Fantasy: You can get good starters later

While we all want Felix Hernandez, Roy Halladay, and Tim Lincecum on our fantasy teams, the cost to acquire them is high. Pitching is extremely deep and you can wait several rounds or spend a small amount in an auction league and still build a staff to win a championship.

Ubaldo Jimenez, Colby Lewis, Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill, Brett Myers, C.J. Wilson, and Shaun Marcum are a few examples from last season. Here are some pitchers to target.

Max Scherzer (Tigers): Scherzer had a 7.29 ERA in May before being sent to the minors last season. After the All-Star break, he had a 96/35 K/BB ratio in 102 innings with a 2.47 ERA and 1.14 WHIP and finished with a 3.50 ERA.

Chad Billingsley (Dodgers): A K/9 of at least eight in three consecutive seasons, solid walk rates, and had a 50 percent ground ball percentage.

Wandy Rodriguez (Astros): A K/9 of at least 8.22, a BB/9 of 3.14 or less, and an ERA of 3.60 or less in three straight seasons.

Ryan Dempster (Cubs): Three consecutive seasons of at least 200 innings, a 7.74 K/9 or higher and an ERA no higher than 3.85.

Shaun Marcum (Brewers): A 3.64 ERA and excellent control pitching in the AL East and moves to the NL Central.

SEE PHOTOSThe 3,000 hits club

Brandon Morrow (Blue Jays): He had a 3.69 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and a 67/19 K/BB ratio in 46 1/3 innings after the All-Star break. The key for him is control and he improved as the season went on. He had a 10.95 K/9, 4.06 BB/9, and a high .348 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) that contributed to his 4.49 ERA. The second half numbers are the true Morrow.

Ricky Romero (Blue Jays): Improved control, higher strikeout rate, and increased ground ball rate last season.

Brett Anderson (Athletics): Elite skills and may be undervalued after missing time because of injuries last season.

Daniel Hudson (Diamondbacks): Great numbers after being traded from the White Sox last season. Beware of high fly ball rate in hitters' park, but has great stuff.

James Shields (Rays): Ignore last season. He was plagued by awful luck with a .341 BABIP and a 1.50 HR/9. He had a 5.18 ERA, but a fielding independent pitching (FIP) ERA of 4.24. Shields had a career-high 8.28 K/9 and a good 2.26 BB/9. Take the discount and get a profit.

Hiroki Kuroda (Dodgers): Very undervalued. In each of his three seasons, his ERA was 3.76 or lower, including a career-low 3.39 last season. The K/9 has increased each season with a high of 7.29 last season. Never had a BB/9 higher than 2.20 and a career ground ball rate of 51 percent. Had a WHIP of 1.22 in 2008, 1.14 in 2009 and 1.16 last season.

Jordan Zimmermann (Nationals): An excellent value with much upside.

Sleepers: Jhoulys Chacin (Rockies), Mike Minor (Braves), Tim Stauffer (Padres), James McDonald (Pirates), Bud Norris (Astros), Carlos Carrasco (Indians), and Jason Hammel (Rockies).