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Starting pitchers get you 40% of the key stats in 5x5 leagues, and are sometimes even more important in H2H and points leagues. Our starting pitcher depth charts have a special fantasy baseball focus, to let you know which pitchers are worth owning and which aren't. MLB teams make in-season changes due to injuries or poor performance all the time, so stay on top of all MLB starting pitcher depth charts for the AL and NL, and dominate in pitching this year.
We will be updating the MLB Starting Pitcher Depth Charts for Fantasy Baseball all season long. Below you'll find our Week 12 depth charts. Make sure to stay on top of the hierarchies when setting your lineups and planning your weekly starts/sits.
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Week 12 Starting Pitcher Playbook and Planner
Some big things happened this week. Blake Snell was called up on Thursday for the Rays and made a mediocre start against the sneaky-powerful Mariners, and although his second start was poor, it is believed that Snell will be hanging around the big league club for an extended period of time.
Cody Reed was called up for the Reds, and made a promising start against the Astros in Minute Maid Park going seven innings, allowing four earned runs, and striking out nine batters. Also, two-time Cy Young award winner "The Freak" Tim Lincecum made his debut in the Angels rotation; pitching six innings, allowing four hits, two walks, and just one earned run on a 9:7 ground ball to fly ball ratio.
A couple of controversial young arms made some waves as well. For instance, Indians RHP Trevor Bauer has had five straight quality starts since May 27th and in his last two starts he has pitched 15 innings and allowed just three earned runs, four walks, and struck out 12 batters.
Yordano Ventura has miraculously avoided trying to harm another player in his last two starts and in that time, he has looked as good on the mound as he is talented. In those two starts Ventura has pitched 13.1 innings, has allowed just one earned run, eleven hits, one walk, and struck out 15 batters. Maybe after his most recent of hot-headed antics, his teammates got through to him and convinced him to use his 99 MPH fastball for good instead of evil.
Here is some fun trivia: Name the top three pitchers in the AL in terms of ERA. Did you guess guys like Cole Hamels, Masahiro Tanaka, and Chris Sale? You would've guessed correctly... numbers 7, 8, and 9. The top three ERA in the AL are Steven Wright of Boston with a 2.22, Danny Salazar of Cleveland with a 2.23, and Marco Estrada of Toronto with a 2.58. What was the betting line on those three to win the ERA title at the start of the season?
Other surprises include Colby Lewis at 5th with a 2.81, Chris Tillman at 6th with a 2.87, Doug Fister at 10th with a 3.26, and Josh Tomlin at 11th with a 3.27. With guys like Carlos Rodon, David Price, Chris Archer, Marcus Stroman, Felix Hernandez, Sonny Gray, James Shields, and Dallas Keuchel sitting very un-pretty with disappointing performances in 2016, it is clearer than ever why time should be taken to review the SP Depth Charts for every MLB team so that you are ready to act when your old reliable aces down pan out in the way that you thought.
Week 12 Starting Pitcher Depth Charts
AL EAST: 2016 Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball
| Team Name | Fantasy Aces | Solid Options | Deeper Options / Streamers | Ignore | Watch List |
| Yankees | Masahiro Tanaka, C.C. Sabathia | Luis Severino (INJ) | Nathan Eovaldi, Ivan Nova | Michael Pineda | Jacob Lindgren, Chad Green |
| Red Sox | David Price | Steven Wright, Rick Porcello | Eduardo Rodrgiuez | Joe Kelly, Clay Buchholz | Michael Kopech |
| Blue Jays | Marco Estrada, Aaron Sanchez | J.A. Happ, Marcus Stroman | R.A. Dickey | N/A | |
| Orioles | Chris Tillman | Kevin Gausman | Yovani Gallardo (INJ) | Tyler Wilson, Mike Wright, Ubaldo Jimenez | Dylan Bundy, Hunter Harvey |
| Rays | N/A | Jake Odorizzi, Drew Smyly, Chris Archer | Matt Moore, Blake Snell | Erasmo Ramirez | N/A |
AL Central: 2016 Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball
| Team Name | Fantasy Aces | Solid Options | Deeper Options / Streamers | Ignore | Watch List |
| Tigers | Michael Fulmer, Jordan Zimmerman | Justin Verlander | N/A | Shane Greene, Anibal Sanchez, Mike Pelfrey | Matt Boyd, Daniel Norris |
