Fantasy Baseball 2012 Projections: Studs Sure to Bring Your Team Wins

I've never been a huge fan of chasing wins during fantasy baseball drafts, but with these three stud pitchers, you know you're getting a hefty amount in that category.

Win totals for pitchers is one of the most head-scratching stats to try to predict or make sense of because there are so many variables to account for. The easiest and surest way to acquire a fair amount of wins, though, is if you have a lights-out pitcher (or two) on well-balanced and contending teams.

Without further introduction, here are three hurlers that should give their owners a nice boost in the wins column for the 2012 season.

CC Sabathia, New York Yankees

Once the sure-fire bet for wins among his colleagues, just because he's not among the top five options doesn't mean he won't get you the wins. Sabathia has had two seasons with 19 wins and one with 21 during his years as a New York Yankee, and those numbers can only increase with their lineup.

The Yankees offense is so explosive and their bullpen is so solid that even lowly old A.J. Burnett had three straight double-digit win seasons during his time in pinstripes. Sabathia is far more talented than Burnett, obviously, and the New York Daily News recently reported the New York ace has been polishing his command during spring training.

His numbers in the Big Apple have been consistent, and the team around him hasn't changed anything but for the better this year.

Expect more of the same from big CC.

Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

I hate to be one of those guys that says "I've been high on this guy since day one" after a player gets his big break into the limelight, but I'll make an exception for the Tigers' ace.

I, along with many other baseball fans and analysts, know that Verlander has always had the stuff, and the past three seasons he has found his groove on the mound.

The career-long Tiger has posted no less than 18 wins over the last three years, with 2011 being his best performance of his six years in the bigs. He won the American League Cy Young award and the pitching version of the Triple Crown, leading the league in ERA, strikeouts and—oh yeah, wins.

His team now has Prince Fielder in the batting order, giving them one of the best offenses in the AL. Put that together with one of the best hurlers in all the league, and that's a nice recipe for a hefty amount of wins.

David Price, Tampa Bay Rays

Why ESPN and Yahoo's fantasy writers have the Tampa Bay ace outside the top 10 options in their starting pitcher rankings is beyond me.

While Price didn't have the best of performances when looking at pure win-losses last year, he still averaged almost nine strikeouts per nine innings.

The 12 wins and 3.49 ERA from a season ago may scare off other owners, but don't let yourself be one of them. Price is just two seasons removed from a year with 16 wins to just nine losses, with a 2.72 ERA and 188 Ks.

People were afraid to take a chance on his teammate James Shields a few seasons ago, too, and now he's rated as the 15th-best fantasy pitcher by ESPN. Price specializes swing-and-miss type pitches and is the ace of arguably the deadliest rotation in the MLB.

In other words, draft this man.