Welcome to the FantasyPros Week 26 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 23 through Sunday, September 29. You have officially made it to the last week of the season. Congratulations.
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 26
Best Matchups
- Shota Imanaga has been one of the best pitchers in baseball across the last few weeks. Outside of a few road bumps, the rookie has had an utterly dominant season. Imanaga has a 2.73 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 9.0 K/9 since August 20. Start the Cubs ace with complete confidence for one last ride against the Reds.
- Sean Manaea might be performing even better than Imanaga. The Met has a spectacular 2.63 ERA, 0.68 WHIP and 10.5 K/9 in the last month. He was not a likely candidate to dominate the fantasy baseball playoffs, but here we are. Fantasy managers must take advantage of this performance as Manaea steps on the mound in Atlanta.
- Joe Musgrove is back from his injury and better than ever. Since returning from a three-month injury, Musgrove has a 3.27 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP and 10.0 K/9. The 31-year-old has played a core role in the Padres winning 18 of their last 30 games and competing for first in the National League West. Start Musgrove, albeit against the Dodgers.
Unfavorable Matchups
- Michael King pitching against the 90-62 Dodgers and 84-68 Diamondbacks is probably not the schedule fantasy managers dreamed of. King is a great pitcher. The Padre has been charged with three unlucky losses, though, in his last five starts and is not on the best streak. Start him, but level expectations.
- Jack Flaherty made it through only three innings in his last start, walking four Braves and allowing four runs on five hits. He was extremely inefficient. Unfortunately, the Dodger must recover from a rough outing to face the hot Padres, who have scored the sixth-most runs out of any MLB team in the last 30 games.
- Tanner Houck missed a few weeks with what Red Sox manager Alex Cora described as a shoulder injury and a “dead arm.” Houck made his long-awaited return in Tampa Bay but only threw 60 pitches. The pitcher was efficient with these pitches, making it through four innings with only four hits and one run allowed. These reassuring results should convince fantasy managers to start Houck. Just remember he can only go so far on a limited pitch count.
Top 50 Pitchers (9/23 – 9/29)
| Rank | Pitcher | Matchup(s) |
| 1 | Tarik Skubal (DET) | TB |
| 2 | Zack Wheeler (PHI) | @WSH |
| 3 | Chris Sale (ATL) | NYM |
| 4 | Blake Snell (SF) | STL |
| 5 | Paul Skenes (PIT) | @NYY |
| 6 | Shota Imanaga (CHC) | CIN |
| 7 | Logan Gilbert (SEA) | @HOU |
| 8 | Pablo Lopez (MIN) | BAL |
| 9 | Framber Valdez (HOU) | SEA |
| 10 | Aaron Nola (PHI) | CHC, @WSH |
| 11 | Corbin Burnes (BAL) | @NYY |
| 12 | Bowden Francis (TOR) | BOS, MIA |
| 13 | Michael King (SD) | @LAD, @ARI |
| 14 | Dylan Cease (SD) | @LAD |
| 15 | Cole Ragans (KC) | @WSH, @ATL |
| 16 | Jack Flaherty (DET) | SD |
| 17 | Sonny Gray (STL) | @COL |
| 18 | Sean Manaea (NYM) | @ATL |
| 19 | Seth Lugo (KC) | @ATL |
| 20 | Freddy Peralta (MIL) | @PIT, NYM |
| 21 | Logan Webb (SF) | @ARI |
| 22 | Gerrit Cole (NYY) | BAL |
| 23 | Michael Wacha (KC) | @WSH |
| 24 | Bailey Ober (MIN) | MIA, BAL |
| 25 | Zac Gallen (ARI) | SF |
| 26 | Carlos Rodon (NYY) | PIT |
| 27 | Jose Berrios (TOR) | BOS |
| 28 | Bryce Miller (SEA) | @HOU, OAK |
| 29 | Joe Musgrove (SD) | @LAD |
| 30 | Bryan Woo (SEA) | OAK |
| 31 | George Kirby (SEA) | OAK |
| 32 | Yusei Kikuchi (HOU) | SEA |
| 33 | Jacob deGrom (TEX) | @LAA |
| 34 | Justin Steele (CHC) | @PHI, CIN |
| 35 | Luis Gil (NYY) | PIT |
| 36 | Zach Eflin (BAL) | @NYY |
| 37 | Cristopher Sanchez (PHI) | CHC |
| 38 | Kevin Gausman (TOR) | BOS |
| 39 | Hunter Brown (HOU) | SEA |
| 40 | Yu Darvish (SD) | @ARI |
| 41 | Tanner Bibee (CLE) | CIN |
| 42 | Nathan Eovaldi (TEX) | @OAK |
| 43 | Taj Bradley (TB) | @BOS |
| 44 | Spencer Schwellenbach (ATL) | NYM, KC |
| 45 | Ryan Pepiot (TB) | @DET, @BOS |
| 46 | Tanner Houck (BOS) | TB |
| 47 | Max Fried (ATL) | KC |
| 48 | Shane Baz (TB) | @BOS |
| 49 | Luis Severino (NYM) | @ATL |
| 50 | Clarke Schmidt (NYY) | BAL |
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