I'm trying something new this week. With some owners now looking to build for next year, I'm publishing a very, very preliminary set of 2009 rankings for keeper leaguers. I'll be doing the usual position rankings and an overall top 100. These rankings are for 2009 only, so I'm not giving top prospects credit for what they might do in 2010 and beyond.
One note: I've fixed some, but there's still probably a few players here listed with their old teams. I was using my preseason spreadsheet for the new rankings.
In more interesting news, I'll be in Stamford for the next two weeks providing commentary for the live Olympic baseball broadcasts on NBCOlympics.com. So, if you want a glimpse of some top prospects like Matt LaPorta and Trevor Cahill or potential imports such as Kenshin Kawakami and Yu Darvish, be sure to check it out. I will still be posting columns as usual.
Click to see other 2009 Rankings:
Relief Pitcher Rankings
Starting Pitcher Rankings
Outfielder Rankings
Catcher Rankings
First Basemen Rankings
Second Basemen Rankings
Shortstop Rankings
Third basemen Rankings
Top 100 Overall Rankings
Rank - SP - Team
1 - Johan Santana - Mets
2 - Brandon Webb - Diamondbacks
3 - Jake Peavy - Padres
4 - Tim Lincecum - Giants
5 - Felix Hernandez - Mariners
6 - Josh Beckett - Red Sox
7 - Roy Halladay - Blue Jays
8 - Cole Hamels - Phillies
9 - Dan Haren - Diamondbacks
10 - Carlos Zambrano - Cubs
11 - John Lackey - Angels
12 - C.C. Sabathia - Indians
13 - Chad Billingsley - Dodgers
14 - Chris Carpenter - Cardinals
15 - Francisco Liriano - Twins
16 - Justin Verlander - Tigers
17 - Erik Bedard - Mariners
18 - Joba Chamberlain - Yankees
19 - Ben Sheets - Brewers
20 - Cliff Lee - Indians
21 - Scott Kazmir - Rays
22 - Jon Lester - Red Sox
23 - Matt Cain - Giants
24 - Daisuke Matsuzaka - Red Sox
25 - Edinson Volquez - Reds
26 - Chris Young - Padres
27 - Adam Wainwright - Cardinals
28 - Yovani Gallardo - Brewers
29 - Aaron Harang - Reds
30 - Fausto Carmona - Indians
31 - Ted Lilly - Cubs
32 - Matt Garza - Rays
33 - James Shields - Rays
34 - Joe Saunders - Angels
35 - Clayton Kershaw - Dodgers
36 - Jered Weaver - Angels
37 - Roy Oswalt - Astros
38 - Oliver Perez - Mets
39 - John Maine - Mets
40 - Javier Vazquez - White Sox
41 - Ervin Santana - Angels
42 - A.J. Burnett - Blue Jays
43 - Mark Buehrle - White Sox
44 - Rich Harden - Cubs
45 - Manny Parra - Brewers
46 - Chien-Ming Wang - Yankees
47 - John Danks - White Sox
48 - Jair Jurrjens - Braves
49 - Jeremy Guthrie - Orioles
50 - David Price - Rays
51 - Josh Johnson - Marlins
52 - Zack Greinke - Royals
53 - Pedro Martinez - Mets
54 - Justin Duchscherer - Athletics
55 - Johnny Cueto - Reds
56 - Ubaldo Jimenez - Rockies
57 - Ricky Nolasco - Marlins
58 - Max Scherzer - Diamondbacks
59 - Brad Penny - Dodgers
60 - Mike Pelfrey - Mets
61 - Shaun Marcum - Blue Jays
62 - Randy Johnson - Diamondbacks
63 - Clay Buchholz - Red Sox
64 - Ryan Dempster - Cubs
65 - Chris Volstad - Marlins
66 - Mike Mussina - Yankees
67 - Brett Myers - Phillies
68 - Jonathan Sanchez - Giants
69 - Brandon Morrow - Mariners
