Happy Monday, Razzball faithful!

I know that technically this is a Top 100 Starting Pitchers article. Still, I did want to share some information with our deeper league managers and those dynasty players who are looking for names in the later rounds of the draft.

Anyone can make a Top 100 Starting Pitchers list! But can those same people deep dive through the 2025 Preseason Player Rater and cherry-pick some names for The Next 100? Ya, I didn’t think so.

If you get to the “French Fries” Tier today without painting yourself into a draft corner filled with injury risk and late-round madness, well then what are we even doing here?

Before I get ahead of myself here, let me explain.

This week, I’ll be pulling some names that stood out from our SP101-200 in Rudy’s preseason rankings.  I did the same thing in 2024, and more than a few of you said you appreciated the mining of the rock that housed those less-than-household names.

I called it The Next 100 – Tea for The Tiedemann, and you can clickity click right there if you want to have a peek.

Last year I shone the light a bit more brightly on Ricky Tiedemann, Ryan Pepiot, Jack Flaherty, Shane Baz, Bowden Francis, Cody Bradford … and, ahem, Alek Manoah. 

Were they all difference-makers? Well, not all of them made a positive difference on your fantasy squads, that’s for sure. But having a peek through last year’s list was a bit of an eye-opener for me.

It was also an exercise that reinforced what most veteran players believe when they’re organizing their draft day research: There is always value to be found if you diligently sift through the names that populate the entire draft pool for your league.

Should Jack Flaherty have been ranked after SP100 last Preseason? Of course not. But you can bet that more than a few arms ranked after SP100 this year will return positive value in 2025.

This week, I’ll give you the Top 100 list as I normally do, and then I’ll write up some of the names that I think we’ll need to shine a light on as we head into those deeper league drafts for 2025.

I’ll try to not just focus on the 101-120 arms. Those are the names that we likely see on Top 100 lists or in other peoples’ tiers. Selecting a few from every 20-ish group is the plan today.

But before we get into it, there’s a bit of business to take care of first. If you haven’t signed up for it, The Razzball Fantasy Baseball Subscription should be your go-to reference for the entire season. It will save you a lot of time researching and often includes those “Oh, I never thought about that” solutions. The Streamonator is a helpful resource throughout the whole season when making lineup decisions, and if you sign up early enough you’ll get access to the War Room too. Rudy’s tools are well worth the price of admission. If you’re serious about improving throughout the season, check the link, yo.

Also, if you’re looking to join the RazzSlam this year, time has run out! I hope you managed to sign up last week. Special thanks to a buddy who put together this gem for the RazzSlam 6-Pack…

And don’t forget to sign up for a Razzball Commenter League too! The $20 league I signed up for is already full, but there are still spots open for RCL30 if you want to dance with MarmosDad (not literally, ew). Check Grey’s post from last week for the details.

