Fantasy Baseball Rankings 2012: Underrated Pitchers To Target Late in Drafts

A deep pitching staff is essential to fantasy baseball success. An ace or two is always an awesome start, but it's the players you select in the later rounds that lead to a deep playoff run. They are truly the glue that holds your entire team together throughout the season.

Here's a look at some potential starting pitcher sleepers to grab after the first wave of pitchers are off the board. All projections based on a 10-team standard league.

Max Scherzer

Scherzer's terrific first season with the Detroit Tigers paired with an awesome strikeout rate, led to many owners selecting him too early last year. Now that the hype train has rolled out of town, Scherzer should be available for a much more reasonable price in 2012.

Despite the bloated ERA, there were still a lot of encouraging signs to warrant taking another chance on him. His walk rate continues to decline (2.6 per nine) after being a big issue earlier in his career and he didn't have to sacrifice many strikeouts to make it happen.

Add in the fact bad luck played a prominent role in his struggles—mostly inflated BABIP and home run rates—and Scherzer is a good bet to bounce back.

Projection: 14th Round

Scott Baker

After a first half that put Baker on pace for the best season of his career, injuries caused him to miss most of the second half. He's only started more than 30 games once, which is something to consider when selecting him, but when he's healthy there is a lot to like.

His strikeout rate continued to improve and none of his other numbers point toward a significant drop off if he's able to stay healthy for a full compliment of starts. A little more run support from his Minnesota Twins teammates is all he really needs to make his fantasy value go through the roof.

After awhile fantasy owners learn that injuries are a part of the game and unless the case is serious, it shouldn’t deter you from selecting a potential steal. That's the case with Baker.

Projection: 16th Round

Mike Minor

Minor is the early favorite to win the fifth spot in the stacked Atlanta Braves rotation. His basic numbers during his first two seasons haven't been pretty, but when you dig a little deeper it's easy to see why the Braves are so high on him.

His strikeout numbers (9.5 and 8.4 per nine) are better than most scouts projected when he was picked in the first round a couple years ago. If it weren't for bad luck to the tune of a career BABIP of .359, he would be viewed much more favorably in fantasy circles.

There's really nothing a pitcher can do when it comes to unlucky bounces finding their way through holes. Look for things to fall Minor's way a little bit more in 2012, leading to a breakout season.

Projection: 19th Round