Starting Rotations AL West

For starting pitchers in the AL West let me introduce you to Albert Pujols 18 times a year. The top rotation in the AL West added the best hitter in baseball over the winter. The Angels’ starters will benefit from Pujols’ production and can now give up 4+ runs a game and still consistently come away with a win. As far as the other teams we still have King Felix and an improved Seattle offense that may garner him a few more Wins. All the A’s starters benefit from a cavernous ballpark where 400 foot fly balls come to die. There is the Yu factor in Arlington along with a closer turned starter.

ANGELS

1. RHP Jered Weaver

2. RHP Dan Haren

3. LHP C.J. Wilson

4. RHP Ervin Santana

5. RHP Jerome Williams

Both Weaver and Haren are studs and will go early and you should consider grabbing them at the right price or position. The SP to keep in mind later in your drafts is Ervin Santana. He had a 2.72 ERA the last 3 months of the season in 2011. In July last year he went 3-0 in 5 starts going 7+ innings each time out with 1 CG. He only walked 6 the entire month while posting 31Ks which lead him to a 0.82 WHIP. Currently an ADP of 151 makes him an early teen pick and definitely worth the value.

A'S

1. RHP Brandon McCarthy

2. RHP Bartolo Colon

3. LHP Dallas Braden

4. LHP Tommy Milone

5. RHP Brad Peacock

The 5^th spot is up for grabs. I am leaning towards Peacock. For Dynasty Leagues, keep in mind of Jarrod Parker, he will in the rotation in 2013 for sure and should gets some spots starts this year.

MARINERS

1. RHP Felix Hernandez

2. LHP Jason Vargas

3. RHP Hisashi Iwakuma

4. RHP Hector Noesi

5. RHP Blake Beavan

Most fantasy players forget about the other Japanese pitcher that came to the states this winter. Iwakuma has been solid this spring hitting 90 mph on the gun. He recently struck out 2 with a nasty split finger fastball and also got the first 7 hitters he faced in a game out on groundballs. A true sleeper and a guy you should consider taking as your last SP, especially in deep leagues.

RANGERS

1. RHP Colby Lewis

2. LHP Derek Holland

3. RHP Yu Darvish

4. LHP Matt Harrison

5. RHP Neftali Feliz

What you need to realize in Texas is the Feliz may be a starter but will be on a very controlled innings limit this year. I look for Ogando to start the season in the bullpen but putting up nearly 10 starts when Feliz is shut down or gets rocked. For this to be true Matt Harrison has to out pitch Ogando this spring.