The Top 100 Starting Pitchers for 2025

SP RANK (Player Rater)	Name	Team	Average  SP Ranking (Or ADP)	GREY’s RANKINGS	Notes
1	Paul Skenes	PIT	2.25	1
2	Tarik Skubal	DET	2.25	2
3	Zack Wheeler	PHI	3.5	3
4	Logan Gilbert	SEA	5.5	4
5	Cole Ragans	KC	10.5	7
6	Garrett Crochet	BOS	10	12
7	Dylan Cease	SD	9	6
8	Corbin Burnes	ARI	10.25	20
9	George Kirby	SEA	14.5	5
10	Blake Snell	LAD	13.75	10
11	Gerrit Cole	NYY	18.5	21
12	Framber Valdez	HOU	12	8
13	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD	21	15
14	Chris Sale	ATL	10.25	19
15	Tyler Glasnow	LAD	28	34
16	Grayson Rodriguez	BAL	31.75	27
17	Jacob deGrom	TEX	36.75	18
18	Roki Sasaki	LAD	34.25	17
19	Shota Imanaga	CHC	21.75	13
20	Bailey Ober	MIN	24	23
21	Shohei Ohtani	LAD	2	9
22	Aaron Nola	PHI	19	42
23	Bryce Miller	SEA	26.75	14
24	Spencer Schwellenbach	ATL	39	16
25	Joe Ryan	MIN	24.75	41
26	Sonny Gray	STL	28.5	28
27	Michael King	SD	22.5	11
28	Hunter Greene	CIN	27.75	40
29	Freddy Peralta	MLW	28.75	32
30	Pablo Lopez	MIN	14	22
31	Max Fried	NYY	25.75	39
32	Luis Castillo	SEA	21.25	38
33	Logan Webb	SF	22.75	24
34	Tanner Bibee	CLE	33.25	29
35	Zac Gallen	ARI	31	25
36	Bryan Woo	SEA	57.75	26
37	Kevin Gausman	TOR	32.75	57
38	Spencer Strider	ATL	55.75	59
39	Jack Flaherty	DET	46.5	31
40	Shane McClanahan	TB	49.25	60
41	Yusei Kikuchi	LAA	47	63
42	Hunter Brown	HOU	34.75	30
43	Jared Jones	PIT	44.25	33
44	Kodai Senga	NYM	45.5	58
45	Carlos Rodon	NYY	41.25	35
46	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	47.5	49
47	Justin Steele	CHC	33.25	36
48	Brandon Pfaadt	ARI	48	37
49	Robbie Ray	SFG	64.75	48
50	Reynaldo Lopez	ATL	49.25	44
51	Seth Lugo	KC	45	43
52	Shane Baz	TB	69	54
53	Taj Bradley	TB	53.25	55
54	Mackenzie Gore	WSH	59.25	66
55	Zach Eflin	BAL	53.25	45
56	Ranger Suarez	PHI	59.5	47
57	Bowden Francis	TOR	65.7	56
58	Jose Berrios	TOR	55	71
59	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX	66.5	46
60	Tanner Houck	BOS	54.75	68
61	Luis Gil	NYY	50.25	62
62	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	74.25	61
63	Jesus Luzardo	PHI	86	65
64	Ronel Blanco	HOU	56	64
65	Kutter Crawford	BOS	79.5	70
66	Nick Lodolo	CIN	79.25	75
67	Mitch Keller	PIT	59.5	79
68	Sean Manaea	NYM	57	51
69	Gavin Williams	CLE	79	83
70	Chris Bassitt	TOR	76.75	90
71	Ryan Pepiot	TB	63.75	52
72	Spencer Arrighetti	HOU	70	53
73	Jeffrey Springs	ATH	81.5	105
74	Max Scherzer	TOR	99.5	122
75	Nick Pivetta	SD	73.5	50
76	Yu Darvish	SD	87.25	72
77	Reese Olson	DET	80	67
78	Merrill Kelly	ARI	73.25	103
79	Brandon Woodruff	MLW	67.75	106
80	Brady Singer	CIN	68	91
81	Brayan Bello	BOS	72.25	78
82	Clarke Schmidt	NYY	66	85
83	Michael Wacha	KC	74.75	69
84	Walker Buehler	BOS	73	104
85	Matthew Boyd	CHC	96.7	76
86	Jackson Jobe	DET	79	73
87	Jose Soriano	LAA	105	101
88	Ryne Nelson	ARI	95	119
89	Drew Rasmussen	TB	100.75	87
90	Tobias Myers	MLW	89	80
91	Bobby Miller	LAD	101	108
92	Dustin May	LAD	122	88
93	Cody Bradford	TEX	94	74
94	Tomoyuki Sugano	BAL	96	77
95	Luis Severino	ATH	82	97
96	Eduardo Rodriguez	ARI	113	131
97	Justin Verlander	SFG	119	123
98	Charlie Morton	BAL	93.5	125
99	DJ Herz	WSH	95	81
100	Kumar Rocker	TEX	83	114

And now for the goods. Each Starting Pitcher has his Preseason Player Rater ranking in parentheses here. I left out any of the guys who I moved up into my Top 100, despite some appearing in the 101-200 range here on the Player Rater.

SP 101- 120 – The Pete and Repeat Tier?

You’ve heard these names before. And some are repeats from last year.

Shane Bieber (104) – “Not-Justin” signed a one-year deal for $14 million with the Guardians this winter. Coming back from TJS, there is no concrete timeline for his return. His fastball clocked in at 87-89 MPH last week when he threw a dozen pitches off a mound. The last news I could find is he will miss “a few months” of the 2025 season, so I wouldn’t expect much. This is more of a “don’t forget him” if you have a deeper bench in your leagues. I don’t see him recapturing his ace form. At least not this year.

Clay Holmes (105) – This guy is right on the cusp of the Top 100 list and, to be honest, I had to search twice because I thought I already had him in my group. Is Clay Holmes a guy you’ll want to pick as a solid SP4 or SP5 for your roster? Maybe if you play in a league that ends in July. Holmes has excellent strikeout potential, but the fact of the matter is he’s only ever broken the 65-inning mark once in his career (2021). He’s fine as a late-round choice, but I can’t see the Mets getting more than 100 innings from him even if they bring him along slowly this Spring.

Jon Gray (109) – I have more of a “Have you heard the news?” kind of note on Jon Gray today. This winter, the Rangers asked him if he’d be open to pitching out of the bullpen and possibly even dipping his toes into the closer pool. It makes sense if Texas wants to open up some rotation room for Kumar Rocker and/or Jack Leiter, but if you’re drafting Jon Gray hoping for 150 innings and strikeouts, it sounds like you’ll likely want to reconsider.

Casey Mize (113) – This is one of the guys I profiled in the 101-200 article last year. Here’s what I said: “One skull of the three-headed monster the Tigers had queued up to run their rotation just two years ago. Then all of them fell apart physically and Detroit had to regroup. I’ll get to Manning later, but Skubal is already pushed way up by ADP and Mize is poised to make a strong return. Eno had them all over 100 Stuff+ in a post on Wednesday. If anything, Motown fans should be excited about this.” 

Well, Mize didn’t exactly wow people in his 2024 ‘comeback’ with a 6.86 K/9 and a 4.49 ERA in 102.1 IP. The good news is Mize’s GB% was up to 49% (83rd percentile) last year, and his fastball still has plenty of juice on it (95.5 MPH). Mize is one of the many names you’ll hear about who went to Driveline this winter and if you don’t believe the three strikeouts in two innings Saturday are any indication of a bounceback, maybe you’ll be excited to hear that he has two new pitches and his fastball hit 98 MPH in this game. 

SP 121-140 – Do These Fish Smell Fishy To You?

Something is off with these guys. Just a bit fishy.

Edward Cabrera (121) – He’s entering his 5th MLB season and has not climbed over that elusive 100 IP hill … yet. Regular readers from last year will remember my frequent venting and frustration with all that is EdCab. The 4.67 BB/9 is enough to make you taste that slowly digested breakfast of coffee and toast from 5-8 hours ago as it rises back up for a return visit. But the strikeouts. Oh, the strikeouts. Edward Cabrera is one of those guys that I have a very tough time quitting. He’s like another big right-handed pitcher that you might remember. I don’t want to say the name but it rhymes with Schmalek Schmanoah.

Lucas Giolito (125) – ‘Member this guy?

Giolito doesn’t need much of an introduction. After an “internal brace procedure” cost him all of 2024, Giolito is ready to go this Spring. He’s currently slotted as Boston’s SP4 ahead of both Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello, but if the Red Sox stick with a 6-man rotation, it will work in Giolito’s favor. Slowly getting back into game shape will be the best move with Giolito. I’m not a big fan, but if the price is right…

David Festa (126) – The top three slots of the Twins rotation are about as solid as it gets. No one is knocking out a healthy trio of Pablo Lopez, Bailey Ober, and Joe Ryan. Simeon Woods-Richardson and Chris Paddack? Mehhhh. That duo is a bit easier to leap-frog if you’re a youngster with a higher upside. Festa’s story is a lot like the others in today’s write-up: high strikeout potential with command and control issues. 

Eury Perez (130) – It’s tempting to just copy and paste Edward Cabrera’s write-up and slap it in here. But the truth is, there isn’t a lot of difference between the two Marlins pitchers. Sure Eury is five years younger than EdCab, but it’s an eerily similar story. Edward Cabrera’s Tommy John surgery was in 2023 (his age 23 season). Eury Perez underwent his TJS last Spring. If you’re looking for a high-upside gamble to stash on the reserve list that might give you a boost after the All-Star break, this is your guy.

SP 141-160 – The Sleepiest Sleepers in Sleepytown

Sleepers? Did someone say sleepers?

Luis L. Ortiz (141) – I mentioned him in my first post of the year when I was running through the trades and new opportunities for some of the arms in the league. Ortiz has been an intriguing arm for the last couple of years. When a young-ish pitcher shaves 2 walks off his BB/9, adds one full strikeout to his K/9 from 2023 to 2024, AND is traded to the Cleveland Guardians…that is enough to make me take a moment to write him down on a watch list.

Grant Holmes (150) – I nearly went with Clayton Kershaw here, but I assumed that everyone knows what we’re going to get with him. Max Scherzer? Yep, it’s the same story with him too but you can check this if you want to read about that old fogey.

Grant Holmes? Now that’s a different story. Kind of. I think the first time I heard about Grant Holmes was when I listened to a Nick Pollack/Eno Sarris pod this winter. I assumed Holmes was an up-and-coming kid. Now at 28 years old, Holmes is not exactly at the Kershaw/Scherzer point in his birthday counting, but he’s also not a rookie-watch kind of name. When a 10-year pro veteran (drafted in 2014) is projected to make the MLB rotation on a team with an offense like Atlanta’s, he’s worth a late-round flier. 

