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Mock Draft 1.0 (12 teams, Round 1)
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Eye-opening surprises from key player projections
These ADPs look off: Pitchers | Hitters (coming soon)
7 candidates for a bounce-back season in 2025
These 2024 Numbers Do Lie
Dalton’s Park Factor research: Hitters | Pitchers | 3 majorly impactful offseason changes
Why big, beefy sluggers matter again in 2025
Players we’re most excited to draft
Category specialists to target after pick No. 50
Predictions for draft season trends
Fantasy storylines to follow in spring training
These 5 risky pitchers may be worth it
Don’t forget these 2024 strong finishes
MLB offseason review
Yahoo Fantasy Baseball ADP
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It’s tough to build a winning team without hitting on at least a few sleepers. Here are some key diamonds in the rough.
5 unheralded hitters who could help you with batting average in 2025
Underrated pitchers to draft late
Overlooked hitters to target
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Top 400 Starting Pitchers For Fantasy Baseball 2025 – SP Rankings 1-20
SP Rankings for 2025 Fantasy Baseball: Top 400 Starting Pitchers
Welcome to the ultimate guide to drafting Starting Pitchers for 2025 Fantasy Baseball . I’ve ranked the Top 400 (actually 450…) starting pitchers for the year ahead in an attempt to determine every SP who could help your fantasy teams this season.
However, before you scroll down to the Top 1-20, it’s incredibly important that you read this introduction. It highlights how I rank pitchers and why this is not a projection of the end of season Player Rater. It’s my strategy of how I draft pitchers, embracing the burn and churn nature of the game.
Remember, these ranks are based on a 12-teamer, 5×5 roto format. Adjust accordingly to your situation. I’ve also added the Top 100 SP table at the bottom of this article.
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To get the full context of these rankings, read my Rankings outline at the start of the 1-20 rankings and as always…
Read The Notes
Tier 1 – Studs
These are the rare few who are expected to go 6+ each start with all-around production each night. Some have more Win value than Strikeout value but are the clear studs among the landscape.
1. Tarik Skubal (DET, LHP)
It feels a bit strange to have Skubal as my SP #1 entering 2025. His sinker and slider performance against LHB is sure to regress (stupid good ICR rates despite non-elite locations + one sole HR allowed) and Skubal’s heater doesn’t come with anything eye-popping outside of sitting 97 mph, but there is one obvious reason for the high rank: his floor. Skubal is one of the few arms in the draft who you can rely upon for six frames every five games with at least a 25% strikeout rate (if not 30%) and stellar ratios. His changeup to RHB is sure to demoralize batters for another season at an exceptional level, his Wins should comfortably sit about double-digits, and his overall command outlines another 5% walk rate with a low hit-per-nine. Skubal has the volume with a great skill set and benefits as a LHP with multiple weapons at elite velocity. You want elite safety with your first SP pick. That’s Skubal.
Quick Take: I wouldn’t be surprised if Skubal ended the year outside the Top 3 SP even if he misses the IL, but his elite changeup merged with mid-to-upper 90s, excellent command, and a phenomenal situation makes Skubal the safest elite arm to chase if you’re going SP early.
2. Garrett Crochet (BOS, LHP)
I was so tempted to put Crochet as my SP #1 but alas, he doesn’t have the expected volume of Skubal and I have to live with that. But why is he above Skenes? Because Crochet’s four-seamer and cutter foundation is just so dang good. There isn’t a stronger one-two punch that works against both LHB and RHB as well as these two, it’s that simple. Moving him from the White Sox to the Red Sox is obviously a Win, even if the Red Sox were -34 OAA as an infield defense last year. But hey! Bregman is here and is literally a +20 OAA net gain if he’s at 2B for the full year, which would move them to…22nd overall! Hey, that’s something and better than the White Sox.
I haven’t mentioned the new sinker Crochet featured at the end of last year that adds a third pitch to throw for strikes that takes advantage of his elite velocity and elite extension and it should help him maintain his already stupid high quality floor. The only pushback is his health track record, yet the White Sox literally did the exact thing you wanted for longevity. They let him pitch all year but limited him to roughly 60 pitches in the second half. That’s great! It makes Crochet ready to go 90+ pitches every five days, exercising a 30-35% strikeout rate and absurd ratios.
You want him. There are so few pitchers in the game who effortlessly throw strikes and generate whiffs. Crochet does it better than Skubal and Skenes. I can’t wait to watch him thrive in Boston.
Quick Take: I trust Crochet’s quality floor as much as nearly anyone in baseball, with the only concern being his health track record. After the White Sox did everything ideal to set him up for a workhorse 2025 season, I’m banking on Crochet beating IP expectations in an excellent situation in Boston.
3. Paul Skenes (PIT, RHP)
You want Skenes to be SP #1 and I’m sorry, I can’t do that pal. It’s Hal. How would I know your name? You may be surprised to find that Skenes doesn’t have a pitch with a 20% SwStr rate against LHB or RHB, save for a 9% usage changeup to LHB he saved for two-strike counts (it was good! Maybe more next year?). In addition, his four-seamer returned a 12% SwStr rate, not an absurd clip, and allowed 41% ICR to RHB with a 47% ICR to LHB. Wait, that doesn’t seem right. No, it doesn’t.
I can actually explain this – think of Skenes’ four-seamer like a sinker. It moves laterally far more than expected from his arm-angle, making it fall into the barrels of late swings when thrown to LHB over the plate. Here’s a great look at it with “FF” as the average spot the four-seamer lands, while the blue circles are the expected landing spots of heaters from the same arm angle. No wonder it allows more hard contact to LHB and I hope Skenes locates the fastball better in 2025 to take full advantage of its massive lateral movement.
The splinker is the real game changer here. It was destroyer of worlds against RHB with a crazy high 77% strike rate and 18% SwStr rate, acting as both a changeup for those sitting on the fastball and a reliable pitch to throw even when expected. Its effectiveness fell off against LHB due to its zone rate dropping from 51% all the way to 35% for the strangest reason you may already be aware of. Skenes moves on the rubber depending on LHB or RHB. He shifts closer to 3B against LHB, which suddenly shifts his splinker locations more armside and out of the zone. THERE’S YER PROBLEM.
