has ever been; 1.92. Hochevar did total 82 strikeouts over season also reaching 10.5 K/9 the highest of his career. His H/9 and BB/9 also dropped to his career best.

The chance for Hochevar to be as successful as the other players drafted in the 2006 draft has past, but he is definitely rising to the occasion as he begins to work out of the bullpen for the Royals. Along with several other critical arms in the Royals rotation and bullpen, Luke Hochaver may finally live up to some of his hype.

From the South

In this post I'm not talking about the geographic south, I'm going to discuss three Cy Young Award wining south paws at different stages in their career. Left handed pitchers generally earn more money than right handed pitchers and all three of these guys will be bringing home the bread in the near future.

CC Sabathia is the first of three south paws in this post. CC will be 33 in July of this year and that means that he has officially passed his prime. He no longer has the 97 mph fastball he did when he won the Cy Young Award in 2007 with the Cleveland Indians, but he continues to pitch effectively. His fastball is steady around 90-93 mph, but now he has learned how to pitch and just not throw. Using a nasty slider and a change up in a handful of combinations, Sabathia has been able to lead the American League with 43.0 innings pitched with a 3.35 ERA. In four or five years the big man may run into troubles, but he is smart enough to pitch effectively the rest of his career, but it is for sure that he will not be in contention for a Cy Young Award in future seasons.

David Price is the second of three south paws in this post. Price will be 28 in August of this year and that means he will be entering his prime. Price can get you out in a number of ways. He can blow a 95 mph fastball by you or make you look silly on a change up. Being drafted by and brought up by the Rays, Prince knows how to pitch the right way. He can give you 200+ innings and a sub 3.00 ERA on top of that. Price win the Cy Young Award in 2012, and it shouldn't be the last of his success, but that success may not come with the Rays. Price will soon be a free agent and he is with an organization that has trouble holding onto great talent. Price will be paid a large sum of money and if it happens to be a team on the West Coast, you can expect a few great seasons from the talented lefty.

Clayton Kershaw is the third and final south paw in this post. Kershaw turned 25 in March of this year and everyone is amazed by the success he has already has. We have no idea where the limit is on the ace of the Dodgers. Three consecutive seasons with 200+ IP, a sub 3.00 ERA, and 200+ strikeouts is phenomenal for a pitcher of any age. Statistically he draws a strong comparison to Sandy Koufax and I won't blow that one out of the water, because the Hall of Fame pitcher said he liked Kershaw's stuff. Clayton won the Cy Young Award at the age of 23 and he will definitely win many more in his career, but this season Kershaw and the Dodgers are looking to win the World Series. Judging buy the way the Dodgers are spending money and Kershaw's value to the team, by the time he is a free agent in 2015, Clayton Kershaw will become the highest paid player ever.

Okay here's a bonus south paw. Turing back the clock and going back to 1995, Andy Pettitte has found the fountain of youth. The lefty will be 41 years old in June, but you would never know. His fastball sits around 87-88 mph, but he shows a masterful slider and pinpoint control. In 12 starts in 2012 Pettitte pitched to a 2.87 ERA, and now in 2013 he has pitched to a 2.22 ERA eating some innings along the way. Pettitte never won a Cy Young Award, but I'm sure he's happy with his 5 World Series victories. Also during Pettite's younger days his lowest ERA was 2.88 so its very odd to say that Dandy Andy is performing better than ever.

Top 10 by Position

I have evaluated all the teams and now I will do my top 10 by position. The name of the player followed by their team. Both offense and defense are considered for the player's rank. I base the rankings on the player's past three seasons to get a large enough sample size, also accounting for age.

Catcher

1. Buster Posey - San Francisco Giants
2. Joe Mauer - Minnesota Twins
3. Yadiar Molina - St. Louis Cardinals
4. Miguel Montero - Arizona Diamond Backs
5. AJ Pierzynski - Texas Rangers
6. Matt Wieters - Baltimore Orioles
7. Carlos Santana - Cleveland Indians
8. JP Arencibia - Toronto Blue Jays
9. Jared Saltalmaccia - Boston Red Sox
10. Jesus Montero - Seattle Mariners

"I'm the hero San Francisco deserves." 

