It's 'bout that time, eh chaps? The Winter Meetings have come and gone. With it, some of the biggest offseason dominoes have already fallen. The 2017 fantasy baseball draft board is beginning to come into focus. Now it's time to delve into player rankings. We'll continue with our 2017 starting pitcher fantasy baseball rankings for December.

This first round of rankings features picks from Kyle Bishop, Nick Mariano, Bill Dubiel, and Brad Johnson. I know I've had my initial lists in place since mid-October, and my colleagues here weren't too far behind me.

This year, we'll begin by presenting our rankings then share a few thoughts round table style.

Editor's note: Be sure to also check out our 2017 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard. It's already loaded up with tons of great rankings articles and draft analysis. Aside from our tiered staff rankings for every position, we also go deep on MLB prospect rankings, impact rookies for 2017, and dynasty/keeper rankings as well. Bookmark the page, and win your drafts.

 

2017 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Starting Pitcher

Ranking	Tier	Player	Brad	Kyle	Nick	Bill	Composite
1	1	Clayton Kershaw	1	1	1	1	1.00
2	1	Max Scherzer	2	3	2	4	2.75
3	1	Noah Syndergaard	4	2	4	3	3.25
4	1	Chris Sale	3	5	3	2	3.25
5	1	Madison Bumgarner	6	4	5	5	5.00
6	1	Corey Kluber	8	6	6	9	7.25
7	2	Yu Darvish	5	9	9	7	7.50
8	2	Stephen Strasburg	7	13	8	6	8.50
9	2	Jake Arrieta	9	10	10	8	9.25
10	2	Justin Verlander	10	12	7	13	10.50
11	2	Jon Lester	14	7	12	10	10.75
12	2	Johnny Cueto	13	8	11	14	11.50
13	3	Carlos Carrasco	11	15	13	11	12.50
14	3	David Price	15	11	18	18	15.50
15	3	Chris Archer	16	14	14	19	15.75
16	3	Jacob deGrom	19	16	16	16	16.75
17	3	Kyle Hendricks	17	24	15	15	17.75
18	3	Aaron Sanchez	12	28	19	12	17.75
19	3	Masahiro Tanaka	18	20	17	17	18.00
20	4	Gerrit Cole	22	17	20	20	19.75
21	4	Cole Hamels	25	19	21	22	21.75
22	4	Jose Quintana	20	26	22	23	22.75
23	4	Carlos Martinez	24	22	26	21	23.25
24	4	Zack Greinke	27	18	24	26	23.75
25	4	Rich Hill	23	25	23	25	24.00
26	4	Kenta Maeda	30	21	28	27	26.50
27	4	Danny Salazar	32	31	27	24	28.50
28	4	Rick Porcello	26	27	32	31	29.00
29	5	Michael Fulmer	28	29	29	30	29.00
30	5	Marcus Stroman	29	40	25	29	30.75
31	5	Jon Gray	31	35	30	32	32.00
32	5	Felix Hernandez	21	43	37	28	32.25
33	5	Matt Harvey	35	33	33	34	33.75
34	5	Julio Urias	34	34	34	33	33.75
35	5	Danny Duffy	40	23	31	44	34.50
36	5	Julio Teheran	37	39	36	36	37.00
37	6	Aaron Nola	39	32	41	37	37.25
38	6	Lance McCullers	33	48	35	35	37.75
39	6	Tanner Roark	46	37	38	38	39.75
40	6	Steven Matz	51	30	39	43	40.75
41	6	John Lackey	43	36	42	45	41.50
42	6	J.A. Happ	36	49	46	39	42.50
43	6	James Paxton	38	51	43	40	43.00
44	6	Drew Pomeranz	49	41	47	41	44.50
45	6	Jeff Samardzija	50	44	48	42	46.00
46	7	Sean Manaea	53	42	40	54	47.25
47	7	Dallas Keuchel	45	45	52	47	47.25
48	7	Robbie Ray	42	57	44	46	47.25
