Starting Pitcher Fantasy Baseball Sleepers, Value Picks for Best Ball Drafts (2026)

January 30, 2026

Casey Wilson's starting pitcher (SP) fantasy baseball sleepers, values picks for 2026 best ball drafts. His undervalued pitchers with fantasy upside based on ADPs.

Welcome back to our starting pitcher fantasy baseball value picks and sleepers for 2026 best ball leagues. For those not familiar, best-ball formats in fantasy baseball are a fun and easy way to play, as the commitment is minimal. After drafting your teams, no other team maintenance is required -- no setting lineups, no waiver wire moves, and no trades.

There are many reasons I have gravitated toward best-ball over traditional fantasy formats. First, the massive prize pools are hard to pass up. I am a DFS player at heart, so having massive payouts is an awesome bonus. