Fantasy Baseball Rankings & Tiers: Starting Pitchers (2025)

Starting pitcher is one of the most fun positions to rank despite its depth. So many names, so many players to review and so many players to move up and down the fantasy baseball rankings.

Starting Pitchers Position Primer: Rankings & Tiers

I recommend reading my positional fScore articles that provide more in-depth analysis and data, but let’s not waste time and get straight to the names.

If you are unfamiliar with the fScores, check out my article “What is fScore?” along with the fScore positional ranking articles on FantasyPros.

fScores Positional Rankings

Tier 1 & Notes

It’s insane that Paul Skenes is already the top starter in (fantasy) baseball after only one year, but he was ridiculously good with an ERA under 2.00 as a rookie.

Logan Gilbert gets the edge as the No. 2 starter over Tarik Skubal simply because he’s one of the most durable pitchers in baseball, while Skubal’s only season over 150 innings was 2023.

Skubal has been the best pitcher per plate appearance over the last couple of seasons, but Gilbert is more likely to pitch 200 innings and Skenes might have the higher upside of the entire group.

Tier 2 & Notes

Blake Snell has the best stuff in the majors per fStuff besides Jacob deGrom and Spencer Strider, who are both coming off injuries, and he also signed with the best team in baseball.

George Kirby’s upper-tier control makes him about as consistent as you can get. You can’t go wrong with picking a likely lock as a top-10 starter (pending injury).

Dylan Cease took a big step forward in San Diego with a great defense and pitcher’s park behind him, but will he be able to repeat in the event he’s traded?

Chris Sale is coming off a killer year that is almost not repeatable. If he can accomplish even 90% of last season’s production he will have another top-10 fantasy season.

Zach Wheeler has been amazing for several years but is getting older. I expect a slight decline in 2025.

Michael King had his second consecutive great season as a starter and has emerged as an ace for the Padres. He still has some additional upside as a newer starter, per fScores, moving him up the tier.

Corbin Burnes with the Diamondbacks is a pretty nice development for his fantasy value, though San Francisco would have been better.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was as good as expected when he played (outside of his first start) as a Dodger. Hopefully, he will have better health in 2025. Per inning, Yamamoto was as good as advertised. His poor health in 2024 might make him a good buy for 2025.

Cole Ragans has some control issues. Besides that, he pitched like an ace.

Bryce Miller has proven to be the arbitrage version of Spencer Strider I thought he could be at the end of 2023. He has even added a splitter that has allowed for more innings pitched.

Garrett Crochet is at the top of the stuff side of starting pitchers and could end 2025 at the top tier of starters with another strong season with a significant workload. The durability is my main concern for his 2025 ceiling as he only has 219 innings in his career — with 146 of them coming last season in his first year as a starter in the Majors.

Tier 3 & Notes

Logan Webb is the only starter in the top 40 with under a 100 fStuff. His carrying cards are his control and his ability to limit damage with a strong workload.

Framber Valdez is very similar to Webb. However, he has better stuff. Why is Webb above Valdez? Webb has a little better control and the fact he pitches in a much better stadium to limit damage gives him a slight edge.

This is the second of the last three seasons where Jacob deGrom has the most ridiculous statistical upside imaginable. But will deGrom stay healthy coming off surgery? He is projected to throw around 150 innings, but I think if he gets to 120-130 he will be worth his average draft position (ADP) cost in this range.

Hunter Greene took some significant steps forward in 2023 and appears to have a chance to break out further in 2024.

Shane McClanahan is back. Like deGrom, he is also projected to hit around 150 innings, but there is some risk with the injured pitchers as there is no guarantee they return 100% to form. McClanahan will also have to deal with pitching in the Minor League Yankee stadium rather than the pitcher-friendly Tampa ballpark.

Spencer Schwellenbach kind of popped out of nowhere last year when the Braves did what they do and promoted him from AA to the Majors with only 13 innings pitched at the AA level and zero at AAA. He balled out and has top-20 upside with an over 20% strikeout-to-walk rate (K/BB) in his rookie campaign.

