These fantasy baseball starting pitcher rankings were pulled Friday morning base on data as of Thursday night. Please be aware the matchups are subject to change.
Top starters
| Rank | Name | Team | Opp. | ERA | K% | BB% |
| 1 | Yu Darvish | TEX | HOU | – | – | – |
| 2 | Adam Wainwright | STL | CHC | 0.00 | 32.1% | 14.3% |
| 3 | Max Scherzer | DET | @LAD | 0.00 | 25.9% | 3.7% |
| 4 | Madison Bumgarner | SF | COL | 0.00 | 14.3% | 9.5% |
| 5 | Felix Hernandez | SEA | OAK | 3.00 | 44.0% | 4.0% |
| 6 | Chris Sale | CWS | CLE | 3.70 | 29.6% | 3.7% |
| 7 | Cliff Lee | PHI | MIL | 14.40 | 3.7% | 3.7% |
| 8 | Jose Fernandez | MIA | @PHI | 1.50 | 39.1% | 0.0% |
| 9 | David Price | TB | @CIN | 2.47 | 21.4% | 3.6% |
| 10 | Homer Bailey | CIN | @STL, TB | 8.37 | 13.6% | 13.6% |
| 11 | Gio Gonzalez | WSH | MIA, @ATL | 1.50 | 27.3% | 4.5% |
| 12 | Michael Wacha | STL | CIN, CHC | 0.00 | 26.9% | 3.8% |
| 13 | Jordan Zimmermann | WSH | MIA | 3.25 | 18.6% | 4.6% |
| 14 | James Shields | KC | @MIN | 4.29 | 12.5% | 4.2% |
| 15 | Anibal Sanchez | DET | @SD | 2.57 | 27.1% | 7.2% |
| 16 | Stephen Strasburg | WSH | @ATL | 6.00 | 40.0% | 8.0% |
| 17 | Alex Cobb | TB | @CIN | 7.20 | 12.5% | 16.7% |
| 18 | Justin Verlander | DET | @SD | 3.00 | 7.1% | 10.7% |
| 19 | Gerrit Cole | PIT | @CHC | – | – | – |
| 20 | Chris Tillman | BAL | TOR | 1.80 | 17.4% | 4.3% |
| 21 | Jered Weaver | LAA | NYM | 4.29 | 22.2% | 11.1% |
| 22 | Justin Masterson | CLE | @CWS | 0.00 | 16.0% | 4.0% |
| 23 | Danny Salazar | CLE | SD | – | – | – |
Additional Information: Yu Darvish is expected to make his season debut on Sunday against the Rays. It appears his neck issues are fine. As long as his stuff looks good, I have no hesitation about starting him in week two. I’m not worried about Cliff Lee. If his first start happened in the middle of July most people would not have noticed. Stephen Strasburg’s fastball velocity was down nearly three mph in his first start of the year. I’m not worried, but if his velocity is still down, then I will be. After watching Jose Fernandez’s season debut, I wouldn’t be surprised if ends the year as the best fantasy starting pitcher.
Backend starters
| Rank | Name | Team | Opp. | ERA | K% | BB% |
| 24 | C.J. Wilson | LAA | @HOU, NYM | 9.47 | 30.8% | 7.7% |
| 25 | Scott Kazmir | OAK | @MIN, @SEA | 0.00 | 20.0% | 0.0% |
| 26 | Hiroki Kuroda | NYY | BAL, BOS | 3.00 | 22.7% | 4.5% |
| 27 | Corey Kluber | CLE | SD, @CWS | 13.64 | 9.1% | 13.6% |
| 28 | Andrew Cashner | SD | DET | 1.50 | 20.8% | 8.3% |
| 29 | Matt Cain | SF | COL | 3.60 | 8.7% | 8.7% |
| 30 | Zack Greinke | LAD | @ARI | 3.60 | 26.3% | 10.5% |
| 31 | Johnny Cueto | CIN | TB | 1.29 | 32.0% | 4.0% |
| 32 | R.A. Dickey | TOR | @BAL | 10.80 | 15.4% | 23.1% |
| 33 | Yordano Ventura | KC | TB | – | – | – |
| 34 | Shelby Miller | STL | CIN | 3.06 | 23.4% | 7.9% |
| 35 | Chris Archer | TB | @KC | 3.00 | 29.2% | 8.3% |
| 36 | A.J. Burnett | PHI | MIA | 1.50 | 11.1% | 7.4% |
| 37 | Julio Teheran | ATL | WSH | 3.00 | 8.3% | 4.2% |
| 38 | Sonny Gray | OAK | @SEA | 0.00 | 26.9% | 11.5% |
| 39 | Jon Lester | BOS | @NYY | 2.57 | 30.8% | 3.8% |
| 40 | Alex Wood | ATL | WSH | 1.29 | 18.5% | 11.1% |
| 41 | Dan Straily | OAK | @MIN | – | – | – |
| 42 | Drew Smyly | DET | @LAD | – | – | – |
| 43 | Rick Porcello | DET | @SD | – | – | – |
| 44 | Jeff Samardzija | CHC | @STL | 0.00 | 12.0% | 8.0% |
Additional Information: Scott Kazmir was extremely effective in his debut with the A’s. He changed speeds effectively, threw a lot of quality strikes, kept the ball down and generated a lot of ground balls. Most importantly, he went seven innings. Last year, he only averaged a little more than five innings per start. He should be owned in all formats. I have questions about the Tigers infield defense, but a start in San Diego is too good to pass up for Rick Porcello. Andrew Cashner pitched well toward the end of 2013, and in 2014 he should be in the first tier, but the Tigers lineup still has me wary. In the preseason, I had Corey Kluber and R.A. Dickey as top 30 starting pitchers, and I’m not jumping off the ship.
