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2026 Dynasty MLB Starting Pitcher Preview

Prospects Live February 25, 2026

Pitching is one of, if not the most divisive, positions in fantasy baseball. Do you try to get pocket aces? Do you fade pitching and target it heavily in the later rounds? Or do you aim for a balanced mix of arms and bats? Regardless of your personal strategy, there is plenty of talent up and down the pitching landscape as we head into 2026.

Aside from the unicorn that is Shohei Ohtani, who frankly deserves a category of his own, the top of the list is an undeniable group of three with Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes, and Garrett Crochet, any of which could be taken within the first 10-15 picks of a startup draft. They offer everything you want out of a dynasty ace - sterling ratios, plenty of strikeouts, an ability to rack up an abundance of innings, and they’re all under the age of 30.

If you don’t want to spend a first-round pick on an arm, don't worry, because there is plenty of talent in the next wave, too. That group is led by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who arguably could be in his own tier, and bridges the gap between the elite of the elite and the next-best names, which include the color Hunters, Greene and Brown, Cristopher Sanchez, Logan Gilbert, Cole Ragans, and Bryan Woo. This group can still provide across-the-board contributions for your fantasy team, but they do come with slightly more questions, be those based on durability, strikeout upside, or just an all-around lower ceiling than the big three. These names can largely be had outside the top 25, which means you can set up a nice base for your offense before snagging your fantasy ace.

Those are the only 11 names that fall within our top 50 overall, but the 50-100 range is stocked full of arms with another 20 starting pitchers landing inside that range. It includes a number of established veterans like Logan Webb, Max Fried, Freddy Peralta, and Blake Snell, who all come with their strengths and (modest) weaknesses, but we know what we’re going to get out of them. There’s also the next wave of young talent in this group that includes Chase Burns, Eury Perez, Nolan McLean, Trey Yesavage, Cam Schlittler, and Bubba Chandler (who admittedly falls just outside the top 100) who will be looking to establish themselves in the big leagues and could all be top 50 overall dynasty talents by the time the season is over.

Littered throughout the rest of the rankings, you can find arms with plenty of reason to buy, but usually they come with one carrying tool and some question marks. You’ve got names with strikeout upside like Jonah Tong, Tyler Glasnow, Mackenzie Gore, and Edward Cabrera. There are also ratio stabilizers like Sonny Gray, Nathan Eovaldi, and Ranger Suarez. Regardless of what you prefer, there will be plenty of arms throughout the draft that can bolster your staff.

The biggest concern with pitching will always be injuries, and with more and more injuries seeming to happen every year, the Dodgers might be on to something with the way they collect pitching talent like infinity stones to ensure they have a full gauntlet at the end of the year. Whether that means you want to collect a handful of the best of the best or shop in the middle tiers is up to you, but you will certainly need to load up on talented arms to win your fantasy leagues.

Buys and Sells at the bottom of the article

2026 Dynasty MLB Outfield PreviewThe Dynasty Team ranks by position with buys and sells based on the January Dynasty 1500 update.Prospects LiveProspects Live Staff

1. Tarik Skubal, DET, LHP (MLB)

42 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 2.43 ERA, 31.0% K, 5.4% BB, 25.6% K-BB, 45.0% GB

Photo Credit: Jose Juarez

What is there to say about Tarik Skubal that hasn't been said? Skubal followed up his 2024 Cy Young-winning season by further improving his ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts in 2025 to become just the 12th pitcher to win the award in back-to-back seasons. Entering his age-29 season, Skubal appears to only be getting stronger, if that's even possible. His average fastball velocity increased from 97 MPH in 2024 to 97.7 MPH in 2025, while compiling an elite 27.8% K-BB rate. The intrigue with Skubal will come after the 2026 season, as his impending free agency is already creating plenty of fanfare. For as long as we are lucky enough, Skubal is a must-watch whenever he toes the rubber, and dynasty managers lucky enough to have him should enjoy the ride. - David Gofman

2. Paul Skenes, PIT, RHP (MLB)

43 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 2.5 ERA, 30.4% K, 6.6% BB, 23.7% K-BB, 45.8% GB