Under the hood, Zac Gallen had a bit of a rough season as his control was not as good as usual, which led to only 148 innings pitched in 28 games, knocking him from the consistent quality starts monster he had been in 2022 and 2023.

Bryan Woo has top-notch command and a very good fastball. He’s a big breaking pitch away from jumping up a tier.

Tanner Bibee is a tad inconsistent, which leads to some not liking him, but he had a very strong second half and has plus secondaries, even if his fastball is only average.

Grayson Rodriguez has been very good when healthy and appears to be entering 2025 as the ace of the rotation after the Orioles only brought in Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano. The stuff and control did improve in 2024 from 2023.

Spencer Strider is projected to return in June and will likely be a top-tier starter upon his return, but you will be losing a couple of months of production. It’s also hard to draft auto injured list (IL) pitchers to start the year in leagues that don’t have an IL spot like the National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC). That will also determine where you rank him via league type and settings.

Shane Baz started a little shaky at the beginning of his comeback season but finished incredibly strong. Those who tuned out for football likely missed how dominant he was at the end of the season with a 0.94 WHIP in his last 10 starts to go along with 19 strikeouts and only three walks in his final three starts of the season.

Tier 4 & Notes

Brandon Pfaadt had a pretty under-the-radar strong season (mostly because of the 4.71 ERA), but the 3.65 SIERA and 18.8% K/BB show us there is a strong season coming from Pfaadt, who made nice gains in the control area of his game in 2024.

Hunter Brown had a terrible first half and a phenomenal second half. I’m big on Brown for 2025 and think he figured out the pitch mix that will lead to his success.

Joe Ryan’s season will all depend on health, which is why his fScore range varies so greatly. He is likely a Tier 3 starter when healthy, but will he pitch enough innings to optimize his value?

Tyler Glasnow is one of the best pitchers in baseball on a per-inning basis, but still only pitched 130-ish innings last season. He had a rough second half concerning homers allowed.

Roki Sasaki is basically in the same box as Tyler Glasnow with massive upside per inning, but also massive injury risk. And they are on the same team.

Jared Jones started the season on fire for the Pirates but had a lat strain mid-season that impacted him upon his return. It will be interesting to see how Jones rebounds with an offseason of rest and if he’s able to return to his first-half form or if the second-half struggles continue. I do love how he added new pitches this spring.

Ryan Pepiot had a large uptick in stuff in 2024, making that Tyler Glasnow trade look pretty good for the Rays. My biggest concern with Pepiot is going to be moving to the smaller Minor League ballpark, considering he already had a slight homer problem in Tropicana Field.

Speaking of homer problems, Shota Imanaga was on fire most of the season for the Cubs, but he did have some home run issues, especially in the second half.

Pablo Lopez is way better than the back of the baseball card stats show. He finished with a 3.46 SIERA and 20.3% K/BB portending to a much better 2025. Buy low if you can.

Tier 5 & Notes

This is the No. 3 starter tier in most leagues.

Sonny Gray was excellent in his first season in St. Louis and should be again with the support of a likely better defense in 2025 and a great pitcher’s park. He is 35 now, though, and there’s a likely decline around the corner for Gray on the aging curve.

Shohei Ohtani is fresh to pitch again in 2025 after being a top-tier starter before the injury. He will likely be capped to around 120-130 innings in 2025 as he returns from Tommy John surgery and the Dodgers look to protect their big investment, especially considering you need his bat in the lineup.

Nathan Eovaldi is back with the Rangers as one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball. He’s extremely consistent.

Max Fried is going to be pitching in Yankee Stadium next year. We have seen many pitchers fold when moving to New York — Sonny Gray, Frankie Montas and a declining Carlos Rodon, just as a few examples. I’m a bit weary of him this year until we see if he can control the likely increase in home run rate.

Gavin Williams is better than he’s shown so far in his Major League career. I think a Hunter Brown-like renaissance could be on the way in 2025.

Taj Bradley is very similar production-wise to Tanner Bibee on a per-inning basis (except Bibee pitches deeper into games) even though their arsenals are the opposite of each other. After a near two HR/9 rate in 2023, I’m not confident Bradley will be able to keep the ball in the yard in the Minor League stadium, but he should still put up some nice K/BB rates. Expect a Brandon Pfaadt-like season from Bradley with a big-time buying opportunity in 2026 as the Rays transition back to Tropicana Field.

Carlos Rodon had a nice bounceback season with the Yankees in 2024 with the biggest downside again being the home run rate, as Yankee Stadium is a tough place to avoid homers.

I have never been a Yusei Kikuchi guy, but he has been very good for two years in a row now, including a stellar run with now-division rival the Houston Astros.

Bailey Ober is an oddity because the results of his stuff greatly outperform the actual pitch metrics, per stuff+ models, so this tells me most of his success is due to his pitching acumen and ability to mix his pitches well.

Cristopher Sanchez is a ground ball machine who is great at limiting damage — think Logan Webb-lite.

Luis Castillo is getting a tad older and might be exiting his career peak based on his age. My ranking of him may change depending on whether he stays in Seattle or if he is moved to a significantly worse pitching environment.

Yu Darvish saw a large drop off in stuff last year, but this may have also been a result of injuries. Despite this, he was still very effective when healthy.

Kodai Senga has some control issues, but killer stuff when healthy, which is his biggest question heading into 2025.

Justin Steele is a two-pitch guy (they are decent pitches), but he makes it work and has for three consecutive seasons.

Freddy Peralta’s finish in 2024 was a bit concerning as he was giving up a lot of flyballs that led to some big-time damage against him. His command also tapered off, which makes Peralta a bit risky and less of a high-end option.

Luis Gil is coming off a phenomenal season and part of me wants to rank him much higher, but his command is lackluster and he outperformed his underlying metrics.

Aaron Nola might get an edge in points leagues because he always pitches so many innings, but his fastball has gotten worse the last couple of seasons and I am concerned he is leaving his peak behind.

Tanner Houck is hard to barrel up, which is his best trait. If he can repeat the workload, he’s a valuable mid-tier pitcher.

Kutter Crawford is another guy with a tale of two halves after an excellent first half in 2024 and blah second half. The underlying metrics support a better pitcher than the final stat line, though, so we should see an uptick in overall 2025 performance. He’s starting the season on the IL, but I think he’s very good when healthy.

Seth Lugo was a stud in 2024, has upper-tier control and is good at limiting damage, but he’s likely to see a decent amount of regression in 2025 at 35.

Tier 6 & Notes

There are so many starters that this is the tier I’ll be more selective on blurbs instead of discussing each starter.

Kumar Rocker dominated the Minors and has a good shot at making the rotation out of camp in the event the Rangers decide to go to a six-man rotation with Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle both coming off injury.

Brandon Woodruff is a top-15 starter in baseball, if healthy… but his injury is so odd. Will he be healthy in 2025? We have no clear answers yet except that he is feeling pretty good.

Nick Pivetta found a good landing spot in San Diego and will finally be pitching in an environment that is good for pitchers.

Drew Rasmussen is projected to start again, but how durable will he be throughout the entire season?

Jack Flaherty was fantastic for the Tigers and then blah for the Dodgers.

Quinn Mathews showed elite stuff in the Minors in 2024 and is built for a large workload early in the 2025 season.

Tier 7 & Notes

Jesus Luzardo needs to show health to get back to his top-40 potential. Philadelphia has done a great job at keeping their players healthy, so there is nice room for a buy here despite the tougher home park.

Kevin Gausman was very mediocre in 2024. It appears based on the decrease in his stuff metrics that he is post-peak.

Kris Bubic is projected for the rotation in 2025. He is a nice, cheaper bounce-back candidate to watch.

It’s tough to pick Reds pitchers, but Rhett Lowder has shown a good ability to limit damage.

Zebby Matthews’ elite control could lead to a nice 2025 season. Target him as drafters will look at the over 6.00 ERA rather than the 18.1% K/BB and 3.78 SIERA in the Majors.