Cade Cavalli (148) – This guy deserves whatever ‘MemberBerries are left over from the Giolito bunch. Cavalli was supposed to be the big arm in the Nationals’ post-Strasburg retooling, but a 2023 TJS shelved those plans pretty quickly. He got the “fully healthy’ tag in a quote from manager Davy Martinez, but the team has said it will likely manage his workload this season to make sure he’s healthy in the long term. This one is another gamble that I’m willing to take in leagues with a deep bench in the hopes that he breaks camp and is eventually worked into a starting role.

Hayden Birdsong (157) – I’ve heard the sweet song of many a sleeper birdie tweet outlining the potential and upside of Hayden Birdsong. It’s been announced that he is not being gifted a spot in the Giants rotation, but with Robbie Ray, Justin Verlander, and Jordan Hicks ahead of him in the pecking order, he’s not exactly up against a bunch of arms that are expected to ride through an entire season with a clean bill of health. Don’t stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the kid is a strikeout machine with a big walk problem.

SP 161-180 – Matthews and Mini-Sticks

A couple of Matts, a mini, and ‘Sticks’.

Zebby Matthews (161) – Control C, Control V Zebby’s prospect mate from two sections above. Zebby Matthews has about 40 lbs on his Minnesota teammate but at 6’5”, with a 95 MPH fastball, and half a dozen big league starts in 2024, these two are pretty much … Twins. 

Marcus Stroman (168) – Ok, give me a little break here. I’m sure that Stroman was a wee bit upset about the news that he’ll likely not have a rotation spot in 2025. There’s a small chance that Stroman takes a tiny step into his long relief role with a teensy-weensy bit of frustration and/or disappointment. But if he can prove that he’s more than a minuscule part of the Yankees’ plans this Spring, maybe he can get traded to a place that has room for him in their rotation. I just hope he doesn’t end up with the Twins because Minny doesn’t have room for another SP either.

Quinn Mathews (179) – Quinn loses 16 spots on Zebby here because he dropped a T in his last name. No worries, though. Quinn is poised to claim an Opening Day spot with the Cardinals as long as he can prove in Spring Training that he belongs. The 3+ BB/9 isn’t exactly encouraging, but the 12.68 K/9 over four MiLB levels in 2024 most certainly is enough to get any prospect-hound salivating. I will not slander Sonny Gray, (it’s in our writing contracts here at Razzball. Right under the section where we must swear allegiance to the flag of Jordan Walker), but if you can honestly tell me that you believe that most of these pitchers can hold off the Cardinals’ top prospect…well, I don’t think it’ll be for very long.

 

SP 181-200 – Let Me Paint You Like One Of Your French … Fries

Why are none of the world-famous painters named Bubba?

Bubba Chandler (191) – Pittsburgh super-prospect arm or leading man in the reboot of Friends set in the South called “All Y’All Buds”? Who’s to say?

All joking aside, Bubba is nearly set to become the fourth head of Pittsburgh’s very intimidating pitching monster. He touched 99.1 MPH on the radar gun yesterday in relief and will be a name to watch for a mid-season call-up or earlier if injuries strike the big league rotation.

Andrew Painter (193) – I wrote two things on my phone about Andrew Painter when I was gathering notes this winter. “Check his health”, (he’s returning from TJS), and, “hit 100 MPH in AFL”. The 6’7” RHP is already a darling for our dynasty players. Heck, I nearly slotted him into the bottom part of my Top 100 list. When you can throw a fastball that touches triple digits AND there’s news about you learning how to develop a changeup with Phillies legend Cole Hamels, there’s plenty of reason for excitement.

But the wet blanket here is also the winter whispers from the Phillies’ front office that Painter will likely debut in the bullpen. And that debut will likely not come until July 2025 at the earliest. 

If you’re in a keeper league, lock this guy in as soon as you can. If you’re in a redraft league? Well, if you have the patience to stash him on your reserve list this kid could have a debut that is similar to what another giant 21-year-old did when he took the National League by storm last year. 

Drew Thorpe (200) – September bone spur surgery means his velocity is quite a ways from being back to the 91 MPH he showed last year. His HR/9 and BB/9 were ugly in 2024 too. But, hey, I wanted to throw the White Sox a bone this week and we won’t get to Noah Schultz or Hagen Smith until our next one…

That’s all for this week! I hope you enjoyed it! Next week, it’ll be a headfirst dive into the Bog of Eternal Stench AKA the Post 200+ Starting Pitcher landscape. It is going to stink, but it was a lot of fun to trudge through the sludge last year so we’re headed back there for 2025.

Drop some comments in the chat if you’re feeling extra fired up about some of the names I do (or don’t) have here. Have a great week!

 

Follow me @marmosdad on Twitter/X and Bluesky @marmosdad.bsky.social