Fantasy Baseball SP Rankings, Dollar Values 2023: Top players, sleepers at starting pitcher

Sloan Piva

Fantasy Baseball SP Rankings, Dollar Values 2023: Top players, sleepers at starting pitcher image

One of the most fun facets of fantasy baseball is the fact that a host of different starting pitching strategies can succeed if executed correctly. With the times a-changing in the MLB — pitch clocks, pickoff rules, defensive shift governance — the most important thing on draft day continues to be picking the right pitchers. In our 2023 SP rankings and projected dollar values, we'll go over your strategic options, rank the top 100 SP-eligible players, and discuss the studs and sleepers who could help take your team the distance this season. 

The first decision you must make is whether you'll go after volume pitchers or ratio pitchers? Gone are the days in which dozens of pitchers threw 200-plus innings. In fact, only 11 players reached 200 innings in 2022. If you can land an elite pitcher who combines volume and ratio, like Corbin Burnes or Gerrit Cole, in the second round (or Sandy Alcantara or Aaron Nola in the third), you should strongly consider it. 

Further down the pool, we're targeting Alek Manoah, Triston McKenzie, Framber Valdez, and Joe Musgrove in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth rounds. If you can come away with one stud starter by the end of the third — and two more of these mid-tier upside SPs by the end of the eighth — your fantasy rotation is looking incredible without taking too much away from your offense. From there, targeting the right sleepers and breakout candidates further down your SP depth chart could push you over the top. 

2023 FANTASY RANKINGS & DOLLAR VALUES:
Cs | 1Bs2Bs | 3Bs | SSs | OFs | RPs | Top 300

Nick Ledolo in the 11th round and Joe Ryan in the 13th strike us as examples of great value picks. Both were very solid last season, and both sit well before their early ADPs on our draft boards. We'd also be willing to take a 12th or 13th-round flyer on Freddy Peralta, who has battled injuries with Milwaukee but looks dominant whenever he actually gets on the mound. And don't forget about Edward Cabrera's incredible changeup in pitcher-friendly LoanDepot Park (formerly known as Marlins Park). He could be a sonic boom for your squad if he stays off the IL this season, so he's well worth a deep dart throw. 

2023 FANTASY SLEEPERS & VALUES:
Cs | 1Bs2Bs | 3Bs | SSs | OFs | SPs | RPs

Determine before your draft when you want to target each SP, and how many starters you ideally want to select before a certain round. Also consider if you'll be prioritizing saves, fading saves a bit, or just punting them altogether. Many pitchers have RP eligibility and you would obviously want to target them in punt-save builds so you could drive up your counting stats like wins and strikeouts. If your league includes home runs allowed, this strategy could come back to bite you unless your guys maintain solid ratios. 

Be sure to check back in with us throughout the preseason as our rankings will be fluid and our sleepers columns throughout the spring will be invaluable to your pre-draft prep. For now, enjoy our initial SP rankings, and good luck strategizing!

