Fantasy Baseball Draft Rankings: Pitchers (2024)

The 2023 MLB season is in the books, but it’s never too early to look ahead to the upcoming campaign. While much of the MLB landscape is sure to change over the offseason, it can be helpful to get an early sense of where the experts stand in terms of initial fantasy baseball rankings. We’ll have you covered as we approach the spring and new season, but for now let’s take a look at early 2024 fantasy baseball rankings.

2024 Fantasy Baseball Rankings

Rank	Player	Team	Positions	Overall	Best	Worst	Avg	Std Dev	ADP	vs. ADP
1	Spencer Strider	ATL	SP,RP	15	1	1	1	0	13	-2
2	Gerrit Cole	NYY	SP	18	2	2	2	0	16	-2
3	Corbin Burnes	MIL	SP	24	3	5	3.5	0.9	22	-2
4	Zack Wheeler	PHI	SP	26	4	4	4	0	27	1
5	Kevin Gausman	TOR	SP	28	3	7	5	1.4	32	4
6	Luis Castillo	SEA	SP	37	6	9	7	1.2	33	-4
7	Pablo Lopez	MIN	SP	38	6	9	7.8	1.1	52	14
8	Zac Gallen	ARI	SP	40	5	12	8	2.7	36	-4
9	George Kirby	SEA	SP	41	7	10	8	1.2	46	5
10	Aaron Nola	PHI	SP	47	8	16	12	2.9	38	-9
11	Devin Williams	MIL	RP	52	10	22	13.8	4.8	44	-8
12	Tarik Skubal	DET	SP	50	11	17	14	2.1	54	4
13	Emmanuel Clase	CLE	RP	53	11	20	14.5	3.5	40	-13
14	Logan Webb	SF	SP	55	13	19	15.5	2.3	55	–
15	Framber Valdez	HOU	SP	56	9	20	16	4.5	49	-7
16	Max Fried	ATL	SP	59	14	19	16.8	1.8	50	-9
17	Tyler Glasnow	LAD	SP	58	10	27	17.3	6.5	59	1
18	Freddy Peralta	MIL	SP	61	15	24	17.5	3.8	72	11
19	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD	SP	64	18	21	18.8	1.3	159	95
20	Josh Hader		RP	67	12	39	20.3	11	45	-22
21	Kodai Senga	NYM	SP	68	19	22	20.8	1.1	83	15
22	Blake Snell		SP	69	18	26	22.3	3	60	-9
23	Jhoan Duran	MIN	RP	71	16	29	23	4.6	86	15
24	Logan Gilbert	SEA	SP	73	22	24	23	0.7	64	-9
25	Zach Eflin	TB	SP,RP	76	20	30	24.8	4	112	36
26	Grayson Rodriguez	BAL	SP	87	23	31	27	2.9	107	20
27	Edwin Diaz	NYM	RP	78	10	41	27.3	11.5	68	-10
28	Camilo Doval	SF	RP	89	25	32	28.8	2.6	57	-32
29	Jordan Romano	TOR	RP	94	26	35	29.8	3.6	66	-28
30	Raisel Iglesias	ATL	RP	95	28	35	32.3	2.7	76	-19
31	Kyle Bradish	BAL	SP	100	25	37	32.5	4.7	82	-18
32	David Bednar	PIT	RP	96	27	41	33.3	5.1	75	-21
33	Eury Perez	MIA	SP	104	25	53	34.3	11	88	-16
34	Jesus Luzardo	MIA	SP	101	26	44	34.3	6.9	89	-12
35	Ryan Pressly	HOU	RP	107	28	41	35.5	4.8	100	-7
36	Joe Ryan	MIN	SP	106	34	38	35.5	1.7	103	-3
37	Bobby Miller	LAD	SP	105	29	45	35.8	5.9	79	-26
38	Alexis Diaz	CIN	RP	111	33	44	39	4.3	93	-18
39	Joe Musgrove	SD	SP	110	38	40	39	0.7	90	-20
40	Ryan Helsley	STL	RP	114	36	47	40.5	4.4	104	-10
41	Justin Steele	CHC	SP	115	32	48	41	5.9	87	-28
42	Andres Munoz	SEA	RP	126	33	48	42.5	5.8	139	13
43	Dylan Cease	CWS	SP	120	31	51	42.8	7.9	78	-42
44	Walker Buehler	LAD	SP	122	35	60	43	9.9	95	-27
45	Pete Fairbanks	TB	RP	127	29	50	44.5	9	123	-4
46	Paul Sewald	ARI	RP	130	40	58	46.3	7	111	-19
47	Sonny Gray	STL	SP	137	45	52	47.5	2.7	131	-6
48	Evan Phillips	LAD	RP	132	43	51	47.8	3.1	143	11
49	Cole Ragans	KC	RP,SP	135	42	56	48	5.1	96	-39
50	Justin Verlander	HOU	SP	145	43	56	49.5	5.6	81	-64
51	Clay Holmes	NYY	RP	138	47	52	50.5	2.1	136	-2
52	Chris Bassitt	TOR	SP	148	41	55	51.3	5.9	133	-15
53	Tanner Bibee	CLE	SP	152	44	62	52.5	7.7	121	-31
54	Shane Bieber	CLE	SP	163	43	63	56.3	7.8	110	-53
55	Kenley Jansen	BOS	RP	157	51	67	56.8	6.1	130	-27
56	Hunter Greene	CIN	SP	166	49	65	58	5.7	126	-40
57	Jordan Montgomery		SP	167	50	64	58.3	5.4	148	-19
58	Michael King	SD	RP,SP	162	54	66	59.3	4.7	150	-12
59	Tanner Scott	MIA	RP	170	48	71	59.5	9.3	147	-23
60	Craig Kimbrel	BAL	RP	171	53	70	61	6.3	174	3
61	Merrill Kelly	ARI	SP	176	60	68	62.8	3.1	161	-15
62	Cristian Javier	HOU	SP,RP	178	59	72	63.8	5.1	128	-50
63	Chris Sale	ATL	SP	186	57	75	64.8	6.6	165	-21
64	Alex Lange	DET	RP	185	53	84	67.8	11	233	48
65	Carlos Rodon	NYY	SP	195	55	83	67.8	10	145	-50
66	Mitch Keller	PIT	SP	194	64	70	67.8	2.3	178	-16
67	Hunter Brown	HOU	SP,RP	193	57	73	68	6.4	191	-2
68	Jose Berrios	TOR	SP	197	61	86	68.8	10.1	157	-40
69	Yu Darvish	SD	SP	201	66	73	69.8	2.6	168	-33
70	Adbert Alzolay	CHC	RP	205	52	91	71.8	13.8	166	-39
71	Shane Baz	TB	SP	211	68	81	72	5.2	171	-40
72	Gavin Williams	CLE	SP	200	57	105	72.3	19.5	154	-46
73	Ryan Pepiot	TB	RP,SP	202	49	90	72.5	14.8	224	22
74	Bailey Ober	MIN	SP	213	64	90	74	10.3	194	-19
75	Jose Alvarado	PHI	RP	221	56	88	75.3	12.6	241	20
76	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX	SP	216	67	81	76	5.5	196	-20
77	Braxton Garrett	MIA	SP	222	63	86	77	8.7	198	-24
78	Bryan Woo	SEA	SP	223	73	82	77.3	3.5	205	-18
79	Nick Pivetta	BOS	RP,SP	228	76	83	78.8	2.6	252	24
80	Eduardo Rodriguez	ARI	SP	225	74	96	80	9.3	192	-33
81	Bryce Miller	SEA	SP	230	77	83	80.8	2.3	208	-22
82	Lucas Giolito	BOS	SP	239	77	88	84	4.2	212	-27
83	Brandon Pfaadt	ARI	SP	240	80	99	85.8	7.8	219	-21
84	Max Scherzer	TEX	SP	247	61	103	87.3	15.8	151	-96
85	Aaron Civale	TB	SP	243	83	93	87.8	4.3	211	-32
86	Charlie Morton	ATL	SP	249	85	97	89.3	4.6	210	-39
87	Jose Leclerc	TEX	RP	245	78	126	90.5	20.5	231	-14
88	Triston McKenzie	CLE	SP	250	84	102	91.5	7.1	216	-34
89	Brayan Bello	BOS	SP	257	85	107	93.5	8.3	221	-36
90	Nick Lodolo	CIN	SP	255	81	109	93.8	10	220	-35
91	Kenta Maeda	DET	SP	263	92	101	96.3	3.2	286	23
92	Andrew Abbott	CIN	SP	267	92	103	98.8	4.6	242	-25
93	Emmet Sheehan	LAD	SP	269	98	106	100.8	3.3	259	-10
94	Carlos Estevez	LAA	RP	272	87	132	103	17.3	238	-34
95	Kutter Crawford	BOS	SP,RP	277	95	120	105	9.4
96	Taj Bradley	TB	SP	276	100	113	105	4.9	287	11
97	Kyle Finnegan	WSH	RP	275	89	133	105.3	17.6	245	-30
98	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	SP,RP	279	101	110	105.3	3.3	302	23
99	Reid Detmers	LAA	SP	273	94	98	95.7	1.7	249	-24
100	Michael Wacha	KC	SP	287	102	113	106.8	4	294	7

What is Fantasy Baseball?

Fantasy baseball is an online game where participants act as managers of virtual baseball teams based on real-life Major League Baseball (MLB) players. The performance of these players in actual games determines the results in the fantasy league. It’s a blend of skill, strategy, and a little bit of luck, akin to the real-world decisions team managers must make.

Basic Strategy for Fantasy Baseball Success

1. Understand Your League’s Format and Scoring

Before drafting your team, it’s essential to understand the scoring system and rules of your specific league, as this will influence your drafting and management strategy. Knowing whether you’re in a points-based, category-based, or head-to-head league will guide you in selecting players whose strengths align with the scoring system.

2. Drafting Your Team Wisely

A solid draft is the foundation of a successful season. Here are a few tips for the drafting phase:

Balanced Team: Ensure you have a balanced team with a mix of power hitters, average hitters, speedsters, starting pitchers, and relievers.
Position Scarcity: Be aware of the depth of talent at each position. Some positions, like shortstop, may have fewer high-quality players, making it beneficial to draft a top player at that position early.
High-Floor Players: Early in the draft, focus on players with a proven track record of consistency.
Upside Picks: In the later rounds, look for “upside” players. These are athletes who have the potential to outperform their draft position.

3. In-Season Management

Stay Active: Constantly look for ways to improve your team through waivers, trades, and free-agent pickups.
Mind the Matchups: Pay attention to player matchups, platoon splits, and ballparks. Starting a pitcher in a hitter-friendly park, for example, can be risky.
Injury Management: Stay on top of player injuries and have backups ready for your key players.