Fausto Carmona leads the way followed by Justin Masterson and Carlos Carrasco, and after that, well, the bottom kind of falls out.

In 2010, however, we saw a resurgent Fausto (and in AL-only leagues, became one of the great steals of the draft) throw 210 innings with 13 wins, a 3.77 ERA, and pretty good peripheral numbers across the board.  Nothing spectacular, but for an AL-only league, he is well worth the $10-15 he’ll cost, and in Mixed leagues, worthy of a 15th – 17th round pick.

A big, young, hard-throwing, experienced starter, I think Masterson is poised for a breakout year in 2011.  He has definitely shown flashes, as demonstrated by his 7.6 k/9 rate, his lower bb/9 numbers, and he improved down the stretch as he neared his innings limit.  

Problem is, he throws way too many pitches, walks too many guys and gives up too many hits (ergo the 1.50 WHIP and 9.9 h/9).  

Having said that, maybe this is the year that he turns the corner.  I’d put him on your Mixed league watch-list, and grab him in AL-only for less than $7.

Like Masterson, Carrasco is big, young and powerful, and has the ability to be a very good starter.  

After being called up in September, Carrasco acquitted himself quite well, winning two games to go with a 3.83 ERA, 7.7 k/9, a very healthy 2.71 k/bb, a WHIP of 1.36, and an excellent outing where he held the Twins scoreless into the 8th inning in mid-September.  

I’d put Carrasco a notch below Masterson, but he’s a guy to grab in the late round of your AL-only draft.

Briefly, Laffey has one of the most drastic home/road splits in baseball history (in his career, he is 10-8 with a 2.91 ERA at home and 8-13 with a 5.71 ERA on the road).  

Tomlin made a few starts year, but unfortunately defines the word inconsequential.  

As for Talbot, in what was essentially his rookie year, he acquitted himself well, throwing 151 innings and winning ten games with a sub-4.50 ERA.  His stats don’t warrant much fantasy baseball attention, but he could be a decent $1 rotation filler for the right kind of team.  

Finally, Gomez was the toast of baseball when he started his career by allowing six earned runs through his first five starts, all but one a win.  The writing was on the wall, however, as Gomez’ peripherals were not very good – low strikeouts, too many hits, and not enough missed bats.  He finished the season 4-5 with a 4.99 ERA.  I think a lot of people are going to draft and hope for a miracle again…don’t be that person.