The World Series is about to get underway and, from a talent and stardom standpoint, it’s hard to have asked for a better matchup. However, as the 2024 season reaches its final stage, I know many of us will have one eye on the future and expectations for what 2025 will bring. With that in mind, I’m releasing my early 2025 starting pitcher rankings for fantasy baseball.
These are preliminary rankings based on my pitching analysis done this season and my expectations for growth or regression next year. I’ve not yet done any additional deep dives on these pitchers or commenced the days/weeks of research that will preempt my spring training rankings. Still, I thought it might be nice to have a rough sense of what the pitching landscape looks like in 2025.
As always, the pitchers are split into tiers, which I’ve named so you can get a sense of why the pitchers are ranked where they are. The tiers themselves are more important than the rankings inside the tiers, so I wouldn’t split hairs over a few spots in the rankings. I’ve also ranked as if I’m doing a 12-team league, so safe but boring low-end starters take a hit in value, etc.
So let’s dive in.
Yes, I believe there is a legit argument for any of these pitchers to end up as an ace on your fantasy team in 2025. While there may be a more compelling case for the guys at the top, I think any of these guys could carry your squad and so my early strategy is going to be to fade starting pitching in the first few rounds and try to double-tap and pick two of these guys if I can to lead my staff.
All of these pitchers in this tier as rock-solid SP2s for your squad. They could push for SP1 upside but I don’t think they have the consistency or the ceiling of the guys in tier one. However, you are more than happy to shop for multiple arms in this tier.
These pitchers are all potential SP2s but I think they have potential upside that could push them higher than some of the pitchers in the tier above. They also just come with more uncertainty or volatility.
Most of the pitchers in tier 3 are younger than these guys, so I gave them a touch more credit for upside. These are all veterans who have been stellar for years and have the potential to be SP2 types for your fantasy rosters as well, but they have age or injury concerns.
I love the upside of most of these arms, but the downside is that they could be fully off your roster and have hurt your ratios in the process.
This is a tier of veterans who feel solid but don’t really have the upside to excite us too much over the course of a full season.
All of these pitchers have some intriguing potential and could soar up the rankings, but they need to either add a pitch or improve command or consistency, etc.
These are all some of the top pitching prospects in baseball who I think have a legit chance to pitch 80 or more innings in the big leagues this season.
All of these veterans have some injury or performance concerns, but we’ve seen solid upside from them in the past, so maybe we want to take the gamble on them hitting in 2025.
These are all young starters who I think have another level to get based on their raw stuff. However, I have more concerns about them reaching that level than I do the pitchers two tiers above.
This is a tier of pitchers who will be far more valuable in 15-team leagues because they are rock-solid veterans. They just no longer have the upside to be worth a pick in 12-team leagues outside of the final few rounds.
I probably won’t draft any of these guys in a 12-team league but they are the names I will have on my free-agent radar at the start of the season because of their potential upside.
These are more veterans I wouldn’t really consider in 12-team leagues early on. They have more upside than some of the veterans two tiers above but also far more risk.
As the title suggests, these are all some dart throws you could throw at the end of your drafts if these guys win rotation jobs in the spring.
These are all veterans who have a chance to reclaim past fantasy value if they can make some tweaks to their approach or pitch mix.
The final tier is young pitchers/prospects who are less likely to be up early but are guys who could interest me in fantasy leagues.
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