I wish I had better words to say about Skenes’ breakers, too. His slider was tugged gloveside frequently, resulting in a high number of waste pitches and a poor 57% strike rate with just a 12% SwStr rate – alarmingly low marks for a slider paired with 99 mph heat (think of the sliders thrown by Greene, Strider, Jones, deGrom, etc.) – while the curve can be flipped over the plate early against LHB for called strikes, but isn’t the big breaker quite yet.
This isn’t to say that Skenes is destined to fail or that he can’t add these elements to his game in his second season. It’s more to outline Skenes as an unfinished product who has more holes than Skubal and Crochet entering 2025. It feels weird saying that, I know. I KNOW. The last wrinkle for me was the Pirates – Skenes should get fewer wins than Crochet and Skubal, while I expect the strikeouts to dip a touch without the absurd swing and miss pitch of the others. But hey, he’s going to go in the first two/three rounds and y’all know I don’t encourage taking an SP there anyway.
Quick Take: Skenes is obviously dope and makes us feel dope. I think we’ll see a step back in strikeouts as his four-seamer lacked massive whiffs without a stellar breaker to complement. The splinker is so good, though, and at his velocity and overall control, Skenes is obviously a stud arm for the year. Just not SP #1. Or #2. Don’t hate me.
4. Zack Wheeler (PHI, RHP)
Wheeler’s ability to mix his four-seamer and sinker to RHB with precision is the secret to his success. With eight inches of separation in both vertical and horiztonal movement, batters can’t pick up if they’re seeing a high four-seamer or a sinker that juts inside at a 71% rate. Outs galore come from the two pitches, with the sweeper improving in 2025 to keep batters from purely on the heaters.
LHB have always been a challenge for Wheeler and oddly enough, it’s still a weak point. The sinker takes a back seat for two-strike counts and is effective for surprise front-hip punchouts, but the four-seamer gets tagged more often due to his cutter acting as the companion, a pitch that lost movement and failed to find strikes over 60% of the time. A new splitter tried to mitigate the damage, but failed in two-strike counts (13% putaway rate. Blegh.) while it barely eclipsed a 50% strike rate. The curve is still there (and questionable) and yes, I’m trying to tell you that there’s even more room to grow for Wheeler if he can improve his cutter or splitter or anything against LHB.
You’re going to get a whole lot of Wins with a 25-30% strikeout rate and stellar ratios. He’s incredibly similar to Skubal, though Wheeler’s weakness to LHB is a glaring, with possible regression in strikeouts on the way. Clearly Top 5 and a leap safer than those outside the Top 10.
Quick Take: The strikeouts may come down a touch, but Wheeler is primed for another 200+ strikeout season with plenty of Wins and great ratios. His four-seamer and sinker combo are as good as it gets in the majors, though I wish we had just one more strong option against LHB. If something cracks, it will come against them.
5. Corbin Burnes (ARI, RHP)
Once again, we saw a “down” year for Burnes despite a sub 3.00 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. But the strikeouts! Yes, I know. 241 in 2022, 200 in 2023, and just 181 in 2024. That’s not elite, that’s your SP #2. And yet, I’m in for 2025 for a few reasons. First, the Diamondbacks are a great team to pitch for – they generally let their veteran starters run deep into games, Wins are ripe for the taking, and their team defense is exceptional (2nd in OAA as a team last year) – and Burnes should flourish in Arizona.
I also want to emphasize that Burnes fixed his cutter in September. The pitch held a 9% SwStr rate for most of the season until the end of August, when it woke up for a 15% SwStr and a massive jump in vertical break – five extra inches that helped get the dang thing low over half the time. FINALLY. That cutter has always been the pitch for Burnes and after struggling to get the right feel for it all season, Burnes made a tweak and the pitch led him to the finish line start after start. That said, I wouldn’t expect a rise to a 30% strikeout rate, but 23%? Pfffft, that’s the old Burnes. Like Wheeler, I see a great floor with 25%+ strikeout ability and despite all the depth we’ve been praising in this year’s SP class, Burnes is one of the rare few with an excellent floor across the board. Welcome to the Top 5 SP.
Quick Take: Burnes’ improved cutter + higher slider reliance against RHB gives me all the reason to trust him in 2025 for 200+ strikeouts and similar ratios. There’s a touch of work left with the change and curve to LHB, but the repaired cutter makes me optimistic for a strong 2025 ahead with a great defense behind him.
6. Jacob deGrom (TEX, RHP)
You have an opinion of deGrom. I have an opinion of deGrom. It doesn’t matter what I think, just do what you’re comfortable with. I need to say that first before anything as deGrom is arguably the most difficult pitcher to rank this season. After all, the hardest thing we do in the off-season is predict injury/volume and deGrom’s track record brings as much haze as anyone.
Here’s my thought process. First, there should not be a question of his ability. deGrom returned for three games in 2024 and displayed the same “I am the best pitcher on the planet” skillset we’ve known for years with 97/98 mph heaters with rise and flat attack angle + devastating sliders, greeted by a sprinkle of changeups to LHB. I truly don’t believe a degradation of ability is ahead and shouldn’t be weighed into the conversation.
Sadly, we have to talk about the perception of health. No, you shouldn’t expect 150+ innings from deGrom. At the same time, you should expect at least 100 innings and may even get 130 this season. His injury history is littered with problems, though one of the major ones is linked to TJS, and now he has a fully repaired elbow – you know, better than some of the elbows on the verge of exploding. It’s not a bonkers thought to say “give me the guy with the healthy elbow over the guy who had to get shut down for weeks in 2024.” That doesn’t mean deGrom is injury-free, but he’s likely more stable than any season post-2020. (Fun note: deGrom was known as a “workhorse” until 2021. Makes you wonder.)
And now we need to ask ourselves “What am I getting out of my fantasy draft?” If you are in a 12-team league or shallower, you should be jumping to get deGrom. His quality-per-game is SP #1 (sorry Skenes and Skubal, it’s true) and what is often forgotten in player discussion is that you’re not just getting the player. You’re getting the player + their replacement. The depth of SP is enormous entering 2025 and the waiver wire will be filled with worthy options to take over once deGrom inevitably hits the IL. With deGrom’s massive impact when he does pitch, I’m willing to place him inside the Top 10 entering the year for 12-teamers. In 15-teamers, you may need to get quality volume in his place, though there is an argument to be made that deGrom hitting his volume ceiling is a league-winning play vs. the floor play of someone akin to Framber Valdez or George Kirby. Play to your strengths and happy drafting y’all.
