Fantasy Baseball 2012: Yu Darvish Leads Countdown of the Top 7 Rookie Pitchers

The following slideshow touts Major League Baseball's seven best rookie pitchers—from a fantasy perspective only.

The countdown is both a reflection of a player's existing track record from 2012 and his prospects for the months of June, July, August and September.

The rules constituting a rookie's eligibility can be a little ambiguous, so I'm sticking to these definitions:

A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has: a) exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the MLB, or b) accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster of a MLB club or clubs during the period of 25-player limit, excluding time on the disabled list.

Within this criteria, both Yu Darvish (Rangers) and Lance Lynn (Cardinals) qualify as rookies.

Enjoy the show!

7. Tommy Milone, Oakland A's

2012 Stats: 5-3, 4.09 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 29/13 K-BB

Skinny: Milone gets the nod over Jarrod Parker, Felix Doubront, Drew Pomeranz, Patrick Corbin and White Sox reliever Addison Reed, among others, on the strength of two zero-run, eight-inning performances in his first four outings.

As a minor criticism, though, I would like Milone to be more proficient with strikeouts and K-BB ratio.

Bottom line: Two or three walks per start coupled with only three or four strikeouts simply won't measure up from this point on.

6. Christian Friedrich, Colorado Rockies

2012 Stats: 1-0, 1.38 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 17/2 K-BB

Skinny: You would be hard-pressed to find a better two-start audition from a rookie in the last five years.

Friedrich was near-unhittable against the Padres and Giants (10 strikeouts) last week, fueling speculation that he's the next big thing among pitchers (not unlike the hype Matt Moore garnered way back in March).

The rub: Both of Friedrich's stellar starts occurred on the road, away from the thin air of Coors Field—the ultimate hitters' paradise.

We should have a greater understanding of Friedrich's short-term worth after Saturday's home encounter with the Mariners.

5. Matt Moore, Tampa Bay Rays

2012 Stats: 1-3, 5.31 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 34/22 K-BB

Skinny: Moore's domination of the Rangers in last year's playoffs was both a blessing and a curse for his development.

While he became a household name (at least in fantasy circles) after taming Texas in Game 1 of the ALDS, his success created a mountain of expectations that no 22-year-old kid should have to endure.

Without a doubt, his numbers should be better at this point. But even can't-miss prospects like Moore (700 strikeouts in 497 minor league innings) need time to adjust to major league hitters.

On the flip side, I'm thankful he doesn't have any external pressures to carry Tampa Bay's rotation.

In terms of under-25 talents (pitchers and hitters), Moore would probably rank as one of the 10 best buy-low options in fantasy. He's simply too good to be this mediocre.

4. Wei-Yin Chen, Baltimore Orioles

2012 Stats: 4-0, 2.45 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 32/14 K-BB

Skinny: All great streaks must come to an end sometime, but who knows, maybe Chen will surrender two or less runs and just three or less walks in every start.

Stranger things have happened.

Humor aside, Chen has been an absolute find for an Orioles rotation that is light-years improved from last year.

He may never dominate opponents to the tune of 8-10 strikeouts or 25 straight scoreless innings, but Chen has evolved into a formidable asset after seven MLB starts.

At the very least, Chen is no longer an entrenched member of the universal waiver wire in 12-team leagues.

3. Drew Smyly, Detroit Tigers

2012 Stats: 1-0, 2.31 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 38/11 K-BB

Skinny: As a longtime Tigers fan, I knew the club would have a breakthrough rookie pitcher this season. However, I figured it would be Jacob Turner or Andy Oliver.

Don't mistake the previous statement as a lack of confidence in Smyly's game. The 22-year-old southpaw, a potentially dynamic No. 2 or 3 starter for the next 10 years, should be commended for flourishing at such a tender age.

And even if Turner (Detroit's top prospect) or Oliver earns a big-league promotion in the next 30 days, I sincerely doubt Smyly and his 8.8 K/9 ratio will get booted from the rotation or sent back to the minors. There's nothing fluky about his fantasy talents.

Adjusted seasonal projections: 10 wins, 3.19 ERA and 145 strikeouts.

2. Lance Lynn, St. Louis Cardinals

2012 Stats: 6-1, 1.81 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 44/14 K-BB

Skinny: Lynn has been the best rookie pitcher to date, and arguably a top-five pitching asset in all of fantasy.

But there are some worries here: In Lynn's six victories, St. Louis won by six, four, three, four, nine and three runs for a per-outing average of 4.8 runs. Will he continue to dominate when that high run support takes a slight dip?

Lynn has also completed seven innings in just two of his seven starts. Are the Cards intentionally limiting his innings per start on the assumption that he will be needed every four days during the September pennant drive?

These are nit-picky notions on my part, but it takes fine-print details to separate Lynn from the No. 1 asset in our countdown.

1. Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers

2012 Stats: 6-1, 2.60 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 58/26 K-BB

Skinny: As stated in the previous slide, the Cardinals' Lynn has been the more productive fantasy asset to date.

But given Darvish's experience (1,024 innings in the Japanese League) and capacity for 10 strikeouts with every start, he warrants the top spot here.

In Darvish's last five starts, he's tallied four wins and a 45/13 K-BB ratio while surrendering only eight runs. These stats are all prime indicators of Darvish's progress, a reflection of his on-the-fly adjustments to the MLB culture and growing confidence in his devilish pitching repertoire.

Just wait until Darvish gets a second go-round with some of the American League's most anemic offenses. He's a virtual lock for 205 strikeouts and a sub-3.10 ERA this season.