{"playerId":1879,"percentChange":-5.4,"averageDraftPosition":13.6,"percentOwned":94.6,"playerRaterSEASON":13.2,"playerRater7DAY":5,"mostRecentNews":{"news":"Kershaw will start Thursday's Game 1 of the NLDS against Atlanta.","spin":"This was just a formality, as Kershaw is without a doubt the ace of the Dodgers' pitching staff, and arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball.","date":"Wed Oct 2"},"fullName":"Clayton Kershaw","seasonOutlook":{"outlook":"Let's face it: After the kind of two-year run Kershaw had in 2011-12, he might be the unquestioned No. 1 starting pitcher if not for a hip injury that sidetracked him briefly last September. So let's allay those concerns: He avoided surgery, and his statistics in the four starts he made after the injury popped up (3-for-4 in quality starts, 0.64 ERA) weren't any less superb than those he had accrued in his 29 starts before it. The Dodgers have maintained Kershaw's workload splendidly -- he's a 25-year-old who on only three occasions in 98 starts combined from 2010 to '12 threw 120-plus pitches -- and he ranks among the top five in baseball the past three seasons combined in the following: WHIP (1.06, fourth), FIP (2.81, second), K's per nine (9.32, third), K rate (25.9 percent, first) and quality start percentage (74.5, fourth). And perhaps best of all, no one has induced weaker contact during that time, his .151 well-hit average allowed is lowest in the game. Unless publicly addressed injuries like Kershaw's hip bother you -- remember that every pitcher to a degree comes with some wear and tear -- there's little reason not to consider him as one of, if not the, first pitchers off the board.","seasonId":2013,"date":"Wed Feb 20"},"playerRater30DAY":5.2,"playerRater15DAY":6.8,"positionRank":1}