Quick Take: deGrom should be considered the SP #1 in quality, though it’s difficult to know how much weight should be placed on his expected workload. Taking into account the added value of the open roster spot if he goes on the IL, deGrom should be heavily considered in 12-teamer leagues and shallower.
Tier 2 – Aces Gonna Ace
Aces. Gonna. Ace. Not quite the same level as the guys above, but still pitchers who can anchor your staff.
7. Logan Gilbert (SEA, RHP)
Gilbert had one of those seasons akin to Burnes’ 2023. You thought it was good, but rostering him felt a bit uneasy at times, and suddenly you see he had a…0.89 WHIP in 200+ frames?! How. What baffles me about Gilbert is his four-seamers’ inability to earn whiffs and massively suppress hard contact (38% ICR), yet it carried fantastic results. With a near 70% strike rate and sublime .204 BAA, Gilbert relied on the pitch inside the zone to set up his elite slider, making a one-two punch good enough for him to experiment with splitters in two-strike counts (it succeeded in its role and explains the strikeout rate jump), curveballs early or saved for a strikeout against RHB, and cutters against LHB to keep them honest.Thing is, that four-seamer should be a harbinger of destruction. Gilbert’s well-documented 7.5+ feet of extension on the pitch is the best in baseball and paired with 96/97 mph and decent enough VAA and movement, we should see 15%+ SwStr rates and suffering. And yet, it returned the same clip as Zack Litell’s four-seamer at 9.3%. Yeah. Gilbert’s command of the pitch is more about “get it over the plate” and less of “let’s hit the corners” or “elevate with a purpose.” In fact, the pitch had an 81% loLoc and you can understand my concern that Gilbert just had a peak season with the pitch and will regress next year.
While reading my notes on Mariners pitchers, you’ll hear me constantly mention their home-field advantage. If you’re unaware, T-Mobile park sported a 22% increase in strikeouts, while boasting the lowest park factor of any MLB ballpark at 89. That’s 11% less offense vs. a neutral location. The general belief is that it has to do with the batter’s eye in centerfield and I can’t ignore the possibility that Seattle will change their stadium before the start of the year, even if Opening Day is creeping closer and closer. Treat that chance more as a tiebreaker than as a decider, but understand that it explains home/road splits for many of these Mariners pitchers, while also explaining how Gilbert’s four-seamer vastly overperformed last year (and could again if the park stays the same!).
Back to Gilbert’s skillset, I have to mention the slider that turned into the #1 PLV slider of the season. His elite extension merged with fantastic feel of the pitch down in and out of the zone helped it return a near 60% STR-ICR rate, which essentially says “The dude hurled sliders over the plate and they couldn’t hit them.” It doesn’t seem as though there is much room for growth with the pitch after featuring it over 30% of the time for the second year in a row, but if there’s one thing to bank on, it’s likely Gilbert’s slider excelling once again.
Quick take: Gilbert’s volume and extension make him a safe arm entering the year. His four-seamer is likely to regress and prevent a sub 1.00 WHIP, but his elite slider (#1 slider PLV in 2024!), solid cutter (even if it took a step back in the second half), and two-strike splitter have kept the strikeouts flowing. I question the command that prevents him from being a clear-cut Top 5 SP, while his floor remains far higher than most in the Top 20. The counting stats are what you’re going for here.
8. Cole Ragans (KCR, LHP)
PEW PEW PEW. Do I like Ragans more or less this year? I was hyped last year by his cutter and slider that each took a step back across the season, though Ragans’ heater and changeup set a foundation that created a stud season without his best arsenal. That four-seamer came in at exceptional velocity and elite horizontal movement, though there is a touch of worry after it dropped from 96+ mph to roughly 94 mph in the second half. Ragans outlines it as a mechanical problem with his lower half, which may be as simple as general fatigue across his first year of a full workload. A southpaw’s best friend is a reliable changeup and Ragans’ slowball obliterated RHB at a 28% SwStr rate while maintaining a fantastic 65% strike rate. It’s legit.I really hope we see the cutter and slider rebound in the year ahead. Ragans’ curve is more of a surprise pitch to land called strikes, which puts heavy reliance on the slider against LHB. Ragans often spiked the pitch and returned a horrid 54% strike rate against LHB – especially troubling with its 34% usage against them. Ah, so that explains the walk rate. Sure does. Considering Ragans has expressed his desire to throw more strikes this year, I’m optimistic that 2024’s near 9% walk rate will fall to close to 7%, possibly leading to fewer strikeouts and a touch more walks, though the overall production should be a tick better.
And the cutter? Right. Ragans infatuated me in 2023 by mixing the pitch incredibly well with his fastball against RHB, but it took a step back last year. It was still there at times, but its ICR nearly doubled and I still believe there’s more to squeeze out of the pitch, especially when paired with the lively heater.
There is some injury risk after tossing 186.1 IP in 2024 without any history nearing that mark, though who doesn’t have injury risk these days? Ragans is expected to toss 90-100 pitches every five days with elite strikeout ability and a path toward lowering his walk rate (and thus his WHIP). Let’s ride this again, y’all.
Quick Take: Ragans’s fastball/change combo lays a lovely foundation for his slider and cutter to take steps forward in 2025. Matched with a heightened focus on finding strikes and attacking batters, Ragans looks poised to carry a fantastic floor with room to grow into a potential Top 3 starter in the majors.
9. Michael King (SDP, RHP)
Why do I love King? Because he’s a command pitcher with a 31% strikeout rate against RHB. His sinker is spotted away for away called strikes then suddenly carves up the handle of the bat inside on the next pitch, while his sweeper gets whiffs away, and his elite changeup returned a near 30% putaway rate that I see replicating for another season. In fact, I want him to throw the slowball more, while possibly limiting his four-seamer’s 50% early usage (the heater is his worst offering but can be effective at two-strikes upstairs).Like many others, LHB is the puzzle to solve, though King has a head start with his phenomenal changeup. Its 22% SwStr rate and 68% strikes at 36% usage is elite and it will continue to dominate once again in 2025. However, his four-seamer was featured a quarter of the time and LHB craved to see it. The pitch was used a touch less after King’s early struggles, but I think there’s another adjustment to lower it further.
That solution could be the slider. At 86/87 mph, the gyro slider could be an effective strike pitch over the plate, while the sinker may be enough as one of the few front-hip sinkers thrown early in counts. Throw in the back-door sweeper for called strikes and the rare four-seamer, and King’s higher walk rate and ICR marks are sure to come down.