Spot starters
| Rank | Name | Team | Opp. | ERA | K% | BB% |
| 45 | Matt Moore | TB | @KC, @CIN | 3.16 | 15.4% | 11.5% |
| 46 | Bartolo Colon | NYM | @ATL, @LAA | 4.50 | 14.8% | 0.0% |
| 47 | Tim Hudson | SF | ARI, COL | 0.00 | 25.9% | 0.0% |
| 48 | James Paxton | SEA | LAA, OAK | 0.00 | 37.5% | 8.3% |
| 49 | Francisco Liriano | PIT | @MIL | 0.00 | 41.7% | 12.5% |
| 50 | Lance Lynn | STL | CIN | 5.40 | 28.0% | 4.0% |
| 51 | Travis Wood | CHC | PIT | 3.11 | 17.5% | 8.0% |
| 52 | Clay Buchholz | BOS | @NYY | 1.75 | 23.1% | 8.7% |
| 53 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | LAD | DET | 0.00 | 27.3% | 9.1% |
| 54 | Michael Pineda | NYY | BOS | – | – | – |
| 55 | Jake Odorizzi | TB | @KC | – | – | – |
| 56 | Drew Hutchison | TOR | @BAL | 0.00 | 20.0% | 15.0% |
| 57 | Wade Miley | ARI | LAD | 5.25 | 26.0% | 6.0% |
| 58 | Marco Estrada | MIL | @PHI | – | – | – |
| 59 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | BAL | – | – | – |
| 60 | Ivan Nova | NYY | BAL, BOS | 3.16 | 3.8% | 19.2% |
| 61 | Mark Buehrle | TOR | HOU, @BAL | 0.00 | 36.7% | 3.3% |
| 62 | Tony Cingrani | CIN | @STL, TB | 0.00 | 37.5% | 8.3% |
Additional Information: Matt Moore still walks too many batters to be a reliable fantasy starter, but with one start in the NL and the other in one of the best pitcher’s parks, the upside is too good to pass up. I was not high on Tony Cingrani entering the season because his success relies entirely on deception. Eventually, he is going to get figured out and this great run of his is going to end. I never saw the top-30 starting pitcher upside with Hyun-Jin Ryu. He’s looked great for the first two starts, but got lit up by the Giants on Friday. Ryu does not pitch inside to right-handed batters and relies on hitting the corners to get outs. It’s extremely difficult to consistently get hitters out that way. It’s possible for that strategy to work. For example, Tom Glavine consistently did that his entire career, but he had elite-level command.
Proceed with caution
| Rank | Name | Team | Opp. | ERA | K% | BB% |
| 63 | Matt Garza | MIL | @PHI | 1.13 | 25.9% | 3.7% |
| 64 | Phil Hughes | MIN | OAK | 7.20 | 29.2% | 4.2% |
| 65 | Hector Santiago | LAA | @SEA | 7.20 | 17.4% | 13.0% |
| 66 | Tyler Skaggs | LAA | NYM | – | – | – |
| 67 | Zack Wheeler | NYM | @ATL | 4.50 | 23.1% | 7.7% |
| 68 | Bronson Arroyo | ARI | @SF | 4.19 | 15.0% | 10.0% |
| 69 | Dan Haren | LAD | DET, @ARI | 0.00 | 26.1% | 0.0% |
| 70 | John Lackey | BOS | TEX, @NYY | 3.00 | 27.3% | 4.5% |
| 71 | Kyle Lohse | MIL | @PHI, PIT | 3.86 | 29.6% | 7.4% |
| 72 | Charlie Morton | PIT | @CHC, @MIL | 0.00 | 26.1% | 4.3% |
| 73 | Edwin Jackson | CHC | PIT, @STL | 1.70 | 23.8% | 19.0% |
| 74 | Jason Vargas | KC | TB, @MIN | 1.29 | 23.1% | 3.8% |
| 75 | Yovani Gallardo | MIL | PIT | 0.00 | 16.7% | 8.3% |
| 76 | Ricky Nolasco | MIN | KC | 7.50 | 14.8% | 7.4% |
| 77 | Garrett Richards | LAA | @SEA | 4.16 | 16.3% | 7.1% |
| 78 | Joe Kelly | STL | CHC | – | – | – |
| 79 | Tommy Milone | OAK | @SEA | – | – | – |
| 80 | Erasmo Ramirez | SEA | OAK | 2.57 | 21.4% | 0.0% |
Additional Information: This is a speculative ranking for Tyler Skaggs because he has yet to pitch, but from reading the scouting reports, his fastball is back in the mid-90s and the curveball is back. If he looks good against the Astros on Saturday, I would bump him up five spots. Phil Hughes, an extreme fly-ball pitcher, gave up a lot of home runs to the White Sox in Chicago. I am not surprised by that outcome. I still believe Hughes can be a very viable streaming option at home. Zack Wheeler struggled with his command again and his fastball dropped two mph again in the fifth inning. If he doesn’t improve his fastball command, he eventually become a late-inning reliever.
Avoid
| Rank | Name | Team | Opp. | ERA | K% | BB% |
| 81 | Jesse Chavez | OAK | @MIN | 1.50 | 16.0% | 8.0% |
| 82 | Taylor Jordan | WSH | @ATL | – | – | – |
| 83 | Brandon Morrow | TOR | HOU | 7.20 | 18.2% | 4.5% |
| 84 | Nathan Eovaldi | MIA | @PHI | 3.00 | 25.0% | 4.2% |
| 85 | Robbie Erlin | SD | @CLE | 0.00 | 50.0% | 0.0% |
| 86 | Roberto Hernandez | PHI | MIL | 4.89 | 17.6% | 5.9% |
| 87 | Scott Feldman | HOU | @TEX | 0.00 | 11.5% | 7.7% |
| 88 | Kyle Gibson | MIN | KC | – | – | – |
| 89 | Jake Peavy | BOS | TEX | 4.03 | 16.9% | 7.1% |
| 90 | Jorge De La Rosa | COL | @SF | 10.47 | 30.0% | 10.0% |
| 91 | Wily Peralta | MIL | PIT | 4.37 | 16.1% | 9.1% |
| 92 | Wei-Yin Chen | BAL | @NYY | 6.32 | 18.5% | 0.0% |
| 93 | Miguel Gonzalez | BAL | @NYY | 3.78 | 16.9% | 7.4% |
| 94 | Martin Perez | TEX | @BOS | 3.16 | 30.4% | 0.0% |
| 95 | John Danks | CWS | CLE | 4.75 | 15.3% | 4.6% |
| 96 | Eric Stults | SD | @CLE | – | – | – |
| 97 | Jason Hammel | CHC | PIT | 1.34 | 21.7% | 4.3% |
| 98 | Tim Lincecum | SF | ARI | 6.00 | 28.0% | 0.0% |
| 99 | Bud Norris | BAL | TOR | 4.79 | 24.6% | 10.3% |
| 100 | Ubaldo Jimenez | BAL | @NYY, TOR | 6.00 | 23.1% | 11.5% |
| 101 | Zach McAllister | CLE | SD, @CWS | 6.75 | 19.0% | 19.0% |
Additional Information: In his first start of the year, Jesse Chavez did not pitch as well as the box score indicated. He benefitted from a good defense behind him and a blunder by the Mariners. Starting in the fifth inning, the velocity of his cutter dropped one to two mph (86-88 mph), and he started leaving the ball up in the zone. If can consistently throw the change-up for strikes, he’ll have a better chance at success deep in the ball game. If he can only go five or six innings, the likelihood of earning a win will decrease. Taylor Jordan is a ground-ball machine and gets an opportunity to pitch in a pitcher’s ballpark. When you’re down this far on the list, you could do a lot worse.