49	7	Kevin Gausman	47	53	51	51	50.50
50	7	Adam Wainwright	48	54	53	48	50.75
51	7	Jeremy Hellickson	44	75	50	49	54.50
52	7	Marco Estrada	52	62	55	50	54.75
53	7	Jameson Taillon	54	52	58	56	55.00
54	7	Garrett Richards	57	50	64	52	55.75
55	7	Anthony DeSclafani	77	38	45	67	56.75
56	8	Matt Shoemaker	41	72	49	65	56.75
57	8	Carlos Rodon	58	61	54	55	57.00
58	8	Sonny Gray	66	47	59	57	57.25
59	8	Alex Reyes	56	64	57	53	57.50
60	8	Luke Weaver	62	59	63	60	61.00
61	8	Joe Musgrove	60	74	56	59	62.25
62	8	Jason Hammel	55	79	65	51	62.50
63	8	Jerad Eickhoff	68	58	72	56	63.50
64	8	Taijuan Walker	59	65	73	63	65.00
65	8	Vince Velasquez	74	46	62	81	65.75
66	8	Raisel Iglesias	61			71	66.00
67	8	Jake Odorizzi	79	56	67	70	68.00
68	9	Tyler Anderson	73	78	61	64	69.00
69	9	Junior Guerra	71	69	76	62	69.50
70	9	Drew Smyly	78	55	66	82	70.25
71	9	Hisashi Iwakuma	72	68	75	66	70.25
72	9	Steven Wright	69		82	61	70.67
73	9	Alex Cobb	67	98	60	58	70.75
74	9	Joe Ross	89	60	68	68	71.25
75	9	Michael Pineda	90	67	69	69	73.75
76	9	Francisco Liriano	63	96	71	73	75.75
77	9	Mike Leake	70		83	75	76.00
78	9	Brandon McCarthy	65		95	72	77.33
79	10	Jharel Cotton	86	71	77	77	77.75
80	10	Ivan Nova	76	85	80	74	78.75
81	10	Collin McHugh	107	63	70	78	79.50
82	10	David Phelps	64	100		76	80.00
83	10	Trevor Bauer	87	82	79	80	82.00
84	10	Lance Lynn	75	95	74	84	82.00
85	10	Adam Conley		83			83.00
86	10	Blake Snell	82	88	81	83	83.50
87	10	Mike Montgomery	85				85.00
88	10	Matt Moore	88	91	78	85	85.50
89	10	Yordano Ventura	83	90	84	87	86.00
90	11	Bartolo Colon	96	70	86	96	87.00
91	12	Mike Foltynewicz	80	86	96	86	87.00
92	12	Ervin Santana	106	77	87	79	87.25
93	12	Archie Bradley	81		94	88	87.67
94	12	Daniel Norris	105	73			89.00
95	12	Jose De Leon		89			89.00
96	12	Jordan Zimmermann	84		93	90	89.00
97	12	Miguel Gonzalez			91		91.00
98	12	Eduardo Rodriguez	92		85	97	91.33
99	13	Luis Severino	102	81			91.50
100	13	Ian Kennedy	110	66		101	92.33
101	13	Michael Wacha	91	93	97	89	92.50
102	13	Dan Straily	93			92	92.50
103	13	Jimmy Nelson	94			91	92.50
104	13	Gio Gonzalez	108	87	88	95	94.50
105	13	Zach Davies	109	84	89	98	95.00
106	13	Shelby Miller	95				95.00
107	13	Zack Wheeler	97				97.00
108	13	Tyson Ross	123	76		93	97.33
109	13	Rubby de la Rosa	98				98.00
110	13	Patrick Corbin	99				99.00
111	14	Robert Gsellman	101		98		99.50
112	14	Chris Tillman	122	92	92	94	100.00
113	14	Nick Tropeano	100				100.00
114	14	Tyler Skaggs	103	97	99	102	100.25
115	14	Brandon Finnegan	118	94	90		100.67
116	14	Christopher Devenski	124	80			102.00
117	14	Seth Lugo	104				104.00
118	14	Alex Wood	115		100	99	104.67
119	14	Jaime Garcia	111			100	105.50
120	14	Wei-Yin Chen	114	99			106.50
121	14	Josh Tomlin	112				112.00
122	14	Chad Kuhl	113				113.00
123	14	Clay Buchholz	116				116.00
124	14	Homer Bailey	117				117.00
125	14	Dylan Bundy	119				119.00
126	14	Chad Bettis	120				120.00
127	14	Ariel Miranda	121				121.00