I look at the rankings and asked “Who are the pitchers capable of returning 180 frames of 25-30% strikeouts with great ratios?” King is one of the few, especially with his command. After all, May 4th through the end of the season, King returned a 2.42 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 29% K rate, and 7% BB rate in 137.2 IP and 24 starts. King’s April was the first of his career getting the freedom to start regularly and he clearly needed a moment to figure out the role. Expect continued growth in the year ahead.
Quick Take: Once King settled in as a starter in May, he dominated akin to an SP #1, with production across the board. He still needs a #2 pitch against LHB, but the changeup and overall command are good enough that I’d bank on him figuring it out across the year. He’s safer than last year’s 1.19 WHIP would suggest.
10. Gerrit Cole (NYY, RHP)
It’s hard to make out what to expect from Cole in 2025. On one hand, he’s still really good. He allows weak contact plenty, his four-seamer still misses a number of bats against LHB, the new cutter is effective (20% SwStr to RHB!), and his slider can still carve up RHB, even if not to the extent of old. It’s great to have a 90-100 pitch leash for the Yankees and Cole hasn’t held a WHIP below 1.13 or ERA below 3.50 since 2017.And yet, here we are. Cole’s velocity dropped two ticks from its 2022 iteration from 98 mph to 96 mph (still good, just not amazing), the slider took a major step back against LHB, and the ole stud McGee simply isn’t there. Watch Cole and you can feel the anxiety of a pitcher grinding it out, not the yooooo I’m KING COLE aura of old. His fastball doesn’t quite instill fear and his new reliance on his curveball to soften the blow of his worse slider feels like your favorite band replacing the drummer. It isn’t the same.
You should still expect production from Cole, assuming his arm is healthy n all. How can we assume that? We can’t, but his injury last season wasn’t a torn UCL or forearm strain. It was swelling. I have less worry about a TJS tear than someone who had a partial tear or similar. Draft Cole and expect a dependable ace, just not one belonging in the top tier of starters in the leagues.
Quick Take: Despite a slower heater and fewer whiffs on his signature breaker, Cole still has the tools of a strong SP #2/borderline SP #1 for fantasy entering the year. His 2024 injury appears to be a moment of the past, making him a safe option across the board as he pitches for a winning ball club.
11. Max Fried (NYY, LHP)
I think everyone is undervaluing Fried. He missed some time this year with arm inflammation (not a tear) and I’m sure that’s depressing his value at the moment, though I highly doubt the Yankees would have signed him for as much as they did if those workhorse concerns held weight. In addition, Fried had a “down year” despite still returning over 170 innings with a sub 3.30 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with a strikeout per inning. His deep arsenal with legit fastball command allows Fried to generate outs as effectively as anyone (that four-seamer’s cut action inside to RHB is incredible) and his groundball ability in the Bronx is a wonderful match, preventing the short porch from ruining his outings.There are two facets to Fried’s game I hope he can refine in New York. First is the slowball, a pitch that once induced nearly 20% SwStr rates against RHB fell significantly last season, forcing Fried to reduce its usage in two-strike counts and limiting his strikeout ceiling. There were times Fried needed that pitch in 2024 and it hurt.
The second is dealing with LHB. The sinker can jam batters inside, though it doesn’t do it as frequently as his contemporaries, and without a devastating slider or sweeper for LHB (sub 60% strike rates at roughly 20% usage needs to get better!), Fried’s four-seamer is called upon far too often and it was terrible against LHB last season. Yes, the curveball is still a solid pitch, but it’s not the pitch. That sinker and curve need a bit more help.
These are solvable problems for a command vet like Fried and I’m expecting a rebound across a full year without disruption (after all, Fried is notorious for needing a few starts to rev the engine). I’m all for this.
Quick Take: Fried is as safe of a ratio play as any out there paired with strong volume and high Win potential. His deep arsenal and precise four-seamer to RHB gets him deep into games with room for improvement against LHB that could easily come in the season ahead. He’s a fantastic SP #2 for fantasy squads.
12. George Kirby (SEA, RHP)
We all see how Kirby can be that ace. Arguably the best walk-suppressor in baseball, Kirby doesn’t have to carry a top-of-the-line arsenal to be productive in fantasy – just limit the HRs and the ERA + WHIP will be golden. However, he’s struggled to eclipse a 25% strikeout rate across his three seasons in the majors, leaving the door open for ghastly outings where outs are harder to find than a rabbit in a cornfield. But his four-seamer has a 100th percentile SwStr rate! Weird, right? It’s a product of a 99th percentile swing rate and 1st percentile called strike rate – i.e. Batters swing more than others, which leads to both whiffs and balls in play. I still believe Kirby could benefit from avoiding the strikezone a touch more and keep his heater up-and-out to leave fewer at-bats up to chance in the field.I adore the sinker he features to RHB more than the four-seamer, and love that it has room to grow to land inside with a sub-50% clip in 2024. With its 31% ICR clip coming in more than 12 points less than his four-seamer, the pitch is crucial for Kirby across the year – just stop giving in with the four-seamer dangit!
Fastballs aside, the slider is a bit of a puzzle. He hurls the pitch backdoor to LHB incessantly, which works incredibly well early in counts, but doesn’t have the explosiveness later in at-bats to suggest strikeouts are coming. The splitter is not the pitch we want it to be, while the curveball could take on the role of putaway pitch in 2025 after a promising rise in usage in the second-half. Against RHB, that slider should seal at-bats constantly, yet Kirby struggles to get the pitch down, while he tugged it glove-side off the plate constantly, reminiscent of his 2022 rookie campaign. I want to believe the slider will come into form this year and complement the heaters better than ever, though we may have to settle for the breaker as a bridge pitch in the zone rather than a true weapon.
These pieces make for a strong arm who can go six frames easily with early sinkers returning outs and few at-bats stretching long to create an efficent pitch count. However, Kirby’s 3.53 ERA is a blatant display of his lack of electricity, missing a signature offering to haunt his victims, and it could become apparent if Seattle’s park factor regresses to the league norm this year (The best park for pitchers in 2024!). I guess we have to settle for an elite WHIP, decent ERA, 170 strikeouts, and double-digit Wins. Sigh.
Quick Take: Kirby will help whatever team he’s on, though he’s still searching for explosiveness in his arsenal to hit the 200-strikeout threshold we crave for true fantasy aces. The slider or curveball need to take a step forward to get there, while the four-seamer and sinker will likely stand pat to keep the innings flowing.
