Top 40 Starters for 2026 Fantasy Baseball

The top 40 starters for 2026 fantasy baseball fall roughly in the 75 to 125 overall for those of you who are wondering where we are overall, and, of course, when the rankings are done I will be along with a top 500 overall to show you exactly where we are. Think of this set of starters as your number twos and number threes, but, again, I will have a pitchers’ pairing tool to help with that too. I give and you receive.

Also, Razzball Subscriptions are up and running, and that comes with our online Fantasy Baseball War Room. Here’s Steamer’s 2026 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Hitters and 2026 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Pitchers. All projections included here are mine, and where I see tiers starting and stopping are included. Anyway, here’s the top 40 starters for 2026 fantasy baseball:

NOTE I: All my rankings are currently available on Patreon for the price of a Starbucks coffee, if you get one of those extra grande frappuccino jobbers. Don’t wait for the rankings to come out over the next month, and get them all now.

NOTE II: Free agents are listed as just that and not yet projected. Once a guy signs, I will write out their blurb and add in projections, or remove them, if they sign in an unfavorable place. They are ranked currently where I think they might be if they sign on for a full-time job.

TO RETURN TO THE TOP 20 STARTERS FOR 2026 FANTASY BASEBALL

21. Dylan Cease – This tier started in the top 20 starters for 2026 fantasy baseball. This tier ends at Luzardo. I called this tier, “Wearing flip-flops with socks.” Here’s what I said this offseason, “Signed by the Jays. Cease said to media, “I like what the Jays did with Alek Manoah. I want to take that path.” NOOOOO!!! What? No, he didn’t say that. He said, “I’m going to Canada because I like my milk in a bag.” No, he didn’t say that either. He said he’s a big fan of Rob Ford. RIP, Big Dog! So, Cease is exactly perfect for real baseball — stays healthy, gets Ks, goes deep enough. For fantasy? He’s pretty scary to mess with. He could be fine, ERA was high last year, due to his BABIP and homers allowed. His 11.5 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 should produce around a 3.50 ERA and 220 Ks. Should is a funny thing because it gives one the idea the pitcher has any real control on most of the categories that are out of his control. Personally, waving the white flag on big Ks and maybe okay ratios. The headache that was last year is still too fresh in my mind.” And that’s me quoting me! 2026 Projections: 12-10/3.88/1.28/223 in 183 IP

22. Cole Ragans – This is incredibly hard tier to rank. It feels a little like The Year of Magical Thinking to rank a tier of starters this high and tell you to avoid them. Ideally, this tier is ranked after their respective ADPs so I don’t hear any situations like, “I hear ya to avoid Ragans, but you have ranked at 80 overall (or something like that) and his ADP is 79.” This is harder to figure out because I don’t have his ADP from March magically in my brain as I write this in December. Ragans’s ADP right now is 55 and I’m drafting my first starter around there (a guy in the top 20 starters), so there’s just no way I’m drafting Ragans, where I have him ranked. So, why not draft Ragans? His velocity was fine when he returned from the shoulder injury. This isn’t about that. Maybe without that, I’d be a little kinder about drafting him, but Ragans feels like a throwback to a guy I used to love prior to the pitch clock. I do not love the Big Strikeouts, Iffy Command Guy now. Feels a bit like the AL’s answer to Blake Snell. Call him bALke Snell. Actually, don’t. That doesn’t work. 2026 Projections: 10-9/3.54/1.17/203 in 164 IP

23. Jesus Luzardo – MLB Wrapped sent me a note that said, “Last year I grew three polyps on my lower intestine while viewing Jesus Luzardo starts.” Pretty cool info! Listen, I can get over what a lot of guys do to me. Fantasy baseball is just a friendly competition–As I write this, I’m getting angry at Luzardo again! The 5.56 ERA in May was funny to you? The 5.40 ERA in June? Was that funny? Well, I ain’t haha’ing. His peripherals seem fine (10.6 K/9, 2.8 BB/9) until you remember he is the actual devil. 2026 Projections: 11-10/3.64/1.24/192 in 168 IP

24. Framber Valdez – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Eovaldi. I call this tier, “Bon varyäge.” The tier name is what you say when you’re taking a number two in a fancy joint. You want a cheap number one? Well, that ship has sailed, but how about an expensive number two? I will go over how to draft starters when I do my pairings post, but this tier is essentially when you think your number one might be a little weak, and you wanna bulk up on a strong number two. I stacked this tier with older starters who I feel like can add a nice balance against a possibly lesser number one. This tier, unlike every other tier in the history of Grey’s tiers, shows real maturity. This is a tier of guys who are not flashy, they’re older and safer. What a concept!

