Happy Monday, Razzball faithful!

Welcome to MARCH! The calendar flipping over means it’s excitement time for us fantasy baseball enthusiasts!

Spring Training games have begun to give us the smallest sample sizes to analyze or, at the very least, to acknowledge. Spring break is nearly here for the kids. RazzSlam leagues are finalized AND the prep-work is underway ahead of Wednesday’s slow draft launch.

Heck, by the time you read this, I’ll (hopefully) be well into drafting the third round of my TGFBI league that started at noon (EST) today.

Last week, I reviewed “The Next 100” starting pitchers from the 2025 Preseason Player Rater and highlighted some names worthy of a monocle while prepping for your drafts.

This week, I’ll dive into the depths of madness that is the Post-200 Hellscape of the Player Rater (or other unmentioned names that I think should at least be … mentioned).

Today is also the day that I’ll shift away from our Marmo and Skibidi icons and add a few notes in the “Notes” section. I resisted the temptation for long enough, (two whole weeks), and I want to put a few tidbits to draw attention to some pitchers who have already thrown this Spring or have any news to share about their progress (or lack thereof).

In addition to all of that, (and to attempt to save some of my sanity this year), I’m introducing the up and down arrows for the list. I won’t specify a pitcher’s specific change in ranking from each week this year. It’ll be a red arrow for upwards movement or a blue one for the dip. 

(Thanks to my youngest for the Mario Kart 8 marathon and the subsequent idea to lift these arrows!)

Also! If you’re sitting at home this weekend and looking for something to do around 8:00 PM EST on Saturday, you can jump on to “The YouTube” and watch me chat about Auction drafts with Justin Mason and Ariel Cohen for Podapalooza 2025.

It’s beginning to look a lot like DRAFT SEASON!

But before we get into it, we have 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 solutions to those “Oh, I never thought about that” questions that arise throughout the year. The Streamonator is also a helpful resource when making lineup decisions. If you subscribe early enough, you’ll also get access to the War Room. Rudy’s tools are well worth the price of admission. If you’re serious about improving throughout the season, check the link, yo.

