Welcome to the FantasyPros Week 25 starting pitcher rankings for 2024. On Fridays, we view the upcoming week and rank starting pitchers based on their talent and the team they play against. These rankings are for Monday, September 16 through Sunday, September 22.

These rankings use expert consensus rankings (ECR) as a starting point. Matchup information can be found on the helpful Pitcher Planner’s resource for probable pitchers.

• Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Advice
• Fantasy Baseball Trade Advice
• Fantasy Baseball Start/Sit Lineup Advice
• MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet

As usual, remember that some starts are projected over a week in advance. Dates can change due to rain, injuries or anything else. Two-start weeks often end up as one-start weeks.

Be sure to check the FantasyPros Pitcher Planner for the most up-to-date information.

Top 50 Starting Pitcher Rankings: Week 25

Best Matchups

• Zack Wheeler finishes as a top pitcher year after year. He has 23 strikeouts over his last 19 innings and has only allowed three runs. The Phillies ace is on a three-game win streak and gets a chance to continue it into a two-start week against the Brewers and the Mets.
• Bryan Woo is healthy (for now). That means he’s been excellent. He has a 2.38 ERA and 0.82 WHIP. His odd pitch count and health issues have been the only struggles holding the Mariner stud back. Trust Woo now that he is going deeper into games, even as he faces the Yankees.
• Rhett Lowder was drafted in 2023. He’s pitching in the majors in 2024. If Paul Skenes didn’t exist, this would be a much bigger story. Lowder is a youngster on the rise and certainly a target for next year’s drafts, but why not get him now? He is likely on waivers and has only allowed one run across his 15.1 MLB innings.

Unfavorable Matchups

• Freddy Peralta is battling a minor cold streak. That’s all there is to it. He has allowed six runs across his last two outings (nine innings). The Brewer has more than proven himself this year and should be fine against the Diamondbacks, but not great. He is set to pitch against them in consecutive appearances on Friday and then a week later because of Milwaukee’s schedule. Pitchers historically struggle to pitch against the same team two weeks in a row. Again, Peralta should be fine, but his cold streak and these analytics bring some concern.
• Jacob deGrom has had an utterly dominant career. Better yet, he struck out 15 across 10.2 innings in the minors while only allowing one run. The Rangers pitcher will start Friday against the measly Mariners. He has a great opportunity to get right back to it. However, I am usually more cautious than most after seeing so many pitchers struggle after returning from an extended injury. This will be deGrom’s return since April 2023, and he’s 36 now. DeGrom is set to have his follow-up matchup against the Blue Jays. At the end of the day, it’s deGrom. Start him. Just don’t be surprised if he looks human.
• Kevin Gausman is frustrating. He earned 10 strikeouts across seven innings as he dominated the Angels a few weeks ago. His last two starts have resulted in back-to-back losses with a 1.46 WHIP. He has pulled similar stunts all season. Gausman is set to have a light matchup against the Rangers, but he has proven he can not be trusted with confidence no matter who he is playing.

Top 50 Pitchers (9/16 – 9/22)

*Tarik Skubal was hit in his non-throwing hand by a comebacker on Thursday. The X-rays came back negative, but fantasy managers should have slight concerns about Skubal starting according to the current schedule.

*Tyler Glasnow is supposed to come back this week, but that is not guaranteed.

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