Top 40 Starters for 2026 Fantasy Baseball, A Recap

We’ve gone over the final 2026 fantasy baseball rankings for hitters and the top 20 starters. This is different than Final Fantasy rankings where you rank Final Fantasy 1 thru Final Fantasy 15. That’s hardcore nerd shizz! This is simply fantasy baseball — we’re softcore nerds like Emmanuelle is to porn. So, there’s no more of these godforsaken recap posts left. You’re welcome. I, my over-the-internet friend, will be talking next about 2027 rookies. Let’s boogie to the next year, you Bougie boogiers! Anyway, here’s the top 40 starters for 2026 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:

21. Nick Martinez – What’s kind of funny in a “Well, would you look at that” sorta way, last year at 21 overall for starters was Merrill Kelly and this year it’s NickMa, two very similar, “Oh, c’mon, you can’t be serious that they’re this good” type of way. Besides that odd parallel, it is instructive of something else: Some goofy-ass pitcher is going to have a goofy-ass K/9 and luck into a bunch of wins and there’s no way of guessing who it might be one year to the next. Martinez lost a strikeout per nine, going to 5.5 K/9 and went from a 4.45 ERA to 3.10 and winning 15. Why? An NickMa, for sure. Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 15-6/3.10/1.09/109 in 180 IP

22. Reid Detmers – If you gave Reid 15 wins like NickMa, he’d be the 8th best starter last year. Yes, I’m drafting Reid Detmers everywhere next year. Might draft him in an NL-Only league just in case they give Arte Moreno one last parting move. A Parte move? Preseason Rank #101, 2026 Projections: 7-9/4.14/1.32/149 in 129 IP, Final Numbers: 7-8/3.36/1.04/211 in 185 IP

23. Foster Griffin – Surprised more pitchers don’t come over from Japan. Or rather, wash-out here, go to Japan, then come back with excellent command. Every pitching coach over there must be like, “Shut up with the strikeouts, I just don’t want to see walks.” Drafted Griffin in one NL-Only league, and I think I’m gonna start being more aggressive with pitchers coming from Japan, and not just high-profile Japanese ones, but also former-MLB pitchers who went there and are returning. Preseason Rank #138, 2026 Projections: 6-10/4.13/1.26/106 in 119 IP, Final Numbers: 15-6/3.60/1.21/158 in 172 2/3 IP

24. Payton Tolle – People love Payton Tolle. I get it. He had a serious tragedy in his family with his mother, losing her before he was drafted. It makes everyone want to root for him. I want to root for him. For that reason, I wonder if he gets over-drafted. His stuff is excellent, so it might just be he’s rated vs. over or under. A 10.4 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 absolutely butters the biscuits, walks the dog and says, “‘Say goodnight, Gracie.’ Goodnight, Gracie.” Preseason Rank #118, 2026 Projections: 5-3/4.23/1.38/77 in 69 IP, Final Numbers: 9-6/3.03/1.10/171 in 148 2/3 IP

25. Taj Bradley – Taj Mah-number two starter that you didn’t think was a number two starter. We’re firmly in the area of starters where you might be thinking, “So there weren’t that many great hitters this year, but were there also not that many great starters? I’m confused.” You ain’t the only one! Taj proves that if you throw 175 IP and have a modicum of luck with wins, you have a great shot at being a top 25 starter, as long as you don’t completely crap the bed with your ratios. For qualified starters this year, Taj was the 24th best in ERA and 9th best in strikeouts. When I hear that, I almost wonder if he’s being underrated as the 25th best starter. Preseason Rank #126, 2026 Projections: 3-6/4.28/1.28/117 in 121 IP, Final Numbers: 12-6/3.73/1.22/205 in 178 1/3 IP

26. Michael King – Mi-King check one two, what is this? A starter who fell in strikeouts, went up in walks and xFIP and somehow became a better pitcher or, pause for contemplation, a freakin’ liar? This is a bit of a ongoing theme in the starters’ recaps. A guy who got marginally worse in everything, except ERA. End of the day, my resolve is only stronger that all you need is K-BB. Preseason Rank #37, 2026 Projections: 10-8/3.69/1.23/148 in 142 IP, Final Numbers: 12-10/3.21/1.18/159 in 185 IP

27. Sean Burke – It’s interesting (to me) that Burke is after Taj, when I’d want Burke’s stats. Also, there’s only a dime separating them in value ($13.50 vs. $13.40) so they’re basically the same. In fact (Grey’s got more!), trom Tolle to deGrom, there’s only $1.50 separating them, and $2.50 separating Tolle from Wacha. Shows there’s a lot of ways to produce the same amount of value. Tolle did it with ratios and Ks, Taj did it with wins and Ks and King did it with wins and ratios. (Ya know, relatively.) Burke did it with kinda all three, just a bit lesser so. Less ratios than King, but more Ks. Less wins than Taj but better ratios. Less ratios than Tolle but more wins and quantity on Ks. Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 11-7/3.34/1.20/185 in 172 1/3 IP