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	4 Ks in 3 IP in his debut. A pretty great start from our SP1.
2	Tarik Skubal	DET	2.25	2	Hit triple digits last week (100.1 MPH). As if he needed to improve on anything from last year. Wow.
3	Zack Wheeler	PHI	3.5	3	Fastball velocity up. 4 Ks in just 2 IP. Take that, Skenes!
4	Logan Gilbert	SEA	5.5	4
5	Cole Ragans	KC	10.5	7	Pumped for 7 ER, 2 HR in 2.1 IP. As exciting as the other news is above him here, let’s call this one ‘shaking off the rust’ and loosening up after a long winter.
6	Garrett Crochet	BOS	10	12	3 Ks in his 1.2 innings last week. Velocity is right where it was last year (97+ MPH).
7	Dylan Cease	SD	9	6	98.9 MPH fastball and flashed the filthy slider too.
8	George Kirby	SEA	14.5	5	I had real life “eye emoji” when I saw the ticker on MLB Network after Kirby’s start last week. 2 BBs in his start. Last year, in 32 GS, he walked two guys just four times.
9	Corbin Burnes	ARI	10.25	20	Looks very good in Spring so far. I dropped him a bit this week, but not much.
10	Shohei Ohtani	LAD	2	9	It sounds like he’ll be ready to throw earlier than I thought. Early May is good enough for me. But we all know it’ll be rare for managers to use him as an SP if he’s raking as a UT.
11	Michael King	SD	22.5	11	This was another one that I originally went against my gut instinct and paid too much heed to the Player Rater. He jumps way up my list this week.
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	Shota Imanaga	CHC	21.75	13	Opening Day starter! I thought my Top 20 ranking was biased because I like him. Even that was too low.
17	Blake Snell	LAD	13.75	10	I had him too high from the start. I should’ve taken his history of slow starts into account too.
18	Gerrit Cole	NYY	18.5	21	Still a Top 20 arm, but I’m not putting him near the Top 10.
19	Grayson Rodriguez	BAL	31.75	27
20	Jacob deGrom	TEX	36.75	18	36 years old with an extensive injury history. I’d say ‘pass’ if I didn’t already have him for a low keeper price in a home league.
21	Roki Sasaki	LAD	34.25	17	Won’t debut until Tuesday at 8:00 PM (EST). I know what I’ll be doing Tuesday night!
22	Bailey Ober	MIN	24	23
23	Bryce Miller	SEA	26.75	14	CSW was up in his first start. Mariners starters = Heart emoji.
24	Spencer Schwellenbach	ATL	39	16	The breakout is coming.
25	Pablo Lopez	MIN	14	22
26	Joe Ryan	MIN	24.75	41
27	Sonny Gray	STL	28.5	28
28	Hunter Greene	CIN	27.75	40
29	Freddy Peralta	MLW	28.75	32
30	Zac Gallen	ARI	31	25	3 Ks in 2 scoreless IP. I moved him up 5 spots today and he still feels too low.
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	Aaron Nola	PHI	19	42	See: Snell, Blake (above) Velocity was down but should still be a strong option. I just prefer other arms over him.
36	Bryan Woo	SEA	57.75	26	Please, Roto-Gods, sprinkle him with the bubble wrap blessings and give him 150+ healthy innings.
37	Kevin Gausman	TOR	32.75	57
38	Spencer Strider	ATL	55.75	59	Beat writers are whispering he might be back as early as late April.
39	Jack Flaherty	DET	46.5	31
40	Shane McClanahan	TB	49.25	60	Hit upper 90s with the FB last week. TJS returnee should be the Rays’ opening day starter.
41	Yusei Kikuchi	LAA	47	63	I took some heat for this one, but he’s being drafted in the Top 150 (NFBC). Last year’s numbers might surprise you.
42	Hunter Brown	HOU	34.75	30
43	Jared Jones	PIT	44.25	33	Flashed a new 90 MPH sinker last week. This guy is the 1B beside Bryan Woo’s 1A in Marmo-darling rankings for 2025.
44	Kodai Senga	NYM	45.5	58	Give me five arms from this section in every draft, please.
45	Carlos Rodon	NYY	41.25	35	Two rough Spring outings so far. Small sample size, sure, but it makes me feel better about fading him so far.
46	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	47.5	49
47	Justin Steele	CHC	33.25	36	I’m not a big fan, but he’s been really good so far this Spring.
48	Brandon Pfaadt	ARI	48	37
49	Robbie Ray	SFG	64.75	48	So far so good. Added a changeup he learned from Tarik Skubal.
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	Allowed some hits last week. Should still be a good source of ratio help in 2025.
56	Ranger Suarez	PHI	59.5	47
57	Bowden Francis	TOR	65.7	56	It might just be a good narrative in my head, but I’m excited to see what Francis can learn from Scherzer this year.
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	Shut down after shoulder soreness last week. Waiting for MRI results. Uh oh.
62	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	74.25	61	He’s hitting 99 MPH already this Spring. Potentially sneaky value here.
63	Jesus Luzardo	PHI	86	65
64	Ronel Blanco	HOU	56	64	Banged around in his first start last week.
65	Kutter Crawford	BOS	79.5	70	Right knee tendinitis looks like it will push him back. Be cautious drafting him this Spring.
66	Nick Lodolo	CIN	79.25	75	BBs and Ks last week.
67	Mitch Keller	PIT	59.5	79
68	Sean Manaea	NYM	57	51	Strained oblique means I’d avoid him unless you have a deep bench and can replace him with a good arm to start the year.
69	Gavin Williams	CLE	79	83
70	Chris Bassitt	TOR	76.75	90	Easing into it. So far so good.
71	Ryan Pepiot	TB	63.75	52	He’s going to be good. I just don’t want to mess with a flyball pitcher in that minor league park.
72	Spencer Arrighetti	HOU	70	53
73	Jeffrey Springs	ATH	81.5	105	Injury history AND traded AWAY by the Rays? To a team playing at an offensively boosted home park this year? No thanks.
74	Max Scherzer	TOR	99.5	122	He’s healthy and he looked good yesterday too. Anything above 100 strong innings from him would be gravy.
75	Nick Pivetta	SD	73.5	50
76	Yu Darvish	SD	87.25	72
77	Reese Olson	DET	80	67	Gave up a couple of bombs to the Jays on Friday night, but the FB velocity was up. That’s an encouraging sign if you’re looking for Ks.
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	Dealing with some shoulder soreness, but appears to be on track to throw in games soon.
82	Clarke Schmidt	NYY	66	85	Aaron Boone called it a “cranky” back. That’s enough to put a little caution star by this one’s name on the draft sheet.
83	Michael Wacha	KC	74.75	69
84	Walker Buehler	BOS	73	104
85	Matthew Boyd	CHC	96.7	76	I keep thinking he’ll be a Wacha-lite. But I assume that means he’d have to be ranked farther from Wacha for that to be the case.
86	Jackson Jobe	DET	79	73	Maybe Detroit will send him down for some more seasoning. But Alex Cobb being injured is neither a surprise, nor a bad thing if you’re a Jobe fan.
87	Jose Soriano	LAA	105	101	That 98 MPH fastball is just too good to ignore.
88	Ryne Nelson	ARI	95	119
89	Drew Rasmussen	TB	100.75	87	A good arm that I won’t be drafting anywhere because there will be someone in every draft room who values him higher than I do.
90	Tobias Myers	MLW	89	80
91	Bobby Miller	LAD	101	108	Took a 106 MPH comebacker off the head two weeks ago. Back to throwing bullpens (Saturday).
92	Dustin May	LAD	122	88
93	Cody Bradford	TEX	94	74	Grey’s favorite sleeper has looked good so far. Just keep an eye on him. Bochy mentioned that he or Jon Gray could end up in the bullpen to make room for the kids.
94	Tomoyuki Sugano	BAL	96	77	Relatively soft-tosser should be a good option for ratio help.
95	Luis Severino	ATH	82	97
96	Eduardo Rodriguez	ARI	113	131	No 6-man rotation in ARI means EdRod might end up in the bullpen.
97	Justin Verlander	SFG	119	123
98	Charlie Morton	BAL	93.5	125
99	DJ Herz	WSH	95	81	Needs to sharpen things up if he’s going to push someone out of the way and secure a rotation spot.
100	Kumar Rocker	TEX	83	114	Jon Gray or Cody Bradford heading to the bullpen would be a boon for Rocker owners.