Luis Garcia is coming back from injury and is a nice bounce-back candidate.

Jackson Jobe did not perform as well as expected in 2024 in the Minors. I have some pitch mix concerns with him as the pitch stuff ratings are ridiculously good, but the results don’t match.

Tier 8 & Notes

Hayden Birdsong reminds me of Taj Bradley a bit, but he has to get the fastball under control or he will wind up in the bullpen.

This tier has some fun second-half names with elite upside: Andrew Painter, Eury Perez and Shane Bieber.

There are some nice innings eaters or back-end starters in this tier who won’t hurt you including Jameson Taillon, Mitch Keller, Sean Manaea, Jose Berrios and Michael Wacha.

Tier 9 & Notes

This tier has a lot of upside and a lot of risk.

When will Chase Dollander debut? Could we see him get a Paul Skenes-like workload this season?

Caden Dana had a rough Major League debut and is only 21. He could use some more seasoning in the Minors before returning to the Majors.

Andre Pallante was elite at limiting damage, but what’s keeping him from becoming a Justin Steele-type is the lack of elite command.

Sean Burke is an interesting name to watch if he can make some gains in the control department.

Will Landen Roupp get a chance to start? I’ve always compared him to Corbin Burnes and his career track right now is somewhat similar.

Michael McGreevy has some lackluster stuff, but unlike Pallante, he has very good command, so he could end up developing into a Justin Steele-type.

Lucas Giolito is supposedly going to start the season healthy. Let’s keep an eye on him this spring.

Joey Cantillo and Chayce McDermott are interesting sixth-starter names to watch this season, as they both have good stuff and bad command.

Tier 10 & Notes

Will Chase Burns make it to the Majors this year? If so, when? He probably has the stuff and this may depend on the Reds’ performance. I doubt they drafted him second overall to play around in the Minors all year.

Ryan Weathers was pretty good in 2024, as I had expected after the spring, but he needs to build up the innings.

Several pitchers in this tier will probably be decent streamers. Frankie Montas, Luis Severino, Kyle Gibson and Charlie Morton are a few examples.

Can the Guardians develop Slade Cecconi and Luis L. Ortiz?

Will Reid Detmers continue to get tanked or will he bounce back?

Will Cade Cavalli break camp and get his stuff back or will he end up in the bullpen?

Can Aaron Ashby and Joe Boyle find success in bullpen roles?

How much playing time will Brandon Sproat and Tink Hence see in 2025?

Tier 11 & Notes

This tier is unlikely to play a regular role in 10- or 12-team leagues. In deeper leagues, though, some of these pitchers could make an impact in 2025.

Some of the biggest upside pitchers in this tier are Max Meyer, Carson Whisenhunt, Emmet Sheehan and Thomas Harrington.

Tier 12 & Notes

I don’t expect many of these pitchers to make a big impact in 2025, but some of the younger pitchers could get the call sooner than expected if enough injuries occur. Most of these younger guys are also worth watching for keeper or dynasty leagues.

Some of my favorite targets from this tier include Logan Henderson, Hagen Smith and Parker Messick.

Please follow me on X @fantasyaceball, on YouTube @TheTimkanak and subscribe to the Fantasy Aceball podcast for more great content throughout the season. More of my written work can be found here on FantasyPros.

MLB Paul Skenes Logan Gilbert Tarik Skubal Blake Snell George Kirby Dylan Cease SD) Chris Sale Zach Wheeler Michael King Corbin Burnes Yoshinobu Yamamoto Cole Ragans Bryce Miller Garrett Crochet Jacob deGrom Spencer Strider Logan Webb Framber Valdez Hunter Greene Shane McClanahan Spencer Schwellenbach Zac Gallen Bryan Woo Tanner Bibee Grayson Rodriguez Shane Baz Brandon Pfaadt Hunter Brown Joe Ryan Roki Sasaki Tyler Glasnow Sandy Alcantara Jared Jones Ryan Pepiot Shota Imanaga Pablo Lopez Sonny Gray Shohei Ohtani Nathan Eovaldi Max Fried Gavin Williams Taj Bradley Carlos Rodon Yusei Kikuchi Bailey Ober Cristopher Sanchez Luis Castillo Yu Darvish Kodai Senga Justin Steele Freddy Peralta Luis Gil Aaron Nola Tanner Houck Kutter Crawford Seth Lugo Frankie Montas Kumar Rocker Brandon Woodruff Clarke Schmidt Nick Pivetta Drew Rasmussen Bowden Francis Griffin Jax Jose Soriano Jack Flaherty Quinn Mathews David Festa MacKenzie Gore Spencer Arrighetti Brayan Bello DJ Herz Zach Eflin Jesus Luzardo Nestor Cortes Kevin Gausman Jacob Misiorowski Kris Bubic Reynaldo Lopez Merrill Kelly Chris Bassitt Jeffrey Springs Zebby Matthews Max Scherzer Rhett Lowder Bobby Miller Nick Martinez Tyler Mahle Luis Garcia Jordan Montgomery Dustin May Clay Holmes Jackson Jobe Bubba Chandler Hayden Birdsong Tomoyuki Sugano Andrew Painter Clayton Kershaw Braxton Garrett Robbie Ray Eury Perez Ryne Nelson Nick Lodolo Ben Brown Jameson Taillon Mitch Keller Sean Manaea David Peterson Shane Bieber Matthew Boyd Jose Berrios Walker Buehler Michael Wacha Chase Dollander Caden Dana Andre Pallante Edward Cabrera Jordan Hicks Ronel Blanco Sean Burke Landen Roupp Michael McGreevy Lucas Giolito Jake Irvin Aaron Civale Joey Cantillo Andrew Heaney Grant Holmes Alec Marsh Chayce McDermott Chase Burns Jack Leiter Chris Paddack Keider Montero Mitchell Parker Ryan Weathers Tobias Myers Kyle Harrison Chase Silseth Luis L. Ortiz Luis Severino Cody Bradford Slade Cecconi Simeon Woods Richardson Kyle Gibson Reid Detmers Cade Cavalli Erick Fedde Zack Littell Cade Povich Richard Fitts Charlie Morton Casey Mize Landon Knack JP Sears Ryan Feltner Jose Quintana Tyler Anderson German Marquez Aaron Ashby Drew Thorpe Quinn Priester Marcus Stroman Brandon Sproat Brady Singer Tink Hence DL Hall Joe Boyle Max Meyer Kenta Maeda Justin Verlander Ty Madden Noah Schultz Osvaldo Bido Jonathan Cannon Randy Vasquez J.T. Ginn Mitch Spence Andrew Abbott Michael Grove Lance Lynn Ranger Suarez Tylor Megill Hayden Wesneski Griffin Canning Alex Cobb Spencer Turnbull Jon Gray Carson Whisenhunt Miles Mikolas Thomas Harrington Emmet Sheehan Chase Petty Will Warren Joey Estes Matt Waldron Trevor Rogers Colin Rea Austin Gomber Albert Suarez Antonio Senzatela Yilber Diaz Eduardo Rodriguez Ian Seymour Graham Ashcraft Adam Mazur Ben Lively Kyle Wright Javier Assad Logan Henderson Matt Manning Cristian Javier Kyle Freeland Steven Matz AJ Smith-Shawver Hagen Smith K.C. Hunt Lance McCullers Jr. Sam Aldegheri Patrick Sandoval Bailey Falter Roansy Contreras Tony Gonsolin Mason Black Jordan Wicks Nick Nastrini Dane Dunning Parker Messick Cade Horton Tekoah Roby Hurston Waldrep Connor Phillips Ian Anderson Drue Hackenberg Brandon Birdsell Gunnar Hoglund Logan Allen Sean Sullivan Blade Tidwell Emerson Hancock Carson Palmquist Adrian Houser Paul Blackburn Brad Lord Taijuan Walker

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Fantasy Baseball Rankings & Tiers: Starting Pitchers (2025)

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Starting Pitchers Position Primer: Rankings & Tiers

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