28. Paul Skenes – Gonna show ya something, then discuss on the other side. See ya there!

Paul Skenes is having arguably the best start to a career ever for a starter, and also this is a reminder about how fickle this game can be longterm

[image or embed]

— Razzball (@razzball.bsky.social) November 12, 2025 at 5:03 PM

That could mean nothing. Three pitchers from different eras are not the same just because they had huge success early on. But the natural conclusion to that is baseball is hard. Pitching is harder. Saberhagen had some more success later in his career (every other year, in fact). Gooden fought personal demons and struggled to reach his early heights. Skenes could be okay, and maybe it was the WBC that derailed him this year (I think it was, and he’ll be fine), but being great and then just sorta good is not an uncharted path. Preseason Rank #2, 2026 Projections: 12-7/2.04/0.95/226 in 190 IP, Final Numbers: 10-11/3.82/1.12/200 in 174 1/3 IP

29. Shota Imanaga – Feels like a good time to mention I struggle with when to drop a pitcher in shallower leagues. You see a top 30 starter like Shota, and you think he’s good, but living through the Liberty Biberty-esque 5 IP, 6 ER starts and it’s like, “Is it better to have Shota until he goes full non-laughing Laughing Cow, then move to Aaron Nola” or is it better to just Ron Popeill Set It-and-Forget It a top 30 starter? Preseason Rank #58, 2026 Projections: 10-8/3.81/1.07/138 in 162 IP, Final Numbers: 11-10/3.77/1.10/174 in 174 1/3 IP

30. Bryan Woo – Ya know what’s very uncool? Wafting farts with your hand. What’s also uncool, is all of us who lived through Woo’s 2026, suffering really, and all of you people who will get, like, a 2.95 ERA next year in 200 IP. His stats aren’t perfect this year, but he is in no way a 4+ ERA pitcher. Preseason Rank #6, 2026 Projections: 13-9/2.86/0.96/204 in 194 IP, Final Numbers: 12-10/4.01/1.10/175 in 173 IP

31. Jacob deGrom – Can I be honest with you? I didn’t think we’d ever see a 4+ ERA year from deGrom. I figured 1.50 ERA in 12 innings total or 2.75-ish in 160. This year? It never entered my imagination as a possibility. Wild thing is, he’s still not a 4+ ERA pitcher. Yet, here we are (were?). Preseason Rank #14, 2026 Projections: 10-6/2.84/0.96/186 in 164 IP, Final Numbers: 11-11/4.20/1.14/201 in 162 2/3 IP

32. Michael Wacha – Only 21 starters had 175 1/3 IP or more, and Wacha was third at 200 1/3. If you threw 175 IP or more and didn’t make this list. You were hideously bad. The bottom of this list could be looked at like this, “Roster Wacha for two months, Meyer for two months and Streamonator for two months — oh what a beautiful starter!” Preseason Rank #92, 2026 Projections: 10-10/3.73/1.24/131 in 171 IP, Final Numbers: 9-10/3.32/1.11/158 in 200 2/3 IP

33. Shohei Ohtani – Much like Schwarber in the top 20 outfielders, there was no way to get a DH into the recaps without squeezing him so, please, allow a little squeezing. Ohtani was 45th overall for hitters on the Player Rater and 33rd ranked pitcher. He was the same for hitting as Zach Neto, William Contreras and Rafael Devers. Not a bad Sho’ing, but not his level at all. He was also 9th overall if you just smack his hitting value together with his pitching. Can you do that? I don’t think so, because at worst you’re losing his hitting when he’s pitching. But if you had him for both, he had to be roughly around a top 20 player in value. Again, not what you wanted, but not as bad as some 1st rounders (Judge). If Ohtani didn’t get hurt in September, things would’ve been even better. What all this means for next year? I don’t know. Such a tough call! I wouldn’t want to have to rank him. Wait, that’s exactly what I’ll have to do! Preseason Rank #1 for hitting and pitching and 11th for starters, 2026 Projections: 133/47/108/.275/16 in 583 ABs, 8-4/2.76/1.05/156 in 122 IP, Final Numbers: 89/30/81/.275/11 in 523 ABs; 8-2/1.79/0.95/95 in 85 2/3 IP

34. Max Meyer – He had the Logan Henderson-Brew Rasmussen-esque season before it became de rigueur in the 2nd half. [balloons fall from ceiling] Wow! They’re telling me I won the “Using De Rigueur For The 1st Time On A Fantasy Baseball Site” Award! What do I win? A beret that doesn’t fit? Oh, okay. Meyer’s 9.8 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 3.74 xFIP are promising but I wish I could say I was more enthused about an oft-injured, solid Ks, terrible walks not-really-breakout. Preseason Rank #117, 2026 Projections: 7-13/4.21/1.37/133 in 128 IP, Final Numbers: 9-1/2.68/1.14/121 in 111 IP