And now for the goods. Each Starting Pitcher has his Preseason Player Rater ranking in parentheses here. This is the “Post-201” Starting Pitchers that deserve at least some acknowledgment.

Kyle Hendricks (203) – You’re looking for innings at the end of your draft? And you’re trying to avoid the human land mines that will leave you scrambling to recover from a ratio implosion that balloons your ERA and WHIP with one or two bad outings? Well, at an overall ADP of 730 (NFBC), this guy is about as free as it gets. He’s not getting you double digits in the win column anymore, but if you need innings he’s a decent gamble. Just be careful how you choose to stream him.

Clayton Kershaw (204) – Another one of the great triumvirate of grandpas with Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. He’s out until late-May with a knee injury but the Dodgers are saying he should be ready to join their rotation when he’s activated. At a 507 overall ADP, he’s worth the stash.

Jacob Misiorowski (208) – Misiorowski was one of the kids I briefly outlined in last year’s “The Last Of Us: Next Next 100” article. Here’s what I had to say then:

“I’ll admit to not knowing this kid until I bought MLB The Show this year. I blame the AL-only league that I’m in for pushing me to research more on that side of the rookie lists. Is this kid starting in Milwaukee? No. Does he have good command to pair with his plus fastball and slider? Not really. But the Brewers #2 ranked prospect had a solid spring and looks poised to be a top arm in that rotation at some point soon.”

Misiorowski is now the Brewers’ top prospect, and it’s much of the same story as it was when I wrote that blurb up. The 2024 K/9 was an eye-popping 11.74 in 97.1 IP…but the walk rate was just as shocking at 5.55 BB/9. The command must improve if this kid wants a shot in Milwaukee anytime soon.