As for Framber, signed with the Tigers. Framber went from Houston, the home of the US oil industry, to Exxon’s favorite, Tigers. Only other real option was to marry Fergie and don the Chevron. Not sure if you saw it last year, but purportedly Framber crossed up his Astros catcher and seemed to purposely peg him with a fastball in the chest protector. A lot of people were put off by this. I, sir and five madams, have already drafted him in one league. I love Framber this year and his price. Somehow, he went from an obvious ace to borderline ace-slash-number two with a huge price drop. He’s a bull on innings every year and has a career 3.36 ERA with a 1.20 WHIP. If you could get that from someone who throws 190 IP every year, you wouldn’t take it? Snooty, snoot! That’s what I say to you. 2026 Projections: 14-7/3.54/1.18/185 in 189 IP

25. Kevin Gausman – “There is value in a vet who can gut out a solid season,” he said with a hard G for guttural and Gausman. “Have splitter will travel,” as Gausman’s bumper sticker reads. Until we see Gausman fall flat on his face or just start to lose skills that made him successful for the last six years, then why aren’t we excited to draft him? I ask myself, a guy who hasn’t been excited about drafting him for the last handful of years. I saw the fall off from 11.5 K/9 to 8 K/9 in 2024 and got shook, but if it’s coming with a 2.5 BB/9 or lower and a 3.50 ERA or lower, then who cares if the Ks left him a bit, especially when he’s still got a splitter that he throws nearly 40% of the time, which has a .180 BAA. 2026 Projections: 12-8/3.47/1.11/181 in 192 IP

26. Brandon Woodruff – Was as out on Woodruff as one can be. I was Plasticmeow but not Woodruff (does that make sense? I hope not). He proved me wrong and I’m here to get hurt. He had his shoulder completely repaired, a surgery that wasn’t very successful previously, but it also had much fewer recipients than, say, Tommy John. Like three pitchers had his specific surgery vs. six bajillion having Tommy John. So, maybe more pitchers who have the surgery, the better the results will be and Woodruff is the first of many with good results. His stuff was flat-out ridiculous upon return: 11.6 K/9, 2 BB/9, and added a cutter and sweeper, losing the slider almost completely and throwing the fastball a lot less (where his velo was admittedly down). Woodruff became a pitcher. I’m not convinced that over the season he’s going to be able to keep this reinvigorated K% but he can fall to a 9.5+ K/9 if he’s got that pinpoint command. Also, never underestimate a good team like the Brewers with pitching. 2026 Projections: 11-7/3.53/1.03/167 in 152 IP

27. Nathan Eovaldi – No one ever wants Eovaldi. I don’t get it. His current ADP is about thirty spots after this. Sandy Alcantara is being drafted before him. Sandy Alcantara who had a 5.36 ERA last year in 174 2/3 IP! I know ERA isn’t everything, but c’mon. Eovaldi had a 1.73 ERA in 130 IP. Is this serious? I’m going to give you his last six ERAs: 3.72, 3.75, 3.87, 3.63, 3.80, 1.73. Now for his last six K/9’s: 9.7, 8.5, 8.3, 8.8, 8.9. His career BB/9 is under 2.5. Is he reliable for 200 IP? No, but there’s no one safer than Eovaldi for 130 to 170 IP.  2026 Projections: 12-7/3.41/1.04/142 in 146 IP

28. Nick Lodolo – This is a new tier. This tier goes until Yesavage. I call this tier, “Get fitted for a tuxedo shirt now.” After the season, there’s gonna be so much excitement and congratulations rolling in from your fantasy baseball championships, you won’t have time to get fitted for your tuxedo shirt then, so now’s the time. This tier is gonna get yo’self some championships. This is the tier where you’re going to win or lose your league. These are the starters I am most excited about and will be drafting repeatedly without caution over and over again and again, same sentiment, same sentiment, same sentiment! I love all of these starters. At least three of these guys will be in the top 20 starters next year. Also, you might find yourself thinking, “Yo, Grey, if I were a female or into males, you and I would snog, but some of these guys are ranked way too high.” That’s fine, draft them when you need to, i.e., look at their ADP and draft them a round or two before that.

To help with my pitchers’ pairing tool update, I keep tier names the same year over year, and looking at this tier of “Guys I Gotta Get!” is just exhilarating. I feel like I have Viagra rushing through every extremity. My thumbs are hard. I cannot express to you how happy each of these guys makes me. This tier last year had Hunter Brown, Freddy Peralta, and Carlos Rodon and some other guys who weren’t good like Brandon Pfaadt. Rodon (5), FreddyKBB (6), and Brown (9) were all in the top 10 starters last year on the Player Rater. They were all better than Yamamoto, deGrom and Wheeler to name a few. Yes, better than Yamamoto. You only think Yamamoto was better because of his insane postseason. So, does three guys who ended up in the top 10 starters last year negate a few bad Brandon Pfaapples? I’d say absolutely. A guy like Pfaadt is droppable, guys like Rodon, Freddy Peralta and Hunter Brown can win you your league.

