No matter what you name your fantasy baseball team (and the name of your squad is very important), it won’t matter one bit unless you prepare for the draft. You could have a team name like Sweet and Mauer Sauce, Pocket Full of Posey, Latos Intolerant or Re-Encarnacion, and it won’t matter one bit because you spoiled your draft by thinking you know everything. You have to be prepared and know everything. You don’t want to be the person at the draft who says, “Who’s that?” when the next big thing is drafted in the mid-to-late rounds and later realize what you missed out on.
Being prepared means even when those big-name players are off the board, you’re not panicking. Starting pitching is one of the key components to building a great fantasy team, but it’s important to look beyond Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg and the other elite pitchers. Grab those elite hurlers if you have the chance, but also know a deep rotation is invaluable to big points every fifth day.
Jordan Zimmermann, Nationals — The 26-year-old right-hander lowered his ERA to 2.94 (it was 3.18 in 2011 and 4.94 in 2010) and increased his win total to 12 (he had eight in 2011). He has an average draft position of 62 and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Jeff Samardzija, Cubs — Forget trying to spell or pronounce his name, the hard-throwing righty earned nine wins, a 3.81 ERA and 180 strikeouts in his first season as a starter. His WHIP in 2010 was a horrendous 2.12, but has been lowered to 1.29 in 2011 and even lower to 1.22 last season. Take a shot on him in the middle rounds.
Aroldis Chapman, Reds – As Cincinnati’s closer last year (he didn’t start the season as the closer), the fireballer struck out 121 batters in just 71 2/3 innings en route to collecting 38 saves. He has a fastball that averages almost 98 mph and the Reds are considering making him a starter. While there may be questions as to whether he can make the conversion to the rotation, there is no question how valuable this lefty can be whether he’s pitching every fifth day or every other day in relief.
DIGGING DEEPER
James McDonald, Pirates — This 28-year-old right-hander is the perfect pitcher to add depth to a rotationThough he won’t do you any favors with an ERA of 4.21, McDonald won 12 games and struck out 151 last year and if you pick your spots wisely, he can be very valuable.
Tommy Milone, Athletics — In his first complete season, Milone started 31 games for the upstart A’s and compiled an impressive 13 wins with a 3.74 ERA. He’s not going to get you a ton of strikeouts, but with a solid young A’s team, he has a good chance to improve on those 13 wins and be a solid sleeper pick.
Matt Harvey, Mets — After striking out 11 in a mesmerizing major league debut, Harvey went on to a 3-5 record. More impressive was the 2.73 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 59 1/3 innings. Though the Mets are in the rebuilding stages, this kid has “it” and is worth taking in the later rounds.
BOUNCING BACK
Ricky Romero, Blue Jays — Yes, a pitcher who went 9-14 with a 5.77 ERA and went winless from June 27 through Sept. 19 is being recommended. Why? In the two seasons before last year’s disaster, the left-hander was 29-20 with a 3.31 ERA and 352 strikeouts, and earned a spot on the 2011 AL All-Star team. He’s just 28, the Blue Jays vastly improved their lineup and the left-hander no longer has the pressure of being a No. 1 or No. 2 with a bolstered rotation that includes R.A. Dickey, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle and Brandon Morrow. Keep your eye on him.
jwilk@nypost.com