[menu name="rankings"]
| Rank | Player | Bryan | George | Chris | Professor's Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roy Halladay | 1 | 1 | 1 | FB% under 30% in every year of his career |
| 2 | Adam Wainwright | 2 | 2 | 3 | K:BB ratio up for 3rd straight season |
| 3 | Felix Hernandez | 3 | 3 | 2 | Opponents LD% down for 2nd straight season; great defense behind him |
| 4 | Tim Lincecum | 4 | 6 | 4 | Despite 2010's struggles, FIP was still 3.15 |
| 5 | Cliff Lee | 5 | 4 | 5 | Averaged 7.2 IP per start last season |
| 6 | Jon Lester | 7 | 5 | 7 | GB% up every year since 2007; FIPs of 3.15 and 3.13 last 2 years |
| 7 | C.C. Sabathia | 6 | 7 | 8 | Averaged 34 starts and 19 W over last 4 seasons |
| 8 | Zack Greinke | 8 | 8 | 6 | 2009 (2.16 ERA) was an anomaly but so was 2010 (4.17 ERA) |
| 9 | Josh Johnson | 9 | 9 | 10 | Pitchers who come back from Tommy John are seemingly indestructible |
| 10 | Clayton Kershaw | 10 | 11 | 9 | Career opponents' AVG of .222 masks career 4.17 BB/9 |
| 11 | Ubaldo Jimenez | 11 | 10 | 11 | 15-1, 2.20 ERA in 1st half; 4-7, 3.80 ERA in 2nd half |
| 12 | Jered Weaver | 16 | 13 | 12 | Quietly led the league in Ks last season (233) |
| 13 | Justin Verlander | 17 | 12 | 13 | FIP under 3.00 last 2 seasons |
| 14 | Cole Hamels | 14 | 14 | 15 | 2009 ERA (4.32) was too high, 2010 ERA (3.06) was too low; expect 3.40 |
| 15 | David Price | 19 | 15 | 14 | Sorry, Tampa fans; he's good, but he's no Lester |
| 16 | Chris Carpenter | 15 | 18 | 16 | Pitched over 220 innings in 3 of last 4 seasons |
| 17 | Matt Cain | 12 | 21 | 19 | BABIPs of .260 and .268 last 2 seasons; expect ERA to rise |
| 18 | Mat Latos | 13 | 22 | 17 | 184.2 IP in 2010 after 123 IP in 2009; see: Verducci Effect |
| 19 | Yovani Gallardo | 22 | 16 | 21 | 3.02 FIP last year after very high .340 BABIP; still walks too many people |
| 20 | Francisco Liriano | 18 | 19 | 23 | Velocity back up to near-2006 levels |
| 21 | Tommy Hanson | 21 | 20 | 20 | 10 W don't reflect how well he actually pitched; 3.33 ERA last year |
| 22 | Dan Haren | 23 | 17 | 22 | Still bet on a good 1st half, but then sell high |
| 23 | Brett Anderson | 20 | 23 | 24 | Only 19 games started last year, but they were a good 19 games |
| 24 | Roy Oswalt | 24 | 24 | 20 | At least 200 IP 6 of last 7 seasons |
| 25 | Josh Beckett | 27 | 25 | 26 | Perfect storm of bad luck last year |
| 26 | Matt Garza | 26 | 28 | 27 | Wasn't really as good last year as we all remembered |
| 27 | Shaun Marcum | 25 | 32 | 28 | One of most underrated pitchers will flourish in NL; 1.98 BB/9 last year |
| 28 | Clay Buchholz | 37 | 26 | 25 | .269 BABIP and 79.0% LOB%; ERA will spike in 2011 |
| 29 | Tim Hudson | 28 | 33 | 32 | BB/9 up each year since 2007; 4.09 FIP despite 2.83 ERA |