Photo Credit: Associate Press

Is there really anything we can say about Skenes that isn't just readily apparent? After getting his innings limited in 2024, he proved he can handle a full-season workload in 2025 with 187.2 IP in 32 starts, with just the 12th season in the last 30 years with an ERA under 2.00. Combined with his rookie season, Skenes is now 320.2 IP deep into his career with a 1.96 ERA. He and Tarik Skubal make up the 1a, 1b starters in the league. We just need to pray for continued health to keep up his HOF career trajectory. - Smada

3. Garrett Crochet, BOS, LHP (MLB)

44 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 2.53 ERA, 31.7% K, 6.6% BB, 25.1% K-BB, 46.5% GB

Photo Credit: Matt Stone

Garrett Crochet is a top 3 pitcher in dynasty, and not much more needs to be said. However, if you need to be convinced, let's take a closer look at the profile. His trio of fastballs (4-seam, cutter, and sinker) returned a 95th percentile run value in 2025, while his sweeper was 99th percentile. His changeup, which he only threw 4% of the time because his other pitches were so dominant, still returned a 77th percentile run value. He was near the top of the league in almost every pitching stat and metric, including leading the entire league in strikeouts with 255. Though health will always be a factor for any arm, the days of worrying that injuries might push him to the bullpen are in the past. Instead, Crochet is poised to fight for AL Cy Young awards for years to come, and any fantasy manager should be lucky to roster him. - Kyle Sonntag

4. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, LAD, RHP (MLB)

51 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 2.9 ERA, 28.0% K, 8.2% BB, 19.8% K-BB, 48.4% GB

Photo Credit: Elijah Smith

Yamamoto was an All-Star and finished third in Cy Young voting in his second season in MLB, where he pitched to a 2.49 ERA in 173.2 IP across 30 starts. In the postseason, he was utterly dominant, with two complete games in a row against the Brewers and Blue Jays, as well as a 2.2 IP relief outing in Game 7 of the World Series to seal the Dodgers’ fate as back-to-back World Series champions, and earning WS MVP honors in the process. With Yamamoto’s combination of stuff and command — his ability to strike out batters and induce weak contact on the ground — he is easily one of the best starting pitchers in the game, especially given that he’ll be just 27 years old in 2026. Even PLIVE+, which tends to be conservative on projecting pitchers, projects him for a 2.90 ERA, behind only Skubal, Skenes, Crochet, Wheeler, and Greene. - Raj Mehta

5. Hunter Greene, CIN, RHP (MLB)

50 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 2.82 ERA, 30.8% K, 8.3% BB, 22.5% K-BB, 34.2% GB

Photo Credit: cincinnati.com

Yet another injury stalled out what looked like Hunter Greene's ascension to Ace-dome in 2025. Prior to going down with his first groin injury, he had strung together 8 starts with a 30.1% K-BB. After a couple of middling starts between the second groin IL stint, he finished strong with a complete season line of 107.2 IP, 2.76 ERA, and a career-high 31.4% K. The only concern with the profile is the HR ball, but the rest of the stuff is so good that he's solidly outperformed all ERA estimators over his last 45 starts despite the wart. Greene enters his age-26 season as a Cy Young contender... he just needs to stay healthy. - Smada

6. Hunter Brown, HOU, RHP (MLB)

58 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 3.25 ERA, 26.3% K, 8.0% BB, 18.2% K-BB, 48.7% GB

Photo Credit: Michael Wyke

Brown turned into a surefire ace in 2025 and ended 3rd in Cy Young voting in the American League. While Brown's 2.43 ERA was a bit on the lucky side, all his ERA estimators ended up in the 3.10-3.20 range. He's basically blemish-free entering 2026, having stayed off the injured list since his debut in late 2022 while experiencing small bumps in velo each year. The only piece missing from the puzzle is the workhorse 200+ IP season, as his three full-season totals have been 155.2, 170, and 185.1 IP. As a dynasty starter, he sits in the middle of that second tier of pitchers after the big 3 in Skubal, Skenes, and Crochet. If you need an ace on your squad, there are worse investments than paying full price for Brown. - Smada

7. Cristopher Sanchez, PHI, LHP (MLB)

52 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 2.91 ERA, 24.9% K, 6.3% BB, 18.6% K-BB, 54.8% GB

