One of the most fun facets of fantasy baseball is the fact that a host of different starting pitching strategies can succeed if executed correctly. With the times a-changing in the MLB — pitch clocks, pickoff rules, defensive shift governance — the most important thing on draft day continues to be picking the right pitchers. In our 2023 SP rankings and projected dollar values, we’ll go over your strategic options, rank the top 100 SP-eligible players, and discuss the studs and sleepers who could help take your team the distance this season.
The first decision you must make is whether you’ll go after volume pitchers or ratio pitchers? Gone are the days in which dozens of pitchers threw 200-plus innings. In fact, only 11 players reached 200 innings in 2022. If you can land an elite pitcher who combines volume and ratio, like Corbin Burnes or Gerrit Cole, in the second round (or Sandy Alcantara or Aaron Nola in the third), you should strongly consider it.
Further down the pool, we’re targeting Alek Manoah, Triston McKenzie, Framber Valdez, and Joe Musgrove in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth rounds. If you can come away with one stud starter by the end of the third — and two more of these mid-tier upside SPs by the end of the eighth — your fantasy rotation is looking incredible without taking too much away from your offense. From there, targeting the right sleepers and breakout candidates further down your SP depth chart could push you over the top.
2023 FANTASY RANKINGS & DOLLAR VALUES:
Cs | 1Bs | 2Bs | 3Bs | SSs | OFs | RPs | Top 300
Nick Ledolo in the 11th round and Joe Ryan in the 13th strike us as examples of great value picks. Both were very solid last season, and both sit well before their early ADPs on our draft boards. We’d also be willing to take a 12th or 13th-round flyer on Freddy Peralta, who has battled injuries with Milwaukee but looks dominant whenever he actually gets on the mound. And don’t forget about Edward Cabrera’s incredible changeup in pitcher-friendly LoanDepot Park (formerly known as Marlins Park). He could be a sonic boom for your squad if he stays off the IL this season, so he’s well worth a deep dart throw.
Determine before your draft when you want to target each SP, and how many starters you ideally want to select before a certain round. Also consider if you’ll be prioritizing saves, fading saves a bit, or just punting them altogether. Many pitchers have RP eligibility and you would obviously want to target them in punt-save builds so you could drive up your counting stats like wins and strikeouts. If your league includes home runs allowed, this strategy could come back to bite you unless your guys maintain solid ratios.
Be sure to check back in with us throughout the preseason as our rankings will be fluid and our sleepers columns throughout the spring will be invaluable to your pre-draft prep. For now, enjoy our initial SP rankings, and good luck strategizing!
Fantasy Baseball SP Rankings 2023: Top players, sleepers at starting pitcher
Position eligibility based on Yahoo’s default settings
| Rank | Player | Other Pos. Elig. |
| 1 | Corbin Burnes (MIL – SP) | |
| 2 | Sandy Alcantara (MIA – SP) | |
| 3 | Gerrit Cole (NYY – SP) | |
| 4 | Justin Verlander (NYM – SP) | |
| 5 | Max Scherzer (NYM – SP) | |
| 6 | Brandon Woodruff (MIL – SP) | |
| 7 | Jacob deGrom (TEX – SP) | |
| 8 | Aaron Nola (PHI – SP) | |
| 9 | Shane McClanahan (TB – SP) | |
| 10 | Spencer Strider (ATL – SP,RP) | RP |
| 11 | Shohei Ohtani (LAA – SP,DH) | |
| 12 | Carlos Rodon (NYY – SP) | |
| 13 | Dylan Cease (CWS – SP) | |
| 14 | Shane Bieber (CLE – SP) | |
| 15 | Zack Wheeler (PHI – SP) | |
| 16 | Alek Manoah (TOR – SP) | |
| 17 | Julio Urias (LAD – SP) | |
| 18 | Luis Castillo (SEA – SP) | |
| 19 | Kevin Gausman (TOR – SP) | |
| 20 | Triston McKenzie (CLE – SP) | |
| 21 | Cristian Javier (HOU – SP,RP) | RP |
| 22 | Max Fried (ATL – SP) | |
| 23 | Yu Darvish (SD – SP) | |
| 24 | Framber Valdez (HOU – SP) | |
| 25 | Clayton Kershaw (LAD – SP) | |
| 26 | Robbie Ray (SEA – SP) | |
| 27 | Joe Musgrove (SD – SP) | |
| 28 | Nick Lodolo (CIN – SP) | |
| 29 | Logan Webb (SF – SP) | |
| 30 | Luis Severino (NYY – SP) | |
| 31 | Nestor Cortes Jr. (NYY – SP) | |
| 32 | Joe Ryan (MIN – SP) | |
| 33 | Zac Gallen (ARI – SP) | |
| 34 | Kyle Wright (ATL – SP) | |
| 35 | Tyler Glasnow (TB – SP) | |
| 36 | Hunter Greene (CIN – SP) | |
| 37 | Freddy Peralta (MIL – SP) | |
| 38 | Lucas Giolito (CWS – SP) | |
| 39 | Pablo Lopez (MIN – SP) | |
| 40 | George Kirby (SEA – SP) | |
| 41 | Logan Gilbert (SEA – SP) | |
| 42 | Blake Snell (SD – SP) | |
| 43 | Charlie Morton (ATL – SP) | |
| 44 | Jordan Montgomery (STL – SP) | |
| 45 | Chris Sale (BOS – SP) | |
| 46 | Lance Lynn (CWS – SP) | |
| 47 | Chris Bassitt (TOR – SP) | |
| 48 | Edward Cabrera (MIA – SP) | |
| 49 | Jeffrey Springs (TB – SP,RP) | RP |
| 50 | Tony Gonsolin (LAD – SP) | |
| 51 | Grayson Rodriguez (BAL – SP) | |
| 52 | Jon Gray (TEX – SP) | |
| 53 | Luis Garcia (HOU – SP) | |
| 54 | Brady Singer (KC – SP) | |
| 55 | Dustin May (LAD – SP) | |
| 56 | Drew Rasmussen (TB – SP) | |
| 57 | Jesus Luzardo (MIA – SP) | |
| 58 | Miles Mikolas (STL – SP) | |
| 59 | Andrew Heaney (TEX – SP) | |
| 60 | Hunter Brown (HOU – SP,RP) | RP |
| 61 | Jose Berrios (TOR – SP) | |
| 62 | Merrill Kelly (ARI – SP) | |
| 63 | Tyler Anderson (LAA – SP) | |
| 64 | Jack Flaherty (STL – SP) | |
| 65 | Tyler Mahle (MIN – SP) | |
| 66 | Patrick Sandoval (LAA – SP) | |
| 67 | Alex Cobb (SF – SP) | |
| 68 | Sonny Gray (MIN – SP) | |
| 69 | Reid Detmers (LAA – SP) | |
| 70 | Nathan Eovaldi (TEX – SP) | |
| 71 | Garrett Whitlock (BOS – SP,RP) | RP |
| 72 | Ranger Suarez (PHI – SP) | |
| 73 | Jose Urquidy (HOU – SP) | |
| 74 | Justin Steele (CHC – SP) | |
| 75 | Marcus Stroman (CHC – SP) | |
| 76 | Lance McCullers Jr. (HOU – SP) | |
| 77 | Carlos Carrasco (NYM – SP) | |
| 78 | Trevor Rogers (MIA – SP) | |
| 79 | Sean Manaea (SF – SP) | |
| 80 | Eric Lauer (MIL – SP) | |
| 81 | Jameson Taillon (CHC – SP) | |
| 82 | Kenta Maeda (MIN – SP) | |
| 83 | Martin Perez (TEX – SP) | |
| 84 | Ross Stripling (SF – SP,RP) | RP |
| 85 | MacKenzie Gore (WSH – SP) | |
| 86 | Jose Quintana (NYM – SP) | |
| 87 | Taijuan Walker (PHI – SP) | |
| 88 | Adam Wainwright (STL – SP) | |
| 89 | Roansy Contreras (PIT – SP) | |
| 90 | Noah Syndergaard (LAD – SP) | |
| 91 | Eduardo Rodriguez (DET – SP) | |
| 92 | Kodai Senga (NYM – SP) | |
| 93 | Cal Quantrill (CLE – SP) | |
| 94 | Michael Kopech (CWS – SP) | |
| 95 | Alex Wood (SF – SP) | |
| 96 | Aaron Civale (CLE – SP) | |
| 97 | Aaron Ashby (MIL – SP,RP) | RP |
| 98 | Zach Eflin (TB – SP,RP) | RP |