First Base

1. Joey Votto - Cincinnati Reds
2. Albert Pujols - Los Angeles Angels
3. Prince Fielder - Detroit Tigers
4. Adrian Gonzalez - Los Angeles Dodgers
5. Paul Konerko - Chicago White Sox
6. Mark Teixeira - New York Yankees
7. Ryan Howard - Philadelphia Phillies
8. Adam Laroach - Washington Nationals
9. Chris Davis - Baltimore Orioles
10. Justin Morneau - Minnesota Twins

"Hey Brandon, look at what I can do!"

Second Base

1. Robinson Cano - New York Yankees
2. Dustin Pedroia - Boston Red Sox
3. Brandon Phillips - Cincinnati Reds
4. Jason Kipnis - Cleveland Indians
5. Ian Kinsler - Texas Rangers
6. Aaron Hill - Arizona Diamond Backs
7. Jose Altuve - Houston Astros
8. Danny Espinosa - Washington Nationals
9. Marco Scuttaro - San Francisco Giants
10. David Murphy - New York Mets

"#Swag"

Third Base

1. Miguel Cabrera - Detroit Tigers
2. Adrian Beltre - Texas Rangers
3. David Wright - New York Mets
4. Evan Longoria - Tampa Bay Rays
5. Pablo Sandoval - San Francisco Giants
6. Aramis Ramirez - Milwaukee Brewers
7. Chase Headly - San Diego Padres
8. Ryan Zimmerman - Washington Nationals
9. Mike Moustakis - Kansas City Royals
10. Kevin Youkilis - New York Yankees

"You can call me King Cabrera"

Short Stop

1. Troy Tulowitzki - Colorado Rockies
2. Starlin Castro - Chicago Cubs
3. Jose Reyes - Toronto Blue Jays
4. Derek Jeter - New York Yankees
5. Hanley Ramirez - Los Angeles Dodgers
6. Elvis Andrus - Texas Rangers
7. Ian Desmond - Washington Nationals
8. JJ Hardy - Baltimore Orioles
9. Alexi Ramirez - Chicago White Sox
10. Erick Aybar - Los Angeles Angels

"I play for which team?"

Left Field

1. Ryan Braun - Milwaukee Brewers
2. Josh Hamilton - Los Angeles Angels
3. Carlos Gonzalez - Colorado Rockies
4. Matt Holliday - St. Louis Cardinals
5. Michael Morse - Seattle Mariners
6. Justin Upton - Atlanta Braves
7. Alex Gordon - Kansas City Royals
8. Josh Willingham - Minnesota Twins
9. Jason Kubel - Arizona Diamond Backs
10. Bryce Harper - Washington Nationals

"Spittin seeds like I'm hittin homers."

Center Field

1. Matt Kemp - Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Andrew McCutchen - Pittsburgh Pirates
3. Mike Trout - Los Angeles Angels
4. Adam Jones - Baltimore Orioles
5. Curtis Granderson - New York Yankees
6. BJ Upton - Atlanta Braves
7. Shin-Soo Choo - Cincinnati Reds
8. Jacoby Ellsbury - Boston Red Sox
9. Angel Pagan - San Francisco Giants
10. Austin Jackson - Detroit Tigers

"What did Cano say?"

Right Field

1. Giancarlo Stanton - Miami Marlins
2. Jason Heyward - Atlanta Braves
3. Jay Bruce - Cincinnati Reds
4. Nick Swisher - Cleveland Indians
5. Andre Ethier - Los Angeles Dodgers
6. Jose Baustista - Toronto Blue Jays
7. Carlos Beltran - St. Lewis Cardinals
8. Hunter Pence - San Francisco Giants
9. Nick Markakis - Baltimore Orioles
10. Ichiro Suzuki - New York Yankees

"Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one on the field."

Designated Hitters - Top 5

1. David Ortiz - Boston Red Sox
2. Edwin Encarnacion - Toronto Blue Jays
3. Billy Butler - Kansas City Royals
4. Victor Martinez - Detroit Tigers
5. Kendrys Morales - Seattle Mariners

"Hitting singles is too mainstream" 

Starting Pitcher

1. Clayton Kershaw - Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Justin Verlander - Detroit Tigers
3. Felix Hernandez - Seattle Mariners
4. Jered Weaver - Los Angeles Angels
5. David Price - Tampa Bay Rays
6. RA Dickey - Toronto Blue Jays
7. Matt Cain - San Francisco Giants
8. Stephan Strasburg - Washington Nationals
9. CC Sabathia - New York Yankees
10. Cole Hamels - Philadelphia Phillies

"Koufax said he liked my stuff!"