As for Lodolo, I need to give you an FYI. I nearly wrote a Lodolo sleeper — had that sucker teed up, ready to go deep, no gutter, only pins, to mix three sports metaphors — but I didn’t want to write another Reds pitcher as a sleeper. I do sorta love a lot of Reds’ pitchers this year, but Burns was the guy I went with as the sleeper. So, Lodolo’s got everything under the hood looking purdy — 9 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, 3.66 xFIP. This was a guy who had a 11.4 K/9 his rookie year but couldn’t control his pitches. To repeat: He just had a 1.8 BB/9. If he combines an 11 K/9 and a 1.8 BB/9 — two things he’s already done in separate seasons — he will be a top four pitcher this year. Barring injuries, it’ll be Skenes, Skubal, Crochet, Lodolo, in some order. I’m starting to get worked up again and thinking I should’ve wrote the sleeper post for Lodolo anyway. 2026 Projections: 10-6/3.41/1.07/167 in 158 IP

29. Chase Burns – Already gave you a Chase Burns sleeper. It was written while saying, “Don’t mind if I do!” 2026 Projections: 9-5/3.49/1.18/168 in 132 IP

30. Emmet Sheehan – Already gave you an Emmet Sheehan sleeper. It could’ve been a contenda. 2026 Projections: 10-4/3.18/1.03/158 in 136 IP

31. Cam Schlittler – This tier makes me nutzo. I am full-on nutty. I want to eat acorns out of tiny squirrel hands and go to a mental asylum to try on straitjackets I am so nutty for the guys in this tier. Last year, Schlittler threw 73 IP with a 10.4 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and 2.96 ERA. Clearly, the ERA is a bit lucky with that many walks. A lot of Ks can make up for walks though, obviously. The other issue is there an adjustment period when a guy spends his first full year in the majors. These are not dealbreakers, these points are why he’s not in the top 20 starters. His 98 MPH fastball induced a .174 BAA and he threw it 56% of the time. I don’t want to be his elbow in three years, but he can just blow people away. When you can rear back and let loose in any situation, how bad could things get? Is Schlittler suddenly not going to have one of the best fastballs in baseball? Then he would be injured, and that’s a different story. Similar story to Misiorowski, but he’s a bit lower because his BB/9 is worse. 2026 Projections: 10-7/3.74/1.19/171 in 151 IP

32. Eury Perez – The FRIEND Zone is whenever you have a very dumb anecdotal reason to draft or not draft a starter. The FRIEND Zone is “For the Really Inept En Dumb Zone.” Eury is entering the FRIEND Zone, the anecdotal note that a guy is suddenly good in his third year. Some of you old heads might remember the other FRIEND Zone, which was a pitcher would be bad just because he pitched 30 IP over his previous year, also known as the Verducci Effect. That was back when Sports Illustrated existed and wasn’t just a collection of videos of bunny rabbits or whatever it is now. Besides Eury being in the FRIEND Zone, where the only tail he’s getting is the late movement on his fastball, he’s likely one of the highest upside guys out of all the starters. I could’ve wrote 1,000 words about all these guys as sleepers. Also, Eury’s downside is as obvious. He’s either going to be a 10 K/9, 2.50 ERA pitcher or a 4.50 ERA pitcher with the same Ks. Nothing in-between here, but I will project him somewhere in-between. 2026 Projections: 7-10/3.67/1.08/167 in 148 IP

33. Nolan McLean – Already gave you my Nolan McLean fantasy. It was written while having zero cause for concern. Put these guys on my fantasy team! 2026 Projections: 10-8/3.87/1.26/164 in 147 IP

34. Jacob Misiorowski – Bounced around a bit on my feelings on The Miz, not the wrestler, though, those feelings have bounced around a bit too. I’m sure I told this story before, but I went out to dinner with him once and he got something on his shirt and it really tweaked him. I had never seen a guy get so upset about a stain on his shirt. I was like, “It’s only a shirt,” and he was like, “Do you know where this shirt is from?” And I was like, “Salvation Army?” and he ignored my joke and was like, “No, it’s Versace,” or somewhere douchey. Any hoo! I had this Miz up above Chase Burns, but his command scares the bejesus out of me. I loved Miz when he was free off waivers last year, but now I’m kinda on the fence with him until we see rein in his walks a bit. He could be a 12 K/9, 4 BB/9 and make that work for him, but that is an insane tightrope to walk. Or a top rope to walk, like The Undertaker (a much better wrestler, by the way). 2026 Projections: 9-8/3.83/1.27/164 in 144 IP

35. Trey Yesavage – Already gave you my Trey Yesavage fantasy. It was written while wondering why only girls wanna have fun. 2026 Projections: 8-8/3.88/1.38/154 in 133 IP

36. Spencer Strider – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until top 60 starters for 2026 fantasy baseball. I call this tier, “Raining cold water on the pants tent.” This is just a tier of guys who could be good, but Redd Foxx would call you a big ol’ dummy if you drafted any of them. Ain’t no thing in my chicken and wing combo, but, hell, if I’m paying full price for any of these guys. I am ye of little faith while listening to Faith No More after ripping Faith Evans out of my Word Up magazine, while guessing LIARS every day for Wordle. I’ve given you so many starters who I like up until this point, I’m just taking a little breaksie and giving you some starters I’m out on.