70 - Kevin Slowey - Twins
71 - Ian Snell - Pirates
72 - Gil Meche - Royals
73 - Andy Pettitte - Yankees
74 - Aaron Cook - Rockies
75 - Derek Lowe - Dodgers
76 - Phil Hughes - Yankees
77 - Kyle Lohse - Cardinals
78 - John Smoltz - Braves
79 - Jon Garland - Angels
80 - Scott Baker - Twins
81 - Hiroki Kuroda - Dodgers
82 - Scott Olsen - Marlins
83 - Tom Gorzelanny - Pirates
84 - Anibal Sanchez - Marlins
85 - Todd Wellemeyer - Cardinals
86 - Kelvim Escobar - Angels
87 - Wandy Rodriguez - Astros
88 - Andy Sonnanstine - Rays
89 - John Lannan - Nationals
90 - Tim Wakefield - Red Sox
91 - Kenshin Kawakami -
92 - Joe Blanton - Phillies
93 - Glen Perkins - Twins
94 - Dustin McGowan - Blue Jays
95 - Freddy Garcia -
96 - Nick Blackburn - Twins
97 - Bronson Arroyo - Reds
98 - Daniel Cabrera - Orioles
99 - Jeff Francis - Rockies
100 - Aaron Laffey - Indians
101 - Bartolo Colon - Red Sox
102 - Jeremy Bonderman - Tigers
103 - Greg Maddux - Padres
104 - Koji Uehara -
105 - Micah Owings - Diamondbacks
106 - Gavin Floyd - White Sox
107 - Rich Hill - Cubs
108 - Jorge Campillo - Braves
109 - Kevin Millwood - Rangers
110 - Michael Bowden - Red Sox
111 - Andrew Miller - Marlins
112 - Dana Eveland - Athletics
113 - Edwin Jackson - Rays
114 - Sean Gallagher - Athletics
115 - Jake Westbrook - Indians
116 - Armando Galarraga - Tigers
117 - Justin Masterson - Red Sox
118 - Jaime Garcia - Cardinals
119 - Dontrelle Willis - Tigers
120 - Kyle Kendrick - Phillies
121 - Dave Bush - Brewers
122 - Anthony Reyes - Indians
123 - Gio Gonzalez - Athletics
124 - Sean Marshall - Cubs
125 - Ian Kennedy - Yankees
126 - Chuck James - Braves
127 - Greg Smith - Athletics
128 - Daryl Thompson - Reds
129 - Jason Schmidt - Dodgers
130 - Brandon McCarthy - Rangers
131 - Braden Looper - Cardinals
132 - Tim Hudson - Braves
133 - Randy Wolf - Astros
134 - Chris Capuano - Brewers
135 - Eric Hurley - Rangers
136 - Paul Maholm - Pirates
137 - Tim Redding - Nationals
138 - Tom Glavine - Braves
139 - Jarrod Washburn - Mariners
140 - Tommy Hanson - Braves
- I didn't simply hand Johan Santana the No. 1 ranking this time, but I am keeping him there after considering moving Brandon Webb past him. Those two and Jake Peavy all have very similar numbers this year, with ERA ranging between 2.68 and 2.93 and WHIPs from 1.12 to 1.16. If everyone was guaranteed to pitch about the same number of innings next year, I'd probably go Peavy, Tim Lincecum, Santana and Webb at the top. However, Santana and Webb are the better bets to stay healthy.
- Randy Johnson, John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine would all move up a bit if they commit to playing next year. Curt Schilling would also crack the rankings if he decides to attempt a return.
- Kenshin Kawakami and Koji Uehara are two of the three Japanese free agents to crack the rankings. The other, Hitoki Iwase, can be found with the relievers. I'll have more on both in a column on free agents in two weeks, but Kawakami would be a pretty good bet to make it as a third or fourth starter. Uehara may be viewed by some teams as a reliever.