Tier 3 – Aces Are Wild
These guys are aces, but they have a major flaw that gives us more caution than we’d like. Set and forget and you should be just fine.
13. Tyler Glasnow (LAD, RHP)
Here’s a rank that is sure to be different by the end of draft season. If Glasnow is pitching in the spring without a setback, I’ll have him…higher. Not sure exactly where yet, but it’ll be higher and likely flirting with the top tier. Glasnow’s production per start is as good as it gets and I’m more in favor of taking an IL volume arm than a nebulous “we’re going to watch him innings” volume arm, aka Yamamoto, McClanahan, Alcantara, etc. Why? Because the replacement SP you’ll get when Glasnow is on the IL is value you don’t get when the Rays are skipping McClanahan’s starts or limiting how deep he can go into games. That’s a huge difference.
If Glasnow is delayed out of camp, it will be due to the elbow sprain that ended his 2024 season and I’d be worried A) His timeline will continue to get pushed back and B) He’ll hit the IL again after return. Unfortunately, the bump I give Strider for being on the IL in April (another roster spot to add players at the most important time!) doesn’t apply the same way given the higher risk of re-injury with Glasnow, and I’d have Glasnow under Strider at that point.
ANYWAY, the skills are simple. Glasnow has 7.5 feet of extension (99th percentile) that grants him absurd success on his four-seamer/slider/curve combo with a heater that sits 96+. It’s incredible and demands all the strikeouts with few hits, even if the heater doesn’t get the whiffs you’d expect (but the slider makes up for it). It all comes down to spring health and planning for the in-season IL trip.
Quick Take: Glasnow is a polarizing draft pick who I’m more inclined to draft with the understanding that “Quality is Quality”. However, if Glasnow is delayed in the spring, expect this ranking to fall below Strider’s, and if you’re drafting before then, bake in a decent amount of probability of that happening. Good luck guessing this one.
14. Shota Imanaga (CHC, LHP)
I don’t see a large drop off for Imanaga in 2025, though the superb rookie campaign of a 2.91 ERA and 1.02 WHIP is unlikely to be replicated. And that’s okay! He’ll continue to stave off the walks with a four-seamer that has elite HAVAA and elite iVB, even at 91 mph and below average extension due to a nullifying splitter and Imanaga’s ability to elevate effectively.
The splitter is sure to dominate once again, even if its 27% SwStr takes a small tumble. Think of Imanaga as a better version of Kevin Gausman: He has a strike-earning fastball with a devestating splitter with the benefit of a sweeper that works wonders against opposite-handed batters. That outlines a mid-3s ERA with a 25% strikeout rate and 1.10 WHIP, with some risk of a decline if his fastball’s attributes take a step back in the year ahead. We’ll take that all day.
I have to mention a slight concern about sophomore seasons for Japanese pitchers. After the large increase in workload during their rookie season, we’ve seen Japanese pitchers wear down in their second year in the majors, creating a small cloud of haze for Imanaga in the year ahead. But every pitcher is an injury risk! Yep, that’s completely fair and I’m not ranking Imanaga lower based on that anxiety – just don’t think of Imanaga as a lock for 32+ starts moreso than any other.
Quick Take: Imanaga’s splitter and sweeper grant him strikeouts against both LHB and RHB while his four-seamer is a reliable strike pitch to set up his vicious weapons. He was able to dodge untimely longballs in 2024 to keep his ERA under 3.00 and while we’re unlikely to see that performance again, the overall production should be there.
15. Joe Ryan (MIN, RHP)
Joe throws a whole lot of strikes and it sets him up for a monster season…if he can find one more definitive offering inside his arsenal. Ryan’s four-seamer has the flattest attack angle in baseball, which has him attack the top of the zone constantly, though its low iVB makes this is large risk/reward. When batters are able to get the timing just right, they can launch the pitch over the fence, leading to an elevated HR/9 for Ryan across the last few years. That mark did come down last year with Ryan showcasing another gain in velocity up to 94 mph and four extra inches of extension to 6.8 feet (i.e. meh extension to above-average extension. DOPE.), which lowered the longball count from nineteen to eight off the four-seamer. Progress.
I should note that Ryan’s 2024 season concluded early after suffering a Grade 2 Teres Major strain, though it’s not an injury that should linger into the season. That shouldn’t be your concern entering the season – that should come from his secondaries. Ryan has little fear throwing heaters upstairs at a 71% strike rate – the catalyst for his minuscule walk rate – and it calls for a reliable secondary to prevent batters from hunting heaters upstairs with every pitch. There is a sinker Ryan began incorporating more to RHB in early June that I adore and hope to see again in 2025, but there needs to be more.
The attack against RHB features a sweeper 20% of the time and I’m not sure it’s the correct call. Ryan’s four-seamer holds a 46% ICR against RHB and just a 33% clip against LHB, and I believe this sweeper is the culprit. Ryan’s arm-angle gets lower when featuring the pitch, allowing batters to key in on the sweeper and confidently attack four-seamers with the higher arm slot. Maybe it’s worth it given the near 20% SwStr rate and decent 35% ICR at 20% usage, though I have to believe a tighter slider would do better at the same arm slot.
…which Ryan has? Kinda. He featured a slider against RHB just 8% of the time last year to middling results. It earned strikes but had very little drop and looked like a cement mixer breaker often, leading to a 55% ICR and a .508 xWOBA against (I’m usually pounding the table to stop using result stats for individual pitches, but hot dang, I couldn’t ignore that). Ryan tried to sneak it in for an early called strike (24% called strikes!) against both LHB and RHB, and it’s not the answer we’re looking for. Something a little more…aggressive? Dangerous? Deadly.
Speaking of LHB, the splitter is the go-to #2 pitch, and if you know me at all, I dislike splitters as a #2 option. They are the least consistent pitch in baseball, creating volatility start-to-start. Ryan’s splitter was more effective than his contemporaries at earning strikes, while it acted as a better nullifer for his four-seamer to LHB than his sweeper to RHB. Still, it’s not an elite companion for the fastball and I’m still holding my breath for Ryan to find that pitch to create a one-two punch.
