Fantasy baseball starting pitcher rankings: Tarik Skubal or Paul Skenes at No. 1?

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The biggest decision fantasy managers have to make on draft day isn't Tarik Skubal vs. Paul Skenes as the No. 1 pitcher, but how long to wait before taking advantage of the position's extraordinary depth. The talent seems to be spread fairly evenly, with little offseason movement between leagues.

The most important quality for pitchers is good durability, with only four pitchers reaching the 200-inning mark last season (and just five others topping 190). Already this spring, Yankees ace Gerrit Cole sustained an elbow injury and will miss the entire season.

In the American League, Garrett Crochet and Jacob deGrom are the biggest wild cards. Both have missed extensive time with injuries recently, but a fully healthy season could propel their fantasy teams to a title. Max Fried joins the Yankees rotation sporting the lowest ERA among all qualified starters over the past four seasons (2.87). Meanwhile, Hunter Brown and Bryan Woo are popular breakout picks.

In the National League, there's tremendous excitement for what Skenes could do in his first full season after posting a microscopic 1.96 ERA and striking out 170 in 133 innings. Zach Wheeler and Corbin Burnes are true workhorses with excellent health records, while Chris Sale and Blake Snell offer Cy Young upside, but come with significant injury risk.

The Dodgers have an abundance of talent in their rotation, but only pitching once a week will limit the fantasy upside for Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and marquee international signing Roki Sasaki. As for potential NL breakouts, target Spencer Schwellenbach, Jared Jones or Brandon Pfaadt.

2025 fantasy baseball starting pitcher rankings

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