Kyle Hart (212) – The Padres signed the 32-year-old veteran to a $1 million deal this winter and hope he brings some of the KBO magic back over the pond with him for 2025. Hart registered a 10.43 K/9 and a respectable 2.18 BB/9 in 157 innings on his way to securing the KBO’s best pitcher award last year. Keep an eye on him this Spring. If he wins a rotation spot, he’ll blow past that 607 ADP overall. (NFBC)

Brandon Sproat (218) – This kid is one reason I was excited to write up the SP200+ names this year. The biggest pro here is the strikeout potential. Sproat posted a 10.13 K/9 in 116 innings last year. That should be impressive enough. Moving through three levels in 2024,  (A+, AA, AAA), is just as important a signal that the kid can respond to the challenge and adapt to each increase in difficulty on his path to the bigs. Touching 100 MPH in a Spring game last week is a pretty good sign that he’d make a fine stash on a reserve list this draft season.

Noah Schultz (223) – The White Sox’s #1 prospect has flashed an impressive K/9 in the minors and has shown an ability to limit walks. Although his 11.25 K/9 isn’t as impressive as Hagen Smith’s NCAA numbers, this 21-year-old LHP has the benefit of 61 innings of experience at the AA level in 2024. Regardless of your favorite, both of these kids have gigantic upside. It shouldn’t be ignored that the White Sox are one of a few teams that haven’t been shy about promoting talented kids in the past either.

Jake Bloss (226) – One of the three players the Blue Jays received from Houston in the Yusei Kikuchi deal, Bloss is a name to watch early this Spring. With Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer, and Bowden Francis, the Blue Jays seem to be set in their 5-man rotation. But if there are any injuries or stints on the “ineffective list’, expect the 23-year-old RHP with good command numbers to be the first called upon to fill the gap.

Caden Dana (229) – I was kind of worried that I wouldn’t be able to find my Caden Dana nod from last season. Then, when I searched his name up, I was happy to see that my Dana write-up was the second link on his player page. The encouraging part there is maybe he’s a name that isn’t on a lot of people’s deep sleeper lists. Jeez, I liked this kid so much that I recorded a clip from my TV, then uploaded it to a YouTube account that I created just to share that clip! Talk about dedication. 

It’s worth pointing out that Dana struck out three of nine hitters he faced last week in his first Spring start. I’ll take that upside in deeper leagues at an ADP of 685.

Chayce McDermott (174) – Similar to Dana above, I wrote up McDermott in a second half article outlining some rookies and young arms to keep an eye on. Here’s the link to that one. And here’s the write-up…

“The top pitching prospect in the Orioles organization is #7 on their list behind a half-dozen hitters! (As if Baltimore needs MORE position player prospects!). McDermott has thrown well in 19 games for Norfolk and, similarly to Caden Dana, doesn’t have a strong record to show for it. McDermott’s 5-6 record isn’t a great indicator of future success. The 90.1 IP, 72 H, 37 ER, 128 Ks? That’s pretty impressive. A 12.8 K/9% is what rival teams will start with when looking for trade targets to pull in as they dump expiring contracts at the deadline. That 5.4 BB/9? That’s one that the receiving team will put atop their “Things to work on” list. 

There’s a good video attached to that link, but the bottom line is McDermott was called up just 9 innings after that write-up, threw 4 innings in Baltimore, and then suffered through a shoulder injury before ultimately being shut down. He’s dealing with a lat/teres injury now but O’s fans are hoping to see that strikeout potential on display much sooner than later.

Hagen Smith (NR) – A 21-year-old LHP with a 17.25 K/9 in 84 IP for his 2024 NCAA season. Smith got a handful of innings (7.2) last year at the White Sox A+ affiliate. Being penciled in as the Sox’s #2 prospect is pretty impressive, but that this kid isn’t their top arm is even more of a nod to the promise of his teammate Noah Schultz (#1).

That’s all for this week! I hope you enjoyed it! Next week, I’ll likely include the Top 100 list again with a few updates in the notes section like I did this week. I assume, or at least hope, I’ll have some results to share with you from our TGFBI and/or RazzSlam drafts that start this week too!

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