If you’re so down on Ryan, why is he ranked so high? Because despite all of this, he’s excellent at hit suppression due to his large flyball rate merged with a near 80th percentile SwStr rate. Ryan’s 0.99 WHIP isn’t a total fluke with 2023’s 1.17 mark due to an inflated 8.6 hit-per-nine that has fallen to a repeatable 7.3 H/9, and in concert with his elite walk rate, Ryan is sure to have a sparkling WHIP once again. If he makes any adjustment with his pitch mix to improve his #2 offerings to both LHB and RHB, Ryan could turn into a Top 5 arm overnight. The floor is there with the four-seamer (and maybe even more growth given its gains each year?) making Ryan a great target for production and legit upside.
Quick Take: Ignore the injury from 2024 and focus on Ryan’s ability to limit walks while punch batters out over 25% of the time due to his elite four-seamer he spots upstairs. Growth in his secondaries are the final step toward an ERA consistently below 3.50 moving forward with a WHIP and strikeout floor that makes him far less risky than other ceiling starters.
16. Dylan Cease (SDP, RHP)
Is this the year Cease finally throws a cutter? Like actually throws a cutter? Will you please stop this Nick. It would be so fun though! It gets more vertical drop than expected and instead of last year’s absurdly brief stint featuring the pitch to LHB when he featured it up-and-in, it theoretically would work down-and-away as a called strike pitch that sets up the backdoor slider and high heater. It could even be the standard called strike pitch to RHB as well, which he needs help with every so often, too.
But I digress. Cease fixed his two largest problems last year and it was (mostly) fantastic. Sliders against RHB went from the abyss that is a sub-60% strike rate to a near 65% clip without sacrificing whiffs or ICR (it was unreal), and four-seamers solved their high ICR problem to LHB by not giving in as much and dropping its strike rate five points. It led to more walks against LHB, but with his improvements to RHB, the scales still favored Cease’s adjustments for a fantastic season.
So once again, I’m have no idea where to rank Cease. On one hand, I want to believe he’s made these adjustments with room to develop further (just not that curve or sweeper or change, okay? They don’t solve the problems you have of finding reliable strikes to set up the slider), but I also know Cease’s command fades at random times during the year, especially against LHB. Last year’s 3.43 ERA looks and 1.07 WHIP looks fantastic on paper, but the 6.5 hit-per-nine is sure to rise (even with 38% batters walked or punched out) with the Padres middling defense and it comes down to something like a trio of starts. I’m not joking. Cease’s seasons can be scrutinized to be three starts that are either great or poor (think 15 ER vs 3 ER!). That’s the difference between the 4.58 ERA and 3.47 ERA and as a fantasy manager, I hate arms who bring chaos in the way that Cease does. But alas, he’s as much of a lock as you’ll find for 200+ strikeouts, while the WHIP should be low if he can keep throwing sliders for strikes and refusing to give in his four-seamers. FINE, I’ll rank him at #16, but no higher ya’ll.
Quick Take: The ceiling is higher than those ranked a bit above him, but the floor is what terrifies me, especially as a manager in-season who often doesn’t know what to expect. If Cease can continue to throw sliders middle-away to LHB for strikes while limiting damage on his four-seamer (and maybe add a reliable #3 pitch for strikes?), then he can fend off his 2023 demons.
17. Spencer Strider (ATL, RHP)
This ranking is subject to change and y’all know that. His value dramatically shifts based on the league you are in – IL spots, depth, affordability of a roster spot, etc. – and I find myself wanting to draft Strider more and more as I discuss him this off-season. First, let me outline the clear reasons not to draft Strider. 1) How healthy is he actually? 2) Will he have setbacks before returning? 3) Will he need to ramp up once he returns? 4) Will he still have the same quality per inning once returning? 5) An IL spot is still valuable in April. 6) How much of an impact does he actually provide across 4-5 months vs. an arm that would go a full season?
All of those are worthwhile concerns. Considering it was internal brace surgery, Strider’s timeline of May 1st is reasonable (usually about 12 months vs the 14-16 months of TJS), and the fact that he’s already at camp and looking to be on schedule is as positive of a sign as you can hope for. We’ve seen injured pitchers take longer than the initial timeline when hurt during the spring (Gavin Williams and Bryan Woo last year, for example), and there is risk here, absolutely.
The rest of the concerns are not as much of an issue for me. Why? Because it forgets that in most leagues (and the one I am ranking for) have an IL where Strider’s roster spot becomes open for another SP to fill in. It’s Strider’s production plus whoever covers the roster spot when he’s hurt and let me tell you, the SP depth this year is bonkers. I can’t believe some of the names I have outside the initial Top 100 SP ranking and I’m willing to bet you’ll be able to add many arms inside the Top 100 during the first week of April. In addition, April roster spots are the most valuable roster spots due to players displaying new skills at the start of the year that can carry across the entire season. Strider grants you a free ticket for another chance at the waiver wire lottery that can pay off massively.
And once May 1st arrives, guess what? You have a Top 5 SP in baseball. Boom, just like that, you’re going to forget all about April and be the king of the land. We’ve seen Skenes, Glasnow, deGrom, Skubal, Crochet Ragans, and many others rank highly on the player raters at the end of the season despite sub 150 IP and I’m a firm believer Strider will be there too.
So go for it. With a massive pool of quality arms who you pair with Strider a round later, you’re not going to get as far behind in the early season as much as previous years.
Quick Take: He’s a Top 5 SP when healthy, which should be about a month into the year. His open roster spot in April should be embraced and the loss of Strider for a sole month is not enough to turn him down inside the Top 30 SP. You’re going to be so happy you did during the season.
18. Chris Sale (ATL, LHP)
I scoured everything. I look at his slider, four-seamer, changeup, noted his locations, count changes, movement, velocity, shifts to RHB/LHB, all of it. There were four differences between 2023 and 2024: health, velocity, LOB% rate, and home runs.
The first is obvious. Sale is notorious for his inability to stay on the field and despite everyone expecting 100 IP or even fewer frames from the lanky southpaw, we saw Sale pitch without interruption until his back barked after his September 19th outing, tallying 177.2 IP in 29 starts. It was incredible, exhilarating, exceptional. We have to accept that this wasn’t typical and to anticipate another full season from Sale would be far too optimistic. That isn’t to say he’s deGrom and we’d be lucky for 120+ frames, but…we may be lucky if we see 120 frames.
To push Sale down the ranks due to injury risk would be unjust. I’m favoring injured arms a bit more than usual this year given the absurd depth of SP this year and considering his roster spot equates to the known quality of Sale when healthy + whoever we scoop up off the wire, I’d accept the ding in volume. There are three other differences to cover, though.