 

Are there any picks you want to defend?

Brad: Bill matched my aggressive ranking for Sanchez, but we should acknowledge there's irrationality at play. If Sanchez merely repeats his breakout 2016 season, he won't justify such an early pick. I think he's got a second breakout waiting - the result of better using his newly polished command. It's exceedingly rare for pitchers to break out multiple years in a row. When it happens, you're looking at someone like Verlander or Scherzer. In other words, I see top non-Kershaw potential in Sanchez, hence the bullish ranking.

Frankly, I haven't analyzed King Felix's 2016 season since sometime around the All Star break. I applied some simple regression to derive his ranking. Based on my colleague's placement, I assume I need to take a closer look. Similarly, I went a little overboard on the stay away from Tillman brigade.

None of my fellows ranked Montgomery. I'm really excited to see him in the rotation.

 

Kyle: We all know that pitchers can be extraordinary volatile fantasy assets, and 2016 was a pretty stark reminder of that. He's never been the sexiest option, but Lester is one of the safest SP investments you can make. He's fallen short of 200 innings just once in the last nine years. Since 2014, he's eighth in wins, third in ERA, eighth in strikeouts, and 12th in WHIP. There's a lot to be said for that kind of consistency, especially if you're like me and love speculating on high-variance upside arms later in the draft.

DeSclafani looked to have figured something out as the 2015 season ended. Unfortunately, he missed his scheduling Opening Day start last year (and then 10 or so more after that) with a strained oblique. When he came back, though, he picked up right where he left off - and validated the faith of a certain rakishly handsome writer. Nick shares my optimism, though his Disco fever isn't quite as severe.

 

Bill: Aaron Sanchez has already been addressed, so I'll refrain from diving into that (Brad sums up my thoughts pretty well). I'm willing to bet my ranking of Stephen Strasburg is highest of the group because I foolishly believe he has another 30-start season in him. The per-game numbers are astonishing, and my ranking reflects my feeling that we may not have seen the best Stras has to offer. If he can rein in the control even a little bit (2.7 BB/9 in 2016) and stay relatively healthy, Strasburg has top-five potential. I'll likely come to my senses at some point before Spring Training, but right now I'm going to hope against hope that the phenom can reach the peak of his talents for a full season.

I'm highest on Steven Wright, and perhaps stupidly so. We all know how volatile knuckleheads can be, but the dude should still win games and stay healthy. There's something to be said for consistency in starting pitchers.

 

Nick: Looks like I should stand up for my Verlander at #7 pick, as I wholly buy into the revamped JV that we saw for much of 2016. His 12% swinging-strike rate was the highest of his career, and the 19.7% soft-contact rate was his best mark since his incredible 2011 campaign. It's hard to get excited about an age-34 season, I know, but that's also not old enough for me to knock him down after a great season. I'll take him over the snakebitten Strasburg and Darvish.

I also think Miguel Gonzalez should be ranked by everyone, but I'm the only one with a value for the guy. He made 23 starts in 2016 (plus a relief appearance), one of which was shortened due to an injury. He only gave up more than three earned runs in a start four times out of those other 22 starts. 15 of them were quality starts. His newfound confidence in his cutter resulted in some sneaky-good stats, and losing Eaton's defense won't knock him off of my board. Those in deep leagues shouldn't leave him off of their draft sheets.

