LOGIN

Please see our player page for Pablo Lopez to see projections for today, the next 7 days and rest of season as well as stats and gamelogs designed with the fantasy baseball player in mind.

All the final 2023 fantasy baseball rankings for hitters are done. For those that skipped today’s title, this starts the top 20 starters for 2023 fantasy baseball. This is NOT for next year (caps for those who can’t read titles; supposedly it’s easier to read caps, I have my doubts). This is a recap. Will these affect next year’s rankings? Sure. Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t know. Not entirely. Yes, entirely. Like when you had a knee replacement, this is a recap! To recapitulate the recap, these rankings are from our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater. We’re (me’re) using it to fairly gauge our (my) preseason rankings. Anyway, here’s the top 20 starters for 2023 fantasy baseball and how they compared to where I originally ranked them:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Wow, has it already been a week since the first installment of the 2024 Top Keepers was unveiled? Time flies when the baseball playoffs are in full swing.

Last week I looked at the top relievers to keep (2024 Top Keepers – Relievers). This week the focus is on starting pitchers.

Like relievers, starting pitchers can be a little inconsistent from year to year, making it tough to nail down the top keepers. I went pretty deep this year with a list of 85, allowing for a nice mix of veteran pitchers and young up-and-comers.

That said, I’m sure I missed some pitchers you probably like more and listed players higher than you think they deserve to be.

However, I like the list I have put together and I hope you find it useful as you build your fantasy staff.

Now let’s get on with the rankings!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

In the world of fantasy baseball, and “real” baseball for that matter, SPs serve as the tip of the spear, bearing the weight of our team’s aspirations on their shoulders every time they take the mound.  We count on them to set the tone for our pitching staffs, starting with W or QS, then loading […]

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Was announced on Saturday that Shohei Ohtani is done for the year. Though, it doesn’t mean he’s done with the Angels. He can re-sign–I am effin’ around! Of course he’s done with the Angels! Be thankful he doesn’t return to Japan after playing with the Angels. He left the Angels and a 212-pound Tim Salmon was lifted off his shoulders. A 20-year Rally Monkey’s Paw curse that festered under his skin for years must now be exfoliated away with Mariners’ skin cream. Thank God, Ohtani was able to walk away from that barge of bad luck in Anaheim. The Angels turn even the most bright-eyed, bushy-tailed among us into Danny Glover on a toilet about to explode. As Ohtani emptied his locker, it became clear the Angels were one of the best teams to stream against these final two weeks, and Sawyer Gipson-Long (5 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 11 Ks, ERA at 2.70) took advantage. Long made short work of the Angels, but is he actually, pause for drama, good? He has three pitches (four but uses three).

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Can’t believe Corbin Burnes (8 IP, 0 ER, zero hits, two walks, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.47) didn’t go out there and try to finish the no-hitter vs. the Yankees. This is somehow George Kirby’s fault. Let’s hear what Mark Mulder has to say. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then bless your ears that they’re in no way polluted by the Hot Takes. Skip ahead to the first blurb if you want to remain that way. On Friday, Kirby said something like he wish he was pulled before the 7th inning because he was gassed. Then old players like Jered Weaver and Mark Mulder jumped on that saying it was the pussification of starting pitchers (told you that you wished you didn’t know). It takes the world’s quickest Google searches to see Weaver used to ask to be pulled from the game in the 7th, and Mulder was so overused in his playing days that he was out of baseball in handful of years, so maybe he should’ve managed his innings better. Old players just completely gaslit by themselves. Hate to see it. Kirby made one mistake: Telling people how he felt. He was gassed, he should’ve been pulled before allowing the home run in the 7th. It makes no sense to baby starters for their entire careers, as they are now, then force them to throw beyond their ability. Kirby should’ve been out of the game, because that’s what starting pitching is now, and how they’re trained. It’s not Kirby’s doing, it’s all starters now. What does this have to do with Burnes? Nothing really, except back in the day they prolly would’ve let him finish the no-hitter. Besides, you know Corbin Burnes is a top five starter, so what’s to say? Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

There’s no point in me pointing out that I wrote a Justin Steele sleeper this preseason. It’s so long ago now! So much has been written since then! Has anything, perchance, been written that was that illuminating that the Pulitzer committee, all 12 people in Switzerland, all drafted Justin Steele in their fantasy leagues? Does it matter that people, who have been stopped on the highway doing 120 MPH, have been allowed to leave after showing the police officer my Justin Steele sleeper? Does it matter that my Justin Steele sleeper has made advancements in medicine to cure the hiccups? No! None of this matters! What matters is I wrote that gee-dee post, snitches! Yesterday, he went 8 IP, 0 ER, 2 hits, 2 walks, 12 Ks, lowering his ERA to 2.55. But that doesn’t even matter! The hiccups are now gone! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Don’t want to be Mr. Downer when we get awful news like this, but I don’t understand how anyone’s body could hold together playing every day as a hitter, then through 97 MPH fresh-to-deffers every sixth day. For three years, he made us believe, and I know we all want to be little Peter Pans, but it’s just not possible. Shohei Ohtani did the impossible for longer than I would’ve expected from anyone. He did the impossible longer than Tom Cruise. Ohtani won’t be pitching again for the foreseeable future and I’d guess he’ll need Tommy John surgery (again, he had it in 2018). The one thing that places some leafs on the ground as I fall backwards into a heap to sob, he’s a top two hitter on the Player Rater, and that’s not going anywhere. I can do a prayer hexagon to make sure of it. What? Why are you screaming? It’ll be fine! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

This year is hilarious! This year is like Opposite World! George Constanza would’ve done so well with pitching this year! Gavin Williams, who sounds like the actor who played Potsie (I’m old!) and had a 7.8 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9, goes against the 5th best team for average, 22nd worst team for strikeouts, 2nd best team for hits, and throws an absolute gem — 7 IP, 0 ER, 1 hit, 1 walk, 12 Ks, ERA at 2.90. Of course, Potsie was supposed to be better than he had showed so far in the majors, but no one was expecting him to have an outing like that! G. Will-ikers! Gavin a (P)Jays Party! It’s square as eff Monday here at Razzball! I’m talking about Potsie and freakin’ pajamas! So, as I alluded to earlier, Gavin Williams was supposed to be good. This might’ve been a wink-wink, nudge-nudge for Gavin Williams 2024 fantasy. For this year? He’s still inducing weak contact, even if the Ks haven’t been there before last night, as his ERA attests. I had them Bibee, Allen then Gavin, but Potsie’s easily jumped Allen, if he’s throwing for strikeouts now. Anyway. here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Welcome back from the break! Now let’s get that money! And by “money” I mean an ulcer from starting Lance Lynn for every one of his terrible starts and benching him for all his good starts. We’re gonna be so rich with that “money.” One guy who is absolutely going to be “money” in scare quotes is Grayson Rodriguez, who was recalled to start on Monday vs. the Dodgers. Orioles weighing calling up Grayson vs. the Marlins this past weekend or the Dodgers, “Hmm, death by one cut seems much nicer than by a thousand.” Of course, I’d pick Grayson back up! Do you not know me at all? Still seems prone to command issues, but his 1.96 ERA in Triple-A is a big ol’ whiff (by hitters) of what could be. He might be an ace for the final two months. Might also be “money,” and that’s not money money. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?