Let’s tackle the HOTEL factor – LOB% and home run rate. In some ways, they link – runners on base who score via HR cannot be Left On Base, after all – though I reviewed it all and found the significant shift in HR decline (1.31 HR/9 to a tiny 0.46 HR/9 clip) came from HRs to RHB off his slider – five in 2023’s shorter season vs. one in all of 2024. And yes, there were more off his four-seamer, but the takeaway was that all of these pitches (save for one) were terrible sliders or heaters. Poorly located mistakes that were punished as they should have been. I’m worried that we’ll see more of them again in 2025 as Sale didn’t pitch all that differently last season and this is one of those rare moments where I say “Ehhhh just average the two.” But his fastball velocity increased! Ohhhh yeah. Number four.
Sale’s four-seamer came up from its lazy 93/94 mph to 94/95 mph, which absolutely helps, but is that really the Sale of old? We used to see Sale sit 96/97 mph with his fastball, two ticks above or higher with a greater effect on his secondaries. I’m not convinced that the heater is truly better, especially with the same strike and ICR rates and a 43%+ ICR to both LHB and RHB. And who’s to say the heater will continue to be at the raised 94/95 mph for another season? That is far from a given at age 36 with his track record.
I’m worried about Sale. Everyone understands 2024’s Cy Young campaign was a magical season, and even if I believe Sale will still be productive with his three-pitch mix and very capable of collecting Wins every game he starts, I question his impact across what will likely be a dented workload. There’s an argument to made that even Strider is a better pick (who has a better quality-per-inning this year?), though Sale gets the nod given the known commodity of his health right now. It would take all the pieces coming together perfectly for Sale to get his HOTEL upgrade carrying over for another year with a 30% strikeout rate. It simply rarely happens.
Quick Take: Sale’s health history mixed with all the signs of regression make me question Sale’s impact across your fantasy teams. Expect a rise in ERA to the 3s with a WHIP over 1.10 as the HR, LOB%, and hit rates normalize, while we could see a fastball decline that makes the shift dramatically larger. Give me the floor of many others instead.
19. Blake Snell (LAD, LHP)
I don’t know what to do with you and I hate it. Snell has terrible across his first five starts of the year, then went on one of his patentended runs for a 1.23 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, and 38% strikeout rate across fourteen games and 80 IP. But he only totally 145 strikeouts on the season. That’s a great point. Snell hit 180 IP twice in his Cy Young seasons and hasn’t hit 130 IP in any other year. His style of pitching also walks a tightrope that requires something new to be tweaked for his success – first his changeup renaissance, then his fastball locations, then his curveball turning into a 65% strike pitch out of nowhere last year. It’s maddening and as a fantasy manager, I simply don’t want to deal with it again.
But Nick! This is the year! He was SO GOOD last season and the Dodgers will use him perfectly to get the most out of him! Uhhhh, are we sure? This is a feel thing and his health is his health. Snell’s command was as incredible as I’ve ever seen it last year during his wondrous stretch (still with a ~50% strike rate on his slider to LHB, to be fair) and I really dislike chasing that feel to extend for a full year. He’s never done that, relying on his second-half blitz of dominance to even out the struggles early. But yes, the four-seamer is stupid good when it works with precision upstairs and curves low against LHB (BSB, of course), with the changeup entering the mix against RHB with absurd SwStr marks as well. I just wish we knew we’d get that all the time and without any health fears.
Quick Take: You don’t need Snell to win your league. His unreliability of both health and rhythm make him a starter I’d prefer to avoid in drafts, favoring more reliable arms who can realistically flirt with 180 frames and help your team every week. That said, if you need a home run play, Snell’s potential ceiling if he’s healthy all season is among the best in fantasy.
20. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD, RHP)
I’m not smitten with Yamamoto entering 2025. With the Dodgers likely returning to a six-man rotation and trying again to keep all their pitchers healthy for the playoffs, you should not expect more than 150 frames from Yamamoto in the year ahead – and that’s without a trip to the IL. The Dodgers will push back starts, limit his innings here and there, all the stuff that makes his roster spot less valuable than his teammate Tyler Glasnow who we all expect to hit the IL, but will have better quality during his innings and opens up his roster spot for an SP off the waiver wire when he’s not pitching. That’s massive difference and I want to emphasize that greatly as a fantasy manager.
I also don’t love his skills as much as I thought I would. Yamamoto allowed 40% ICR on all three pitches against RHB last year, utilizing his four-seamer as a low called strike pitch and failing to take advantage of its flat attack angle. Yes, throwing low makes it easier to hit and despite my ideals of Yamamoto making a shift this year to focus the heater upstairs, I have my doubts.
The splitter is fantastic against RHB and a touch worse against LHB (weird, right?), but is reserved more than half the time for two-strike counts, turning Yamamoto into a four-seamer/curve for the major of at-bats, and I wish I liked that curveball more. Its big drop is lovely eye candy and a 70% strike rate is fantastic, though it gets hit often and doesn’t have the dominance you want from a #2 pitch with low whiff rates. I like the offering a lot, I simply wish his cutter would take over as the predominant weapon, allowing the curve as more of a mix-up than the necessary pitch.
This sounds very negative. Yikes. Yamamoto isn’t a bad pitcher by any means and is sure to help all your fantasy teams. The question I’m trying to answer is How Much? and it’s not enough for me to draft him inside the Top 20 arms. He’ll certainly have the days where his fastball and curve do enough to set up a splitter in its final form, though he’ll have limited volume and not pitch at the level of a Glasnow, deGrom, or any of the Top tier starters when he does.
Quick Take: Yamamoto will likely be limited as a Dodger with good ratios and strikeouts for a winning club, though I’m concerned with his overall volume and how large of an impact he’ll make. Once all the trusted volume arms who product across the board are gone, then consider Yamamoto, but be careful reaching too far.
Photos by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)
Founder of Pitcher List. Creator of CSW, The List, and SP Roundup. Worked with MSG, FanGraphs, CBS Sports, and Washington Post. Former college pitcher, travel coach, pitching coach, and Brandeis alum. Wants every pitcher to be dope.
Love the list, as always. I want to especially say that I really appreciate the popup tags on the color-coded legend squares. I’ve found this confusing in the past, and this completely solves the problem. Kudos! Huzzah!
Thanks!
Kirby is 12 up top and 10 down below.