Closers

1. Craig Kimbrel - Atlanta Braves
2. Aroldis Chapman - Cincinnati Reds
3. Mariano Rivera - New York Yankees
4. Fernando Rodney - Tampa Bay Rays
5. Johnathon Papelbon - Philadelphia Phillies
6. Sergio Romo - San Francisco Giants
7.  Kenley Jansen - Los Angeles Dodgers
8.  Rafael Soriano - Washington Nationals
9. Steve Cishek - Maimi Marlins
10. Jim Johnson - Baltimore Orioles

"Right handed Billy Wagner? How about non left handed Craig Kimbrel?"

Remember it isn't just the players that make a team good. It is how they play together and they players around them.

Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting

What a busy Saturday April 21, 2012. A perfect game, a 9-0 comeback win, a double header between two powerful teams, and several great pitching performances.

Lets start off with The Humber Games. The 21st perfect game in MLB history goes to the 29 year old Phillip Humber. Collecting 9 strikeouts against The Seattle Mariners Humber enters baseball history as another pitcher to complete baseball immortality. A very exciting game for baseball fans all over the country and congratulations to Phillip Humber.

The next thing to talk about is the greatest rivalry in sports history. The Yankees beat the Red Sox in the first game of a 3 game set 6-2. In game 2 of the weekend series The Red Sox looked dominant through the first 6 innings. Starter Felix Doubront pitched 6 innings and gave up just 1 run, a solo home run to Mark Teixeira. Doubront was taken out after the 6th inning with a 9-1 lead. The problem for The Red Sox this season has been the bullpen and yes they did not perform well. A grand slam and a 2 run double for Nick Swisher and a 3 run homer and a 2 run double for Teixeira lead The Yankees to  an momentous 15-9 victory over The Red Sox.

A double header between The Tigers and The Rangers took place on Saturday as well. In the first game Rick Porcello got rocked pitching only 1 inning while giving up 8 runs. The Rangers got an easy victory in that game. In the night game Justin Verlander took the hill for The Tigers and Neftali Feliz took the hill for The Rangers. Feliz went 8 innings giving up 3 runs and Verlander went 6 innings giving up only 1 unearned run. The two teams split the double header.

AJ Burnett made his first start of the season after recovering from an injury in spring training. He pitched 7 shutout innings against The Cardinals. He was acommponied by Justin Verlander, Stephan Strasburg, Clayton Kershaw and Phillip Humber as starters to not allow a run on Saturday.





What will Sunday hold?

Japanese Cowboy

Yu Darvish signed with the Texas Rangers last night for 6 years $60 million.This will keep the Rangers as competitors with the Angels. If he performs well, the Western divisions will be stacked with great pitching. Darvish pitched to minuscule ERA's and high number strikeouts in his seasons with Japan. Now the Japanese right hander will be pitching 6 years in Texas, lets see how he performs.

With all the big name pitchers off the market, only Edwin Jackson and Roy Oswalt remain. The western divisions will be loaded with excellent pitching.

Rangers: Davish
Angels: Weaver, Haren,Wilson, Santana
Mariners: Hernandez
Giants: Lincecum, Cain
Dodgers: Kershaw, Billingsly
Diamondbacks: Kennedy, Hudson, Cahill

Those are 13 names that can put up great numbers. Those fans on the west coast sure are lucky.
  

I Agree

I agree with the choice of National League MVP. Ryan Braun was the right choice for the award. He had a fantastic season. Referring to my previous post he had a 29% RPP and lead his team to the playoffs. Also he is a good guy and a team player.

Although i have one question. If Verlander won American League MVP how did Kershaw not finish in the MVP voting. He only had 3 less wins than Verlander, probably from a not as successful offense, a better ERA and led the National League in strikeouts. He won the triple crown for pitching as did Verlander in their respective leagues.

You may say that the 3 wins is the main factor, but in 2010 cy young voting Felix Hernandez had 8 fewer wins than CC Sabathia. You may also say that the AL lacked a significant amount of Legitimate MVP candidates. Well Micguel Cabrera had a higher Avg and just a few less home runs and RBI's than Braun.

So why Verlander Win and Kershaw didn't? Why is ERA not a factor this year?I think a player who wins 25% of their teams games deserves to be the most valuable. Verlander won 25% as did Kershaw.