Fantasy Ranking: SP

Starting pitching is far and away the most difficult and most critical element of any fantasy draft.  There is a lot that can happen over the course of a draft that can affect where these players get drafted.  Injuries almost always play a role in draft position and different managers and leagues will place a higher value on peripheral numbers than others (WHIP, for instance, might not be a statistical category in some leagues which would make high strikeout pitchers more attractive).  Most leagues will require you to carry at least three starting pitchers but most teams will have five or six to round out a rotation.  I'm going to give you twenty-five names and a five sleepers. 

Tier One
1. Roy Halladay
2. Felix Hernandez
3. Tim Lincecum
4. Jon Lester
5. Josh Johnson

Tier Two
6. Cliff Lee
7. CC Sabathia
8. Clayton Kershaw
9. Justin Verlander
10. Ubaldo Jimenez
11. Cole Hamels
12 David Price
13. Zack Greinke
14. Mat Latos
15. Yovani Gallardo
16. Dan Haren
17. Jered Weaver
18. Roy Oswalt
19. Tommy Hanson
20. Francisco Liriano
21. Jered Weaver
22. Chris Carpenter

Tier Three
23. Clay Buchholz
24. Brett Anderson
25. Max Scherzer

Sleepers (guys that you can get in later rounds who have top tier two capability):

Daniel Hudson,  Jeremy Hellickson, Ian Kennedy, Derek Holland, Jair Jurrjens