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3 responses to “Top 400 Starting Pitchers For Fantasy Baseball 2025 – SP Rankings 1-20”
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Labels Legend
Nick Pollack
| Rank | Pitcher | Badges | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tarik SkubalT1 |
Aces Gonna Ace
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 2 | Garrett Crochet |
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 3 | Paul Skenes |
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 4 | Zack Wheeler |
Aces Gonna Ace
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 5 | Corbin Burnes |
Aces Gonna Ace
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 6 | Jacob deGrom |
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 7 | Logan Gilbert
T2 |
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 8 | Cole Ragans |
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 9 | Michael King |
Aces Gonna Ace
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 10 | George Kirby |
Aces Gonna Ace
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 11 | Gerrit Cole |
Aces Gonna Ace
Wins Bonus
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 12 | Max Fried |
Aces Gonna Ace
Wins Bonus
|
– |
| 13 | Tyler Glasnow
T3 |
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 14 | Shota Imanaga |
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 15 | Joe Ryan |
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 16 | Dylan Cease |
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 17 | Spencer Strider |
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 18 | Chris Sale |
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 19 | Blake Snell |
Aces Gonna Ace
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 20 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto |
Aces Gonna Ace
Wins Bonus
|
– |
| 21 | Pablo López
T4 |
Ace Potential
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 22 | Justin Steele |
Ace Potential
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 23 | Bailey Ober |
Ace Potential
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 24 | Tanner Bibee |
Ace Potential
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 25 | Bryce Miller |
Ace Potential
Ratio Focused
|
– |
| 26 | Framber Valdez |
Ace Potential
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 27 | Logan Webb |
Ace Potential
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 28 | Spencer Schwellenbach |
Ace Potential
Wins Bonus
|
– |
| 29 | Shane McClanahan
T5 |
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
|
– |
| 30 |
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
|
-1 | |
| 31 | Bryan Woo |
Holly
Ratio Focused
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 32 | Grayson Rodriguez |
Cherry Bomb
Strikeout Upside
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 33 | Freddy Peralta |
Cherry Bomb
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 34 | Sandy Alcantara
T6 |
Holly
Ratio Focused
Playing Time Question
|
– |
| 35 | Luis Castillo |
Holly
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 36 | Aaron Nola |
Holly
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 37 | Robbie Ray |
Holly
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 38 | Sonny Gray |
Holly
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 39 | Jared Jones
T7 |
Cherry Bomb
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 40 | Jack Flaherty |
Cherry Bomb
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 41 | Shohei Ohtani |
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
|
– |
| 42 | Hunter Greene |
Cherry Bomb
Strikeout Upside
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 43 | Carlos Rodón |
Holly
Wins Bonus
|
– |
| 44 | Kodai Senga |
Holly
Strikeout Upside
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 45 | Ryan Pepiot |
Cherry Bomb
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
|
– |
| 46 | Zac Gallen
T8 |
Holly
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 47 | Yu Darvish |
Holly
Wins Bonus
Playing Time Question
|
– |
| 48 | Hunter Brown |
Holly
Wins Bonus
|
– |
| 49 | Seth Lugo |
Holly
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 50 | Reynaldo López |
Holly
Wins Bonus
|
– |
| 51 | Shane Baz |
Holly
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 52 | Cristopher Sánchez |
Holly
Wins Bonus
|
– |
| 53 | Ronel Blanco |
Holly
Wins Bonus
|
– |
| 54 | Jeffrey Springs |
Holly
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 55 | Nathan Eovaldi |
Holly
Wins Bonus
|
– |
| 56 | Spencer Arrighetti
T9 |
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 57 | Dustin May |
Ratio Focused
Playing Time Question
|
– |
| 58 | Gavin Williams |
Quality Starts
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 59 | Bubba Chandler |
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
|
– |
| 60 | Jackson Jobe |
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
|
– |
| 61 | Brandon Woodruff |
Ace Potential
Quality Starts
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 62 | Kevin Gausman |
Holly
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 63 | Lucas Giolito |
Holly
Wins Bonus
Playing Time Question
|
– |
| 64 | Walker Buehler |
Holly
Wins Bonus
Team Context Effect
|
– |
| 65 | Jesús Luzardo |
Strikeout Upside
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 66 | Drew Rasmussen |
Ratio Focused
Playing Time Question
|
– |
| 67 | Bobby Miller |
Ratio Focused
Playing Time Question
|
– |
| 68 | Tanner Houck
T10 |
Wins Bonus
|
– |
| 69 | Luis Gil |
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 70 | Taj Bradley |
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 71 | Yusei Kikuchi |
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 72 | Nick Lodolo |
Strikeout Upside
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 73 | Sean Manaea |
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 74 | MacKenzie Gore |
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 75 | Grant Holmes |
Wins Bonus
Playing Time Question
|
– |
| 76 | Clay Holmes |
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 77 | Kumar Rocker |
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
|
– |
| 78 | Bowden Francis |
Ratio Focused
|
– |
| 79 | Nick Pivetta |
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 80 | Zach Eflin
T11 |
Toby
Wins Bonus
|
– |
| 81 | Reese Olson |
Toby
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 82 | Clarke Schmidt |
Toby
Wins Bonus
|
– |
| 83 | Nestor Cortes |
Toby
Strikeout Upside
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 84 | José Soriano |
Toby
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 85 | Merrill Kelly |
Toby
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 86 | Kutter Crawford |
Toby
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 87 | Matthew Boyd |
Toby
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 88 | Tobias Myers |
Toby
Quality Starts
|
– |
| 89 | Kris Bubic
T12 |
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
|
– |
| 90 | Edward Cabrera |
Strikeout Upside
|
– |
| 91 | David Festa |
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
|
– |
| 92 | Hayden Wesneski |
Stash Option
Playing Time Question
|
– |
| 93 | Brandon Pfaadt |
Quality Starts
Playing Time Question
|
– |
| 94 | DJ Herz |
Holly
Stash Option
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 95 | Hayden Birdsong |
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
|
– |
| 96 | Eury Pérez
T13 |
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Stash Option
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 97 | Sawyer Gipson-Long |
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Stash Option
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 98 | Kyle Bradish |
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Stash Option
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 99 | Cristian Javier |
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Stash Option
Injury Risk
|
– |
| 100 | Shane Bieber |
Ace Potential
Wins Bonus
Stash Option
Injury Risk
|
– |
