Fantasy Baseball 2025: Starting Pitcher Rankings

If you’re predominantly choosing offense early on, your pitchers better perform up to standard. I’m here to point out which guys to stake your confidence in. 

Pitching was at an all-time high in 2024. Every fantasy manager was starving for bats while getting by on as many waiver wire arms as possible. Still, I’ve noticed one trend on winning teams in the past: the more aces, the easier their fantasy life becomes.

12. Spencer Schwellenbach

Who? Yeah, that guy with the funny name who was also a shortstop at Nebraska is sneaking into my ace rankings. Not bad, eh?

Yes, Schwellenbach has a lot of hype, but I still don’t see that impacting his ADP just yet in early drafts. Mixing up pitch selection in such a smart way along with elite command is a recipe for success. He could be the greatest value in 2025, don’t let him slip too far down the draft board. 

11. Framber Valdez

Few guys have shown the ability to stay as consistent on the bump as Valdez. It was surprising to see him slip up a little at the beginning of 2024. However, once he was including the curveball more, he was nearly unstoppable.

Valdez finished the year with a 2.91 ERA and is one of the few guys in the league who can eat innings in a way that allows him to throw around 200 per season. I love the stability and trust him to perform when I need him most.

10. Spencer Strider

Going into 2023, you may recall a big debate: deGrom or Strider? That was put to rest after deGrom’s UCL tear. But still, there’s a reason we were having such an argument.

Strider doesn’t have a hefty arsenal, he simply overpowers batters to the point of exhaustion. He will not be ready for the opening of 2025, leaving a huge question mark in terms of his availability. Once he is back, however, give me his ratios all day, especially with such a strong Atlanta offense.

9. Jacob deGrom

I guess we are going to find out if deGrom still has the ability to be the best in the game. The stuff is nasty, no question about it. And I really like how Texas managed his reintroduction to the league late in 2024.

Everything under the hood looked solid, and his price will probably go up the more we see him perform in spring training. Until then, cash in on his ADP discount. 

8. Tyler Glasnow

Many promising careers have been wrecked by health woes. I fear this may end up being the case with Glasnow, unfortunately.

That said, before a late-season ligament issue sidelined him in 2024, he was trending in the right direction. He built up the highest amount of innings he has personally ever thrown at 134. If he can do something relatively similar next season, Glasnow could be a great value play.

Remember, take advantage of those who are scared of injuries as long as the discount is coming later in drafts.

7. Michael King

So Yankee fans, was the Juan Soto trade worth it? After reaching the World Series but failing to execute, it looks as if the Yankees’ task of bringing Soto back could be hard given all of his potential suitors.

To acquire Soto, they lost Michael King and his years of control to the San Diego Padres. Adding insult to injury, King sustained his ratios in his first full year as a starting pitcher. His sweeper is nasty and plays on a team with top talent, forcing my hand to put him at #7.

6. Cole Ragans

It was a win-win trade back in 2023 when Texas sent Ragans to Kansas City in exchange for Aroldis Chapman. The Rangers won a championship, while the Royals got their future ace.

With a few tweaks here and there, it was amazing to see what Ragans turned into. His only flaw is that he occasionally struggles with shaky command. Other than that, his arsenal offers tremendous variety which keeps hitters guessing.

As Kansas City enters its contention window, look for Ragans to get improved run support in the coming seasons. 

5. Garrett Crochet

Ah yes, the one bright spot from the South Side of Chicago. Crochet was the most valuable waiver wire addition in most leagues this past year and for good reason. He led the American League in K/9 at 12.9, sitting down batter after batter with no hard feelings.

Chicago limited his innings as the year progressed, which comforts me when it comes to his health in 2025. And with trade rumors aplenty, I do believe the Sox will move him before the start of the season. If on another team with no innings cap, he has the ability to finish as the #1 overall starting pitcher in fantasy. Yes, I said what I said!

4. Paul Skenes

The only reason Skenes isn’t in the top three is that we’ve only seen him do this at the major league level for 133 innings. I don’t believe any of his performance in 2024 was flukey; the question is whether or not his body will hold up over the course of next season.

The underlying data supports everything Skenes did, and hopefully, he’ll receive a bit more help from his offense in the upcoming year. With how mediocre the Pirates were, it’s impressive to see that Skenes still put up 11 wins in his debut season. 

3. Zack Wheeler

There isn’t anyone on this list who eats innings quite like Wheeler. He is one of few pitchers who reached the 200-inning mark, which is so valuable in today’s MLB and fantasy landscape.

He eclipsed the 1500 career innings mark in 2024 and will look to keep producing such large volume in 2025. Along with Skubal and Sale, he rounds out the clear top three in my opinion.

2. Chris Sale

What a comeback for the 35-year-old! Nobody seemed to trust him for a full year of health. I’m proud to say I try not to pay much attention to injury history when it comes to selecting guys later in drafts, allowing me to cash in on Sale.

He danced to the tune of a 2.38 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and struck out 225 victims in 177.2 innings. He was the sort of pick who changed everything from a value perspective. Sale’s price tag will shoot up this season, but I still like him a lot. Remember, the strong Braves offense is due to reappear, giving him good chances for wins on top of elite ratios. 

1. Tarik Skubal

How insane is it that some people were suggesting the Tigers trade this southpaw at the deadline? Skubal solidified himself as a frontline ace in 2024, and I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t be the primary choice this coming season.

If you really want to see a crazy stat just look at his FIP for the past three seasons: 2.96, 2.00, 2.50. The numbers back it all up for this young and exciting Detroit star.