| 99 | Steven Matz (STL – SP,RP) | RP |
| 100 | Bailey Ober (MIN – SP) |
Fantasy Baseball SP Projected Dollar Values
Dollar values courtesy of Fantasy Pros and based on a 12-team mixed league with a $260 budget (70 percent allocated for hitting)
| Player | Dollar Values |
| Jacob deGrom (TEX – SP) | $33 |
| Gerrit Cole (NYY – SP) | $30 |
| Corbin Burnes (MIL – SP) | $28 |
| Carlos Rodon (NYY – SP) | $26 |
| Justin Verlander (NYM – SP) | $26 |
| Max Scherzer (NYM – SP) | $25 |
| Shohei Ohtani (LAA – SP) | $23 |
| Aaron Nola (PHI – SP) | $23 |
| Shane McClanahan (TB – SP) | $22 |
| Spencer Strider (ATL – SP,RP) | $20 |
| Sandy Alcantara (MIA – SP) | $20 |
| Brandon Woodruff (MIL – SP) | $20 |
| Shane Bieber (CLE – SP) | $19 |
| Zack Wheeler (PHI – SP) | $18 |
| Julio Urias (LAD – SP) | $17 |
| Kevin Gausman (TOR – SP) | $17 |
| Max Fried (ATL – SP) | $17 |
| Luis Castillo (SEA – SP) | $16 |
| Alek Manoah (TOR – SP) | $15 |
| Clayton Kershaw (LAD – SP) | $15 |
| Framber Valdez (HOU – SP) | $14 |
| Yu Darvish (SD – SP) | $14 |
| Cristian Javier (HOU – SP,RP) | $13 |
| Dylan Cease (CWS – SP) | $13 |
| Zac Gallen (ARI – SP) | $13 |
| Tyler Glasnow (TB – SP) | $12 |
| Nestor Cortes Jr. (NYY – SP) | $11 |
| Luis Severino (NYY – SP) | $11 |
| Robbie Ray (SEA – SP) | $10 |
| Joe Musgrove (SD – SP) | $10 |
| Blake Snell (SD – SP) | $10 |
| Logan Webb (SF – SP) | $9 |
| Triston McKenzie (CLE – SP) | $9 |
| Chris Bassitt (TOR – SP) | $8 |
| Charlie Morton (ATL – SP) | $7 |
| Logan Gilbert (SEA – SP) | $7 |
| Joe Ryan (MIN – SP) | $7 |
| Lance Lynn (CWS – SP) | $7 |
| Drew Rasmussen (TB – SP) | $7 |
| Pablo Lopez (MIN – SP) | $7 |
| George Kirby (SEA – SP) | $7 |
| Chris Sale (BOS – SP) | $7 |
| Jeffrey Springs (TB – SP,RP) | $6 |
| Luis Garcia (HOU – SP) | $6 |
| Jordan Montgomery (STL – SP) | $6 |
| Andrew Heaney (TEX – SP) | $6 |
| Freddy Peralta (MIL – SP) | $6 |
| Hunter Greene (CIN – SP) | $6 |
| Alex Cobb (SF – SP) | $6 |
| Dustin May (LAD – SP) | $6 |
| Kyle Wright (ATL – SP) | $5 |
| Lucas Giolito (CWS – SP) | $5 |
| Tony Gonsolin (LAD – SP) | $5 |
| Nathan Eovaldi (TEX – SP) | $5 |
| Zach Eflin (TB – SP,RP) | $4 |
| Garrett Whitlock (BOS – SP,RP) | $4 |
| Kodai Senga (NYM – SP) | $4 |
| Miles Mikolas (STL – SP) | $4 |
| Nick Lodolo (CIN – SP) | $4 |
| Jon Gray (TEX – SP) | $4 |
| Sonny Gray (MIN – SP) | $4 |
| Jesus Luzardo (MIA – SP) | $4 |
| Brady Singer (KC – SP) | $3 |
| Tyler Mahle (MIN – SP) | $3 |
| Marcus Stroman (CHC – SP) | $3 |
| Patrick Sandoval (LAA – SP) | $3 |
| Jose Berrios (TOR – SP) | $3 |
| Alex Wood (SF – SP) | $3 |
| Lance McCullers Jr. (HOU – SP) | $3 |
| Kenta Maeda (MIN – SP) | $3 |
| Grayson Rodriguez (BAL – SP) | $3 |
| Jose Urquidy (HOU – SP) | $2 |
| Ranger Suarez (PHI – SP) | $2 |
| Steven Matz (STL – SP,RP) | $2 |
| Jack Flaherty (STL – SP) | $2 |
| Jameson Taillon (CHC – SP) | $2 |
| Aaron Civale (CLE – SP) | $2 |
| Tyler Anderson (LAA – SP) | $2 |
| Eduardo Rodriguez (DET – SP) | $2 |
| Reid Detmers (LAA – SP) | $2 |
| Merrill Kelly (ARI – SP) | $1 |
| Carlos Carrasco (NYM – SP) | $1 |
| Sean Manaea (SF – SP) | $1 |
| Ross Stripling (SF – SP,RP) | $1 |
| Jose Quintana (NYM – SP) | $1 |
| Noah Syndergaard (LAD – SP) | $1 |
| Eric Lauer (MIL – SP) | $1 |
All other players valued at $0
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