Fantasy Baseball Rankings 2012: Struggling Pitchers Who Will Be Better in May

The month of May is a violent thing.

Or so says Arcade Fire, who I find to be trustworthy. For fantasy baseball owners everywhere, the month of May is better described as a time to get serious. Draft season is long gone, and with it the first month of the 2012 regular season.

It's too early to completely abandon ship if your team has happened to get off to a slow start. I'd give your draftees another month to prove themselves, especially your pitchers. They are notoriously fickle creatures, but they've shown over the years that they like the warm weather of May more than the oftentimes cool weather of April.

Here's a list of pitchers who will heat up with the weather.

4. Max Scherzer, Detroit Tigers

With his stuff, how on earth is Max Scherzer not an ace?

It's a really good question. This year has brought more of the same where Scherzer is concerned. His stuff looks just fine, but he'll enter May with a 7.77 ERA and a 2.05 WHIP.

Sherzer's WHIP is slightly inflated thanks to his seven-walk, seven-hit effort against the New York Yankees on Sunday. I wouldn't freak out about the walks, as it looked like Scherzer was getting squeezed a little bit, and you have to keep in mind that Scherzer had walked just six in 19.2 innings heading into that start.

Here's the other thing: Scherzer has a K/9 of 9.99, and he's getting a lot of swings and misses. I therefore can't fathom that his BABIP is going to stay at .442 all season.

Things will level out for Scherzer. If Detroit's offense heats up, he'll at least be a cheap source of wins.

3. Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals

After missing all of the 2011 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, Adam Wainwright entered 2012 looking to shake off some rust.

This is exactly why he looked rusty, you see. When Wainwright is, well, right, he's a guy who will rarely give up any more than three earned runs in any start. He did it three times in his first four starts.

Wainwright turned a corner in his most recent start against the Chicago Cubs. He struck out a season-high seven, but he also induced 10 ground balls and just six fly balls.

Wainwright gets to start May by facing the Pittsburgh Pirates, one of the worst offensive clubs in the majors. Look for him to continue his mini-roll against them, and then keep on rolling.

2. Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox

Surprised that Jon Lester struggled in April?

Don't be. Lester always struggles to get on track in April, as he owns a career 4.22 ERA in the season's first month (including a start in March). He's a guy who needs time to get on track.

Lester looked much more like himself against the Chicago White Sox in his last start, as he allowed no earned runs in seven innings while striking out seven and walking one. He did a much better job of putting hitters away with two strikes, which had been a problem in previous starts.

One thing working in Lester's favor heading into the month of May is Boston's schedule, which is not overly tough. He'll start against the Baltimore Orioles, who he has owned in his career, and will also likely make starts against the Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies.

He should mow through those lineups.

1. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

Okay, let's ask the big question right off the bat: Will Tim Lincecum's velocity return to him in the month of May?

I can make no guarantees. Lincecum's velocity has been on the way down for several seasons. The best anybody can hope for is that Lincecum will add an extra MPH or two as the weather heats up, but he won't go back to throwing 95 regularly.

The bigger issue is Lincecum's control, which has been all over the place. Even in his last two starts, which were much better than his first three starts, Lincecum walked nine batters.

I'm not overly worried about that, as Lincecum's first-pitch strike percentage is just fine and he's not going to maintain a BB/9 of 4.39 all season. Plus, Lincecum traditionally pitches pretty well in May. He has a 3.11 ERA in May for his career, and he had a 1.47 ERA in May last season.

I'll put it this way: Lincecum can't be any worse in May than he was in any of his first three starts. Don't be afraid to use him.