Fantasy Baseball Sleepers 2012: Underrated Starters Sure to Be Aces

One of the areas where fantasy and reality meet is starting pitching. You can never have too much of it in Major League Baseball, and you need all that you can find in fantasy baseball. 

Unfortunately, all of the elite starters are likely to be gone by the fifth round. So unless you are willing to forsake some other positions that don't have a lot of depth in fantasy baseball—catcher and shortstop—you will be left searching for the overlooked pitchers later on to fill your rotation.

The good news is, with hitting numbers down across the board in baseball right now, there are plenty of quality starters on the fantasy market that you can get without paying top dollar. 

Here are the most underrated fantasy starting pitchers that will save you this summer. 

Homer Bailey, Cincinnati Reds

Bailey has been a favorite of mine ever since he was called up in 2007. His career hasn't taken off like most expected it to, but he did show progress last season. He started 22 games, covering 132 innings with 106 strikeouts. 

His 4.43 ERA was a little unsettling, as is the fact that he is an extreme flyball pitcher in the bandbox known as Great American Ballpark. But when he is on, he can miss bats and that is an extremely valuable tool in fantasy baseball. 

If he is able to bring his home run rate down to around 1.00/9 IP, as opposed to the 1.23 it was last year, he could lower his ERA to less than 4.00. 

I believe in Bailey's ability to strike hitters out, which makes him, at worst, a solid fantasy starting pitcher. 

Brandon Morrow, Toronto Blue Jays

There might not be a more frustrating pitcher in baseball than Morrow. He has dominant, top-of-the-rotation stuff and has posted a strikeout rate of better than 10/9 IP in each of the last two seasons. 

But his inability to command pitches and throw strikes consistently leads to a lot of problems. His ERA has been sitting in the mid-4.00 range since being acquired by Toronto before the 2010 season. 

However, there are a few reasons to be optimistic about him this year. He lowered his walk rate from 4.06/9 IP in 2010 to 3.46 last year. All of his peripheral numbers suggest that he should be better than he is, and, most importantly, he is just 27 years old. He has been around forever, but is at the start of his peak years. 

The walks will always be there, but as long as he can limit the home runs he gives up, he will be fine. That strikeout rate will make him valuable enough for your team. 

Cory Luebke, San Diego Padres

Not to diminish Luebke's accomplishments or ability, but you could make a case for any San Diego starting pitcher because of the effect that Petco Park has on them. 

That said, Luebke is good enough to succeed in any environment. He had a breakout 2011 season with an ERA of 3.29 and 154 strikeouts in 139.2 innings pitched. He cut his home run rate in half, but his flyball rate went up. That could be a sign he was lucky, or perhaps he has figured out how to pitch in Petco. 

His numbers last season did get skewed some because he pitched out of the bullpen before moving to the starting rotation. He is going to be a starter full-time in 2012 and should finish the season as one of the Top 30 fantasy pitchers when all is said and done. 

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