As for Strider, if you’re like, “Imma choose to throw out his previous season,” and still draft him. Be my guest, but what Imma say real quick is, make sure you know what you’re throwing out, so you have all the info to make the choice to ignore it. His 2nd half was worse than the 1st half, but the 1st half wasn’t good. His 63 2/3 IP in the 2nd half of 8.1 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 were basically what you could find off waivers in most mixed leagues. Those perfs came with a 4.95 ERA. Really bad. I want the old Strider back too, but are we just guessing he’s gonna be better? I don’t like guessing. Trust me, I wanted to like Strider and did all I could to move him up. I didn’t easily come up with an avoid for him, but I’m honestly shocked at how high people are drafting him. He was incredibly mediocre last year. 2026 Projections: 10-10/3.88/1.28/174 in 162 IP

37. Tyler Glasnow – Here’s the thing with Dodgers’ starters: They don’t need to throw 175+ IP, so if they’re unable (like Glasnow or Snell or Ohtani), they won’t. As long as Glasnow is on the Dodgers, and a 130-ish IP pitcher, it’s hard to draft him. He’s shown no desire to throw anywhere close to a full season, and, when you’re looking at the postseason as the only thing that matters, I don’t see that changing. Now, if he were a 10 K/9, 1-ish BB/9, 2.50 ERA pitcher that we were discussing, I’d happily get on board for 120 IP (at the right price), but his Ks are falling and his command is getting worse. It’s all kinda meh, and I suggest you pass on Glasnow this year. 2026 Projections: 7-4/3.51/1.13/146 in 126 IP

38. Nick Pivetta – For eight years, “Nick Pivetta is so unlucky, he’s gotta be better!” For eight years, “Damn, he’s unlucky again. Welp, I am a smooth-brained sucker.” Then Nick Pivetta is good last year and exceeds his xFIP. Finally! Finally! Finally, making good on his promise! Now, “Meh, Nick Pivetta can’t be good again.” This is true. That is how I am putting him in this tier to ignore, but I can’t help to feel like last year is not repeatable without some more luck, which I don’t want to rely on. He’s excellent for innings (and there’s some value to that) and Ks (more value) but he seems to have cut his HR/9, but that doesn’t look sustainable and his ratios could take a hit. 2026 Projections: 10-8/3.89/1.13/187 in 171 IP

39. Sonny Gray – Here’s what I said this offseason, “Traded to the Red Sox for Dick Fitts. Guess Dick Fitts better in St. Louis. So, as many of you know, Sonny Gray has been a long-time friend of Grey. A FOG. Gray is my Sonny. To the east is the Sonny up, and to the west is Gray. He’s been my north star. I love K-BB. I set my clock to that shizz. As I’ve said so many times before, if you lost your rankings the day of your draft, you could just draft pitching based on K-BB. Sonny Gray’s one of the best for K-BB: 10 K/9, 1.9 BB/9. So, now? Fenway sucks for him. He’s already had so many problems with BABIP and now he goes to one of the worst parks for BABIP for pitchers? I might’ve been looking for a reason to avoid Sonny, but now I have it.” And that’s me quoting me! 2026 Projections: 12-9/3.91/1.26/182 in 171 IP

40. Michael King – He re-signed with the Padres for $75M for three years, which is whatever, but it is so odd to me that I hear every offseason this for three months, “Padres lost their owner, they need to sell off assets,” then they start buying. I swear it’s been like this for the past few years. Any hoo! Michael King has some serious issues. After he returned from three months on the IL with a shoulder injury, he pitched fairly mediocrely. It was a 6.11 ERA in 17 2/3 IP, but one of those starts in there was a 3 IP, 8 ER. More concerned about the 6.1 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 after he returned. Maybe the offseason of rest fixed him; it’s encouraging the Padres gave him that much money, you’d think they’d know his health better than most, but I can’t get in on King just because the Padres throw around their money. It’s their kink and he’s not my King. 2026 Projections: 10-8/3.69/1.23/148 in 142 IP

CONTINUE ONTO THE TOP 60 STARTERS FOR 2026 FANTASY BASEBALL