We rolled out our final update on 2017 rankings this past weekend. While there haven’t been seismic shifts, some players have naturally seen their stocks rise or fall since our initial valuations were made in December. We’re gathered here today to look at part one of our outfield rankings, tiers, and auction values, which have certainly seen some movement. Part two of this SP look will check in with three risers and three fallers within the lower tiers.

As before, this round of rankings features picks from myself -- Nick Mariano, as well as Kyle Bishop, Bill Dubiel, Brad Johnson, Harris Yudin and Jeff Kahntroff.

Check out all of our updated rankings. Adjust your league size, and export your rankings. Tiers, auction values, prospects, news and more. It's all free.

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2017 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Starting Pitcher

Starting Pitcher (Part Two) Rankings Analysis: March Risers and Fallers

Rankings Risers

Jharel Cotton, Athletics

Buzz, buzz. Hey, what’s the buzz? Cotton shoots up from SP79 to SP70 with some serious fire despite his premier pitch being the offspeed stuff. While that 2.15 ERA and 0.82 WHIP from his 29 1/3 innings last season was backed by a comical .198 BABIP, the talent for a 3.75 ERA arm is absolutely there. And for what it’s worth, he posted a BABIP around .260 in his 135 Triple-A innings last season before being promoted (with 155 strikeouts). Oakland Coliseum is about as pitcher-friendly as it gets, even if the wins won’t necessarily roll in with the A’s offense still establishing itself.

Daniel Norris, Tigers

Norris goes from SP103 to SP83 as his late-season momentum from 2016 really starts to reenter the forefronts of our minds. While he is notably dealing with a dead arm right now, he also played catch the day after his affected start (where he gave up nine earned in three innings). It’s a troubling thing to start the season with, though at least it isn’t a lower back or oblique issue considering those are the two injuries that seem to send him to the DL with reckless abandon. This is a guy who turned in a beautiful September – 2.73 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings – and can be had for peanuts at the end of drafts/for free on the waiver wire.

Mike Foltynewicz, Braves

Folty goes from SP113 to SP96 as he enters the top 100 with some pizzazz, as the 25-year-old took some nice strides last season and has pieced together a neat spring thus far (2.66 ERA, 18-to-5 K:BB ratio through 23 2/3 innings). While we’re not calling for excellence here, it should be noted that he raised his swinging-strike rate from 8.9% to 10% alongside a lowered BB/9 figure (3.01 to 2.55). Homers are still an issue – a 1.31 HR/9 isn’t good – but if he continue to up his groundball rate (+7.9% last season) and keep that improved control then we could see a very serviceable mixed-league streamer here.

Rankings Fallers

Francisco Liriano, Blue Jays

Liriano falls from SP67 to SP75 despite a very strong spring as Bill’s confidence in him was clearly shaken with a 100-slot bump (or there was an administrative error in February’s rankings, but either way we’ve got a shift here). One likely knows the story by now, as the southpaw turned his season around after rejoining Russell Martin in Toronto by posting a 2.92 ERA and a 9.49 K/9 in his 49 1/3 innings north of the border. He has rolled that over into a red-hot spring by striking out 25 in 14 1/3 innings (~15.3 K/9) with a 1.88 ERA. This writer is buying.

Robbie Ray, Diamondbacks

Ray drops from Tier Seven as the SP48 to SP55, Tier Eight territory, as we clearly can’t just rely on sabermetrics like FIP/xFIP/SIERA (cough, Michael Pineda, cough). Ray’s huge strikeout stuff plays up very well with those fielding-independent metrics, as his 3.76 FIP, 3.45 xFIP and 3.59 SIERA would’ve joined those 218 strikeouts to make him a bona fide ace in all formats. Unfortunately, his actual ERA was 4.90 alongside a gaudy 1.47 WHIP, as that .352 BABIP and 3.67 BB/9 point to a guy who has inconsistent control and command. The potential is absolutely there, but the reality of needing to be a complete pitcher can really throw off a hype train’s course.

Dylan Bundy, Orioles

Going from SP80 to SP90 is a sizeable slide after the 2011 first-round pick posted a decent 4.02 ERA and nearly a strikeout per inning last season after a three-year absence from big-league pitching. While his name elicits excitement, his fielding-independent metrics don’t point to him as being a particularly strong candidate to burst through that 4.00 ERA mark (4.70 FIP, 4.61 xFIP, 4.23 SIERA). He’ll need to rein in those homers (1.48 HR/9) and walks (3.45 BB/9) first, at the very least. His two most recent spring starts haven’t pointed to this occurring, as he’s allowed two homers alongside four walks (two Ks) in six combined innings against the Twins and Yankees. There’s still strikeout upside in deeper formats, but he needs to find some consistency in his second MLB campaign.

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