Value Hunting in the Yahoo! Rankings - Pitchers

I've already taken a look at some of the better values among hitters in the Yahoo! rankings. Now, let's turn our attention to those crazy pitchers. I list the Fantasy Baseball Strategist (FBS) ranking along with the Yahoo! ranking. My full rankings can be found here.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (FBS: 35; Yahoo: 115) - Considering Yahoo! has Daisuke going in the middle of the tenth round of twelve-team leagues, this represents one of the best values you're going to find. I'd probably target him around the seventh or eighth round so as not to cut it too close - especially if you have a Red Sox fan in your league.

Javier Vazquez (FBS: 67; Yahoo: 104) - Vazquez is one of those guys whose peripheral stats always look better than the actual results. That said, he strikes guys out and he really is a good pitcher. I'd look at him in the eighth or early ninth round.

Rich Hill (FBS: 72; Yahoo: 124) - My man-love for Hill continues. His K/9 rate (8.5) is just too enticing too pass up in ninth or tenth round.

John Maine (FBS: 97; Yahoo: 143) - See Hill, Rich. You could probably even wait a little longer on Maine, say the tenth or eleventh round.

Rafael Soriano (FBS: 105; Yahoo: 151) - My favorite closer value. He's still young (28) and has a great career K/9 rate (9.2). Plus, the Braves should provide him with a decent number of save opportunities. What's not to love? Look for him in the 11th or 12th round.

Jeremy Bonderman (FBS: 110; Yahoo: 160) - You can read about my love for Bonderman's value in several previous posts. Grab him in the 12th or 13th round.

Oliver Perez (FBS: 136; Yahoo: 178) - Notice a theme here? Yahoo tends to undervalue strikeouts. I like Perez's K/9 rate of 8.9 last year and the strong run support he should get from the Mets. If he can keep his WHIP around the 1.31 mark that he posted in 2007 (as opposed to his career WHIP of 1.43), I would be a very happy camper. I'll be grabbing him in the 14th round.

George Sherrill (FBS: 149; Yahoo: 351) - This is based on the assumption that he'll be the Orioles' closer. If not, then forget I mentioned him. But with a career 9.7 K/9 rate, I don't see how the O's wouldn't make him the closer. Other people will probably be aware of Sherrill, so you might need to take him around the 15th round.