35. Keider Montero – We’ve reached the part of the program where a middle reliever for part of the year sneaks in. Or maybe his journey went from a long man to a Yarbro, which sounds like someone trying to describe season two’s transition to season three of The Wire. Tigers did a good job with starting pitchers, which reminds me, what the hell happened with Framber and Jack Flaherty? (If you’re curious, Framber was the 84th best starter, just behind Tyler Glasnow, Matthew Boyd, Hunter Brown, Logan Webb, Ryan Weathers and Freddy Peralta. Ya know, those schmohawks. Well, FreddyKBB before having a competent team helping him.) Any hoo! Montero had a 2.2 BB/9 and that helps, but his 6.2 K/9 isn’t. Sure looks like a 4.50 ERA pitcher who got lucky. Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 10-9/3.48/1.04/107 in 155 IP

36. Gerrit Cole – He returned almost exactly how he was prior to surgery, and sooner than I expected. He’ll be interesting for next year, because I don’t get the sense people are clamoring to get back in. For unstints, I don’t think people see him as Chris Sale going into this past year. I think they see him more like Sonny Gray going into last year. Older pitcher who should be decent, but nothing great. I might be wrong, reading tea leaves. Preseason Rank #84, 2026 Projections: 5-2/2.88/1.03/94 in 87 IP, Final Numbers: 10-9/3.61/1.10/131 in 127 IP

37. Justin Wrobleski – Ya know what’s odd? There’s so many examples of pitching not making any sense, but people still think they can suss it out. Here’s yet another example, Wrobleski was the 2nd best Dodgers starter (not including Skubal or Ohtani because the former wasn’t a Dodger when we drafted, and Ohtani was drafted in most leagues as a hitter-slash-pitcher). I could’ve gave you 10 choices in March who would be the Dodgers’ 2nd best starter and you wouldn’t have guessed Wrobleski. He was the 25th Dodgers’ pitcher off the board with an ADP of 469. Bobby Miller went before him. Remember him? I don’t either. Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 12-5/3.66/1.14/118 in 140 IP

38. Sandy Alcantara – Hey, our first closer! His peripherals are so gee-dee ugly. 6.4 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 4.42 xFIP and lost a decent amount on his ground ball rate. I’m not even joking when I say the Marlins should make him their closer. Not that I think he’ll be that great as a closer, but they’ll preserve his arm. Though, not sure they care about that. He should. He did become the Marlins’ career strikeout leader, one of MLB’s most cherished records. He passed Ricky Nolasco, who retired ten years ago, but is due to be underrated this year. You see his xFIP?! Preseason Rank #54, 2026 Projections: 10-10/4.23/1.24/149 in 178 IP, Final Numbers: 13-11/3.87/1.23/153, 3 saves in 214 IP

39. Walbert Urena – Not only was this guy unranked, I admittedly had never heard of him when he was called up. I must’ve browsed right past, not seeing the Walbert greeter. Urena had a 6.48 ERA in Triple-A this year (8 1/3 IP), and 4.34 ERA in the minors last year (in 141 IP) with a 8 K/9, 4.7 BB/9, so of course, he performed as a top 40 starter this year. After not being able to do that in Double-A (4.39 ERA in 135 1/3 IP) the year before. Makes perfect sense! I remember distinctly when Walbert was called up, because I remember not even being interested in AL-Only, where everyone is rostered. Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 9-11/2.97/1.23/142 in 148 1/3 IP

40. Jose Soriano – I know he ended his year on the Jays, but, wow, the Angels had three starters in the top 40 overall. Good riddance, Arte! (And not Arte Johnson. Though, RIP.) What’s troubling about the starters (everything?) is that a guy like Soriano had similar ratios to what I thought, and a handful more Ks, but not many more and a few more wins and was the 39th best starter. I thought those stats would be ranked 102nd! You can say, “Well, as handsome as you are, you’re also dumb as dirt.” Fair, but I think the troubling thing is there were roughly 60 starters who just disappeared. Some are listed up in Keider’s blurb. Preseason Rank #102, 2026 Projections:  9-12/4.14/1.35/157 in 174 IP, Final Numbers: 12-8/3.91/1.29/169 in 177 IP

41. Shane McClanahan – Bonus baby! Building off what I was saying with Soriano, McClanahananananananananan was the 80th ranked preseason starter, ended up with very similar stats as my projections and moved up 40 spots with that. So, my question is, if there were no great hitters and no great pitchers, what was there this year? Great umpiring? Oh, no, the robots have already begun to take over! Preseason Rank #80, 2026 Projections: 8-3/3.08/1.07/109 in 102 IP, Final Numbers: 10-7/3.36/1.12/106 in 118 IP