| 30 | Max Scherzer | 32 | 36 | 29 | Almost unhittable after stop in minors last year; has all the talent needed |
| 31 | Ted Lilly | 35 | 34 | 33 | BB/9 under 2.80 in 3 of last 4 seasons; ERA under 4.00 in each of those 3 |
| 32 | Chad Billingsley | 41 | 27 | 35 | 3.07 FIP last season |
| 33 | Ricky Nolasco | 31 | 35 | 39 | Infante's defense at 2B is much better than Uggla's; can only help Nolasco |
| 34 | John Danks | 40 | 37 | 30 | Very good LD% of 14.9% and 15.7% last 2 years, respectively |
| 35 | Jonathan Sanchez | 30 | 44 | 34 | .262 BABIP, 79.5% LOB%, 4.00 FIP last season |
| 36 | Ryan Dempster | 29 | 39 | 41 | 8.20 K/9 last 3 years as a SP; 208 K last season |
| 37 | Ricky Romero | 44 | 29 | 37 | .242 opponents' AVG last season |
| 38 | Wandy Rodriguez | 38 | 30 | 43 | 3.50 ERA, 1.25 WHIP is what we can expect |
| 39 | Colby Lewis | 36 | 47 | 31 | Despite down 2nd half (4-8, 4.18 ERA), K:BB ratio improved (2.76 to 3.37) |
| 40 | Hiroki Kuroda | 34 | 42 | 40 | A lot like Carpenter; old and injury-prone but very reliable when healthy |
| 41 | Trevor Cahill | 48 | 40 | 36 | .238 BABIP last year is near impossible to replicate |
| 42 | Gavin Floyd | 42 | 38 | 46 | Career 6.30 ERA in April, 5.47 in May, but takes off in June (2.95) |
| 43 | Javier Vazquez | 45 | 31 | 51 | Major drop in velocity is a huge concern; still, a good risk given move to NL |
| 44 | Brandon Morrow | 39 | 45 | 50 | 5-1, 3.69 ERA, 13.0 K/9, 3.69 BB/9 in 46.1 2nd half IP |
| 45 | Gio Gonzalez | 43 | 53 | 38 | Electric arm but 4.19 BB/9 is a concern |
| 46 | Jhoulys Chacin | 33 | 55 | 49 | 2.98 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 8.7 K/9, 4.01 BB/9 in 126.2 IP as starter |
| 47 | Daniel Hudson | 46 | 41 | 55 | 7-1 with 3.22 FIP after trade to D-Backs |
| 48 | Brett Myers | 59 | 50 | 42 | 223.2 IP a career high and 1st time over 200 since 2005 |
| 49 | C.J. Wilson | 47 | 56 | 54 | High GB% is his saving grace |
| 50 | Jaime Garcia | 55 | - | 45 | Only 25.6% FB% last season and just 9 HR allowed |
| 51 | Phil Hughes | 56 | - | 44 | 18 W a result of luck and Yankees offense; won't happen again |
| 52 | Brian Matusz | 49 | - | 53 | 4.05 FIP last season; breakout candidate in 2011 |
| 53 | Jeremy Hellickson | 50 | 59 | - | 4.13 K:BB in 36.1 IP a great sign but FB% near 50% |
| 54 | Jake Peavy | 51 | - | 59 | Detached lat still a concern |
| 55 | Jordan Zimmermann | - | 52 | 58 | Liriano, Johnson have shown SP can come back fast from Tommy John |
| 56 | Madison Bumgarner | 52 | - | 60 | 2.11 BB/9 and 16.9% LD% are great signs |
| 57 | Kevin Slowey | - | - | 48 | Elite BB/9 but too many fly balls |
| 58 | Jorge de la Rosa | - | 49 | - | ERA down each year since 2006 |
| 59 | James Shields | - | - | 52 | .354 BABIP last year and 4.24 FIP |
| 60 | Bronson Arroyo | 53 | - | - | 6 straight years with 200+ IP; 47 W last 3 seasons |