Fantasy Baseball SP Rankings 2023: Top players, sleepers at starting pitcher

Position eligibility based on Yahoo's default settings

Rank Player Other Pos. Elig.
1 Corbin Burnes (MIL - SP)  
2 Sandy Alcantara (MIA - SP)  
3 Gerrit Cole (NYY - SP)  
4 Justin Verlander (NYM - SP)  
5 Max Scherzer (NYM - SP)  
6 Brandon Woodruff (MIL - SP)  
7 Jacob deGrom (TEX - SP)  
8 Aaron Nola (PHI - SP)  
9 Shane McClanahan (TB - SP)  
10 Spencer Strider (ATL - SP,RP) RP
11 Shohei Ohtani (LAA - SP,DH)  
12 Carlos Rodon (NYY - SP)  
13 Dylan Cease (CWS - SP)  
14 Shane Bieber (CLE - SP)  
15 Zack Wheeler (PHI - SP)  
16 Alek Manoah (TOR - SP)  
17 Julio Urias (LAD - SP)  
18 Luis Castillo (SEA - SP)  
19 Kevin Gausman (TOR - SP)  
20 Triston McKenzie (CLE - SP)  
21 Cristian Javier (HOU - SP,RP) RP
22 Max Fried (ATL - SP)  
23 Yu Darvish (SD - SP)  
24 Framber Valdez (HOU - SP)  
25 Clayton Kershaw (LAD - SP)  
26 Robbie Ray (SEA - SP)  
27 Joe Musgrove (SD - SP)  
28 Nick Lodolo (CIN - SP)  
29 Logan Webb (SF - SP)  
30 Luis Severino (NYY - SP)  
31 Nestor Cortes Jr. (NYY - SP)  
32 Joe Ryan (MIN - SP)  
33 Zac Gallen (ARI - SP)  
34 Kyle Wright (ATL - SP)  
35 Tyler Glasnow (TB - SP)  
36 Hunter Greene (CIN - SP)  
37 Freddy Peralta (MIL - SP)  
38 Lucas Giolito (CWS - SP)  
39 Pablo Lopez (MIN - SP)  
40 George Kirby (SEA - SP)  
41 Logan Gilbert (SEA - SP)  
42 Blake Snell (SD - SP)  
43 Charlie Morton (ATL - SP)  
44 Jordan Montgomery (STL - SP)  
45 Chris Sale (BOS - SP)  
46 Lance Lynn (CWS - SP)  
47 Chris Bassitt (TOR - SP)  
48 Edward Cabrera (MIA - SP)  
49 Jeffrey Springs (TB - SP,RP) RP
50 Tony Gonsolin (LAD - SP)  
51 Grayson Rodriguez (BAL - SP)  
52 Jon Gray (TEX - SP)  
53 Luis Garcia (HOU - SP)  
54 Brady Singer (KC - SP)  
55 Dustin May (LAD - SP)  
56 Drew Rasmussen (TB - SP)  
57 Jesus Luzardo (MIA - SP)  
58 Miles Mikolas (STL - SP)  
59 Andrew Heaney (TEX - SP)  
60 Hunter Brown (HOU - SP,RP) RP
61 Jose Berrios (TOR - SP)  
62 Merrill Kelly (ARI - SP)  
63 Tyler Anderson (LAA - SP)  
64 Jack Flaherty (STL - SP)  
65 Tyler Mahle (MIN - SP)  
66 Patrick Sandoval (LAA - SP)  
67 Alex Cobb (SF - SP)  
68 Sonny Gray (MIN - SP)  
69 Reid Detmers (LAA - SP)  
70 Nathan Eovaldi (TEX - SP)  
71 Garrett Whitlock (BOS - SP,RP) RP
72 Ranger Suarez (PHI - SP)  
73 Jose Urquidy (HOU - SP)  
74 Justin Steele (CHC - SP)  
75 Marcus Stroman (CHC - SP)  
76 Lance McCullers Jr. (HOU - SP)  
77 Carlos Carrasco (NYM - SP)  
78 Trevor Rogers (MIA - SP)  
79 Sean Manaea (SF - SP)  
80 Eric Lauer (MIL - SP)  
81 Jameson Taillon (CHC - SP)  
82 Kenta Maeda (MIN - SP)  
83 Martin Perez (TEX - SP)  
84 Ross Stripling (SF - SP,RP) RP
85 MacKenzie Gore (WSH - SP)  
86 Jose Quintana (NYM - SP)  
87 Taijuan Walker (PHI - SP)  
88 Adam Wainwright (STL - SP)  
89 Roansy Contreras (PIT - SP)  
90 Noah Syndergaard (LAD - SP)  
91 Eduardo Rodriguez (DET - SP)  
92 Kodai Senga (NYM - SP)  
93 Cal Quantrill (CLE - SP)  
94 Michael Kopech (CWS - SP)  
95 Alex Wood (SF - SP)  
96 Aaron Civale (CLE - SP)  
97 Aaron Ashby (MIL - SP,RP) RP
98 Zach Eflin (TB - SP,RP) RP
99 Steven Matz (STL - SP,RP) RP
100 Bailey Ober (MIN - SP)  

Fantasy Baseball SP Projected Dollar Values

Dollar values courtesy of Fantasy Pros and based on a 12-team mixed league with a $260 budget (70 percent allocated for hitting)