Photo Credit: Bill Streicher

Slowly but surely, Sanchez has ascended into the stratosphere of truly elite starting pitchers, thanks to exceptional command and increasingly impressive strikeout potential. The 6’ 6 southpaw finished 2025 as the unanimous runner-up for the National League Cy Young Award, thanks to career-best marks in wins (13), ERA (2.50), FIP (2.55), and strikeout rate (26.3%). Despite being largely a two-pitch pitcher, Sanchez induces grounders better than almost anyone else, with his 58.5% ground-ball rate placing him in the top two percent of all qualified arms last season. With Zack Wheeler’s availability for Opening Day 2026 somewhat in doubt, Sanchez heads into his age-29 campaign as the de facto ace of the Philadelphia rotation and one of the most underrated players in the sport. Fantasy managers should value him as a top-ten starting pitcher for next season, and a top-50 dynasty asset overall. - Lucas Morel

8. Logan Gilbert, SEA, RHP (MLB)

60 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 3.31 ERA, 26.3% K, 5.9% BB, 20.4% K-BB, 41.2% GB

Photo Credit: mlb.com

After his breakout 2024 season, Gilbert put together another great season for the Mariners. In some areas, he took steps forward and in some, he fell back, but all in all, he was what dynasty managers expected. Gilbert missed 6 weeks in May/June due to a Grade 1 flexor strain and was a little up-and-down upon returning. Part of the reason for his inconsistencies was a slight drop in velocity; Gilbert sat at 95.4 mph with his fastball, which was a tick down (96.6 mph) from 2024. Despite the dip, Gilbert elevated his strikeout rate from 27.4% in 2024 to 32.3% in 2025. This was mainly due to a pitch-mix adjustment, where he increased the usage of his slider and splitter, two of his higher-whiff offerings. The flexor strain and velo drop are mildly concerning because much of his value comes from his ability to pile up innings. With a healthy season, Gilbert remains among the top Tier 2 SP options in the game. - Greg Hoogkamp

9. Cole Ragans, KCR, LHP (MLB)

54 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 3.03 ERA, 31.7% K, 8.7% BB, 23.0% K-BB, 42.0% GB

Photo Credit: Clutch Points

2025 was a bit of a down year for Ragans, both in terms of performance and injury. On the performance front, his ERA jumped to 4.67, but many other numbers under the surface actually remained the same, and some even got better - he lowered his walk rate by 1% while raising his K% nearly 10%, resulting in a stellar 30% K-BB rate and an expected ERA of 2.63, more than two full runs better than his actual mark. What did regress was his ground ball rate (41% to 37%) and his ability to suppress barrels (6.2% to 9.5%), which resulted in career-worst marks in BABIP, left-on-base percentage, and HR/FB rate. He also suffered a rotator cuff injury that sidelined him from early June to the middle of September, but he was dominant when he returned with a 2.77 ERA and 0.77 WHIP, albeit across just 13 innings to end the year. He still has the makings of a dominant arm, so if you can stomach the injury risk, that, along with his 2025 numbers, could create a buy-low opportunity for a manager looking to take their team to the next level. - Kyle Sonntag

10. Bryan Woo, SEA, RHP (MLB)

58 PLIVE-, Peak Projection: 3.23 ERA, 24.8% K, 5.6% BB, 19.1% K-BB, 39.9% GB

Photo Credit: Seattle Times

Durability was the big question mark for Woo coming into 2025, but he responded with the best campaign of his young career. The 25-year-old tossed 186 and 2/3 innings, and put up a sparkling 2.94 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in the process. While he outperformed his 3.47 FIP slightly, his command remains among the best in the business (4.9% walk rate). Woo’s four-seam fastball blossomed into one of the game’s most dominant offerings as well, generating the second-most run value (21) in the league among four-seamers. The right-hander definitely benefits from taking the mound in Seattle’s T-Mobile Park half of the time, which remains by far the most pitcher-friendly environment in the majors, but this home-field advantage only strengthens his fantasy projections moving forward. No longer an underrated breakout candidate, Woo heads into 2026 as a top-15 starting pitcher and a top-50 dynasty asset overall. - Lucas Morel

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