| Royals | N/A | Ian Kennedy, Edinson Volquez | Kris Medlen (INJ) | Chris Young, Dillon Gee, Yordano Ventura | Mike Minor (INJ), Kyle Zimmer |
| Indians | Danny Salazar, Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco | Trevor Bauer, Josh Tomlin | Cody Anderson | N/A | Rob Kaminsky |
| White Sox | Chris Sale, Jose Quintana | N/A | Carlos Rodon, Miguel Gonzalez | James Shields, John Danks | Frankie Montas |
| Twins | N/A | N/A | Ervin Santana | Phil Hughes, Kyle Gibson, Tyler Duffey, Tommy Milone, Ricky Nolasco | Jose Berrios |
AL West: 2016 Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball
| Team Name | Fantasy Aces | Solid Options | Deeper Options / Streamers | Ignore | Watch List |
| Astros | N/A | Lance McCullers, Doug Fister, Dallas Keuchel | Mike Fiers, Collin McHugh | Scott Feldman | N/A |
| Rangers | Yu Darvish(INJ), Cole Hamels | Colby Lewis | Derek Holland, Martin Perez, A.J Griffin (INJ) | Nick Martinez | Chi Chi Gonzalez |
| Mariners | Felix Hernandez (INJ) | Taijuan Walker (INJ), Hisashi Iwakuma, James Paxton | Nate Karns, | Wade Miley | Edwin Diaz |
| Athletics | Rich Hill (INJ) | Sonny Gray | Jesse Hahn, Sean Manaea (INJ) | Chris Bassitt, Kendall Graveman | Henderson Alvarez (INJ), Felix Doubront (INJ) |
| Angels | Matt Shoemaker | Hector Santiago | Tim Lincecum | Jered Weaver, Tyler Skaggs (INJ) | Andrew Heaney (INJ) |
NL EAST: 2016 Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball
| Team Name | Fantasy Aces | Solid Options | Deeper Options / Streamers | Ignore | Watch List |
| Mets | Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Jacob DeGrom | N/A | Bartolo Colon | N/A | Zack Wheeler (INJ) |
| Braves | Julio Teheran | N/A | Mike Foltynewicz, Matt Wisler | Williams Perez, Bud Norris | Manny Banuelos (INJ) |
| Nationals | Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg | Tanner Roark, Joe Ross | Gio Gonzalez | N/A | Lucas Giolito |
| Marlins | Jose Fernandez | N/A | Tom Koehler, Adam Conley, Wei-Yin Chen | Jarred Cosart | N/A |
| Phillies | Aaron Nola | Jeremy Hellickson, Vincent Velasquez | Jerad Eickhoff, Charlie Morton | Brett Oberholtzer | Jake Thompson, Zach Eflin |
NL Central: 2016 Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball
| Team Name | Fantasy Aces | Solid Options | Deeper Options / Streamers | Ignore | Watch List |
| Pirates | Gerrit Cole (INJ) | Jameson Taillon | Francisco Liriano | Jon Niese, Jeff Locke, Juan Nicasio | Tyler Glasnow |
| Cubs | Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester | Jason Hammel, John Lackey, Kyle Hendricks | N/A | Trevor Cahill | Duane Underwood |
| Cardinals | Carlos Martinez | Adam Wainwright, Mike Leake | Jaime Garcia, Michael Wacha | N/A | Marco Gonzales, Tim Cooney, Tyler Lyons |
| Reds | N/A | Dan Straily | Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb, Anthony DeSclafani, Cody Reed | Jon Moscot, Alfredo Simon | Robert Stephenson, Michael Lorenzen (INJ), Homer Bailey (INJ) |
| Brewers | N/A | Zach Davies, Jimmy Nelson | Chase Anderson | Wily Peralta, Matt Garza (INJ) | Tyler Cravy, Taylor Jungmann |
NL West: 2016 Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball
| Team Name | Fantasy Aces | Solid Options | Deeper Options / Streamers | Ignore | Watch List |
| Dodgers | Clayton Kershaw | Kenta Maeda, Julio Urias | Scott Kazmir, Alex Wood (INJ) | Ross Stripling (INJ), Mike Bolsinger | Hyun Jin Ryu (INJ), Brandon McCarthy (INJ) |
| Padres | Drew Pomeranz | Tyson Ross (INJ) | Andrew Cashner, Colin Rea | Jeremy Guthrie, Robbie Erlin | N/A |
| Rockies | N/A | Jon Gray, Tyler Chatwood | N/A | Jorge De La Rosa, Chad Bettis, Jordan Lyles, Yohan Flande, Christian Bergman | Jeff Hoffman |
| Giants | Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto | Jeff Samardzija | Jake Peavy | Matt Cain (INJ) | Tyler Beede |
| Diamondbacks | Zack Greinke | Archie Bradley | Patrick Corbin, Robbie Ray, Rubby De La Rosa (INJ) | Shelby Miller | Braden Shipley |
Depth Chart Definitions:
- Fantasy Aces - Pitchers to anchor a rotation, a #1 or #2 fantasy starter
- Solid Options - The meat of your rotation, a #3 - #5 type fantasy starter
- Deeper Options / Streamers - All pitchers with value, but depending on your league size these are bottom rotation types or players worth streaming
- Ignore - Unless you're in NL / AL only leagues, you shoudn't really touch these guys
- Watch List - Your list of prospects or injured pitchers who might soon hold value
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