 

Which picks by others look overly bullish/pessimistic?

Brad: I thought I was being bullish placing Salazar 32. Turns out I'm the least bullish. Bill tabbed him as the 24th pitcher which is probably going a little too far. If he didn't have the elbow scare looming over his head, I'd feel differently. I'll also say this, beware Duffy and Roark. They're both talented pitchers, but you're making a mistake if you buy their 2016 performances.

I had the most bearish ranking of Matz even though I like him. The obvious concern is health. The whole Mets rotation is going to be interesting. The top five of Syndergaard, Harvey, deGrom, Matz, and Wheeler all dealt with some kind of health scare in 2016. Meanwhile, Lugo and Gsellman are legit, fantasy-quality starting pitchers even though they have considerably less sex appeal. They're blocked for now...

 

Kyle: I'm a longtime Strasburg proponent, but it's tough to ignore the fact that he's managed to pitch 160 innings just twice in his career, and hasn't posted an ERA under 3.00 since his rookie season. Love the talent...it just feels like there's always something that gets in the way of the monster year he should have had by now. Last year looked like it was finally happening, and then his surgically repaired elbow started barking. That issue is concerning enough that I can't join my colleagues in ranking him as a top 10 option.

Not one, but two of my cohorts have Aaron Sanchez ranked 12th. Brad and Bill see elite potential. I see a guy whose skill set, peripherals, and Statcast data simply don't support that assertion. As Brad already admitted, they've ranked him as though further gains are coming when it's not even certain that he can replicate his 2016 results.

 

Bill: King Felix's 2016 was anything but regal. The former Cy Young Award-winner posted one of his worst seasons ever, setting career highs in HR/9, BB/9 and FIP while setting a career low in K/9. He also failed to make 30 starts for the first time since his rookie season (2005). I feel as though Kyle and Nick need to cut Hernandez a little more slack though (I don't believe any extensive research on Kyle's part will improve his ranking). He is still just 30 years old, and at 100% health I think he's still a top-30 option in the MLB. He's participating in winter ball in Venezuela as we speak, trying to work out some of the kinks from the last two sub-par seasons. I certainly can see where my colleagues are coming from (the peripherals and his velocity charts are troubling), but I have faith that the former ace can figure things out and return to some level of prominence.

Zack Greinke sports a similar profile--perennial All Star-caliber pitcher coming off a strikingly unproductive season. Kyle appears to believe that Greinke can turn things around. I disagree at this point, and think Greinke's days of top-20 potential are done. I reserve the right to change my mind, but at this point I can think of at least 25 pitchers I'd rather have in 2017.

 

Nick: I'm also the high man on Manaea at #40, though Kyle isn't far behind at #42. But Brad and Bill don't even have him in their top 50. It appears the young southpaw figured it out on July 10 against Houston, which led to Manaea's final 14 appearances of 2016 yielding a lovely 2.44 ERA and a 75:17 K:BB ratio over 84 2/3 innings. I'll bite here, given that solid finish heading into his sophomore season. Yeah, the wins in Oakland likely won't pour in, but the pitcher-friendly home park is a nice counterweight.

Hellickson must have accidentally bumped into Kyle one day, forcing him to drop his pizza and fueling a hatred that resulted in a #75 ranking. The rest of us have him inside the top 50. I know Hellboy hasn't inspired confidence over the years, but he made marked improvements with his location in 2016 that resulted in a 4.9% rise in soft contact and a wild 8.6% drop in hard contact off of his pitches. Mix that with a modest step forward in swinging-strike rate (10.3% to 10.8%), and I see sustainable growth. Robbie Ray and Matt Shoemaker also appear to have helped in the ruining of Kyle's pizza, but I'll wait for the crime lab's report before opening a formal investigation.