Player Dollar Value
Shohei Ohtani (LAA - SP,DH) $48
Corbin Burnes (MIL - SP) $31
Gerrit Cole (NYY - SP) $29
Justin Verlander (NYM - SP) $29
Jacob deGrom (TEX - SP) $27
Aaron Nola (PHI - SP) $24
Shane McClanahan (TB - SP) $24
Sandy Alcantara (MIA - SP) $23
Shane Bieber (CLE - SP) $22
Carlos Rodon (NYY - SP) $22
Spencer Strider (ATL - SP,RP) $21
Max Scherzer (NYM - SP) $21
Alek Manoah (TOR - SP) $20
Julio Urias (LAD - SP) $20
Brandon Woodruff (MIL - SP) $20
Max Fried (ATL - SP) $19
Zack Wheeler (PHI - SP) $18
Kevin Gausman (TOR - SP) $17
Cristian Javier (HOU - SP,RP) $16
Framber Valdez (HOU - SP) $16
Yu Darvish (SD - SP) $16
Dylan Cease (CWS - SP) $16
Zac Gallen (ARI - SP) $16
Nestor Cortes Jr. (NYY - SP) $13
Triston McKenzie (CLE - SP) $13
Luis Castillo (SEA - SP) $12
Logan Webb (SF - SP) $12
Joe Musgrove (SD - SP) $12
Clayton Kershaw (LAD - SP) $11
Robbie Ray (SEA - SP) $10
Logan Gilbert (SEA - SP) $9
Chris Bassitt (TOR - SP) $9
Joe Ryan (MIN - SP) $9
Drew Rasmussen (TB - SP) $9
Tyler Glasnow (TB - SP) $9
Luis Garcia (HOU - SP) $8
Kyle Wright (ATL - SP) $8
Pablo Lopez (MIN - SP) $8
Blake Snell (SD - SP) $8
George Kirby (SEA - SP) $8
Tony Gonsolin (LAD - SP) $8
Luis Severino (NYY - SP) $8
Jeffrey Springs (TB - SP,RP) $7
Jordan Montgomery (STL - SP) $7
Charlie Morton (ATL - SP) $6
Hunter Greene (CIN - SP) $6
Freddy Peralta (MIL - SP) $6
Miles Mikolas (STL - SP) $5
Lucas Giolito (CWS - SP) $5
Kodai Senga (NYM - SP) $4
Brady Singer (KC - SP) $4
Tyler Anderson (LAA - SP) $4
Jose Urquidy (HOU - SP) $4
Lance Lynn (CWS - SP) $4
Patrick Sandoval (LAA - SP) $4
Alex Cobb (SF - SP) $4
Sonny Gray (MIN - SP) $4
Chris Sale (BOS - SP) $4
Nick Lodolo (CIN - SP) $4
Grayson Rodriguez (BAL - SP) $4
Garrett Whitlock (BOS - SP,RP) $3
Jameson Taillon (CHC - SP) $3
Marcus Stroman (CHC - SP) $3
Jose Berrios (TOR - SP) $3
Dustin May (LAD - SP) $3
Merrill Kelly (ARI - SP) $3
Ranger Suarez (PHI - SP) $3
Andrew Heaney (TEX - SP) $3
Cal Quantrill (CLE - SP) $2
Eric Lauer (MIL - SP) $2
Nathan Eovaldi (TEX - SP) $2
Tyler Mahle (MIN - SP) $2
Reid Detmers (LAA - SP) $2
Zach Eflin (TB - SP,RP) $2
Jon Gray (TEX - SP) $2
Aaron Civale (CLE - SP) $2
Lance McCullers Jr. (HOU - SP) $2
Carlos Carrasco (NYM - SP) $1
Taijuan Walker (PHI - SP) $1
Sean Manaea (SF - SP) $1
Martin Perez (TEX - SP) $1
Adam Wainwright (STL - SP) $1
Jack Flaherty (STL - SP) $1
Noah Syndergaard (LAD - SP) $1
Alex Wood (SF - SP) $1
Ross Stripling (SF - SP,RP) $1
Jesus Luzardo (MIA - SP) $1
Justin Steele (CHC - SP) $1

All other players valued at $0

Sloan Piva

Sloan Piva Photo

Sloan Piva is a content producer for The Sporting News, primarily focused on betting, fantasy sports, and poker. A lifelong New Englander, Sloan earned his BA and MA in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts and now lives in coastal Rhode Island with his wife and two kids.