Some people don't like to hear about how deep starting pitcher is, as if pointing it out is inviting a horde of injury bugs to ravage the bountiful harvest. Well, yes, attrition happens — especially within these ranks. No matter how deep starting pitcher appears now, it'll appear less so by next September.
But that's all the more reason why we should celebrate its depth while it's still pristine. Having more high-end possibilities allows for a greater margin for error. Of course, that's only true if you draft multiples, and that's a stance I've been taking for some time now.
You draft four of these top 40 -- which isn't a strict cutoff, though it makes for a good one this year -- and hope two of them pan out. If three do, you're golden. What I'm less interested in doing is playing favorites here.
The distinctions -- particularly after the top seven or eight -- are too slim for me to be deeply invested in how I've ranked them. Rather than target a specific pitcher, I'll take the best one available when either the value is too great to pass up or I don't like what's happening at the other positions. Also, I've become increasingly convinced in recent years that we can't predict to any serviceable degree which pitchers will indeed get hurt.
Some may be likelier than others, but they're all so likely as to make the concept of a "safe choice" laughable. As such, I've made a concerted effort in this year's rankings to prioritize skills over durability or longevity. That's not to say I've completely ignored the latter, but at a position that's always been difficult to parse, I've chosen to parse in other ways.
I should mention that Mason Montgomery technically qualifies at starting pitcher and will officially rank among them once rankings are official. But for the purposes of this article, I've chosen to forgo him since he's actually a closer. I will mention, though, that my initial inclination is to slot him 18th at starting pitcher in Rotisserie leagues and 27th for Head-to-Head points (as depicted below).
Extract — continue reading at the source.
