Fantasy Baseball 2020: Starting Pitcher Rankings and Top Sleepers to Target

The importance of elite starting pitchers is rising in fantasy baseball thanks to MLB's power surge at the plate.

At least, it was before the delayed start to the 2020 season and uncertain schedule turned everything about this campaign into one giant question mark.

However, assuming things don't get thrown too far out of balance in this unique campaign, the difference between a good fantasy starter and a great one could be astronomic. Along a similar vein, the value in a sleeper pitcher could be magnified since there may not be many to find in this power-happy environment.

We'll put both eyes on the position, then, with our top-30 rotisserie ranks and favorite sleepers—players with an average draft position outside the top 200 at Fantasy Pros—at starting pitcher.

Top 30 Roto SP Rankings

1. Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees

2. Jacob deGrom, New York Mets

3. Justin Verlander, Houston Astros

4. Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals

5. Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers

6. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals

7. Jack Flaherty, St. Louis Cardinals

8. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

9. Shane Bieber, Cleveland Indians

10. Luis Castillo, Cincinnati Reds

11. Patrick Corbin, Washington Nationals

12. Mike Clevinger, Cleveland Indians

13. Charlie Morton, Tampa Bay Rays

14. Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox

15. Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies

16. Blake Snell, Tampa Bay Rays

17. Zack Greinke, Houston Astros

18. Jose Berrios, Minnesota Twins

19. Chris Paddock, San Diego Padres

20. Yu Darvish, Chicago Cubs

21. Tyler Glasnow, Tampa Bay Rays

22. Lance Lynn, Texas Rangers

23. Brandon Woodruff, Milwaukee Brewers

24. Trevor Bauer, Cleveland Indians

25. Mike Soroka, Atlanta Braves

26. Madison Bumgarner, Arizona Diamondbacks

27. Corey Kluber, Texas Rangers

28. Hyun-Jin Ryu, Toronto Blue Jays

29. Sonny Gray, Cincinnati Reds

30. Carlos Carrasco, Cleveland Indians

Top Sleeper SPs To Target

Josh James, Houston Astros (ADP: 228)

When you're throwing darts at the lower tier of starting pitchers, you should focus on finding stuff and strikeouts. Josh James offers plenty of both.

With a fastball that runs into the triple digits and a wipeout slider, the ingredients are in place for a major breakout. The 27-year-old had 100 strikeouts in only 61.1 innings last season. His 4.70 ERA wasn't great, but his 3.98 FIP shows potential for substantial improvement.

"James has some of the best pure velocity in baseball, and it results in elite-level strikeout numbers," Michael Waterloo wrote for FantasyPros. "He's a two-pitch pitcher, but if he can develop his changeup more this year, look out."

James should be in line to snag a spot in the Astros' rotation, and if he can keep his walks at a reasonable number, he could deliver massive fantasy value.

Adrian Houser, Milwaukee Brewers (ADP: 238)

Nearly everything about Adrian Houser's 2019 season left a good impression.

He was solid from start to finish, and his year-long production is enough to entice fantasy owners. Considering the cost, people should be more than thrilled to land a player who delivered 116 strikeouts in 111.1 innings while pitching to a respectable 3.72 ERA.

But the 27-year-old hit another gear down the stretch that could brighten his outlook even further. Over his final 12 appearances (all of them starts), he pitched to a 3.28 ERA and .220 batting average against while racking up 63 strikeouts against 16 walks across 57.2 innings.

Now, it's worth noting Houser only pitched six-plus innings three times all season, which spawns a few questions. Does that mean Milwaukee will continue keeping him on a short leash? What could happen to his numbers if the Brewers let him take a third trip through the order?

Those are legitimate concerns, but given his ADP, his risk has already been baked into his price point.

Mitch Keller, Pittsburgh Pirates (ADP: 251)

Surely, we can't be serious, right? You better believe we are.

We get it. Mitch Keller's major league work last season was abysmal. His ERA was on the wrong side of seven (gulp), and his WHIP nearly made it to two (double gulp). But we're still believers in his stuff—through the struggles, he punched out 65 batters in 48 innings—and we're not the only ones.

CBS Sports' Chris Towers wrote:

"Keller clearly has the stuff to thrive at the major league level, and his slider and curveball were both weapons racking up big swinging strike rates with batting averages allowed on both around the Mendoza Line. The key will be using those pitches more, as well as refining his changeup to lengthen his arsenal and help keep lefties off-balance."

The 24-year-old became too predictable with his fastball last season, and the change at pitching coach to the data-driven Oscar Marin should help with that.

If Keller can keep batters guessing, he has the arsenal to blow them away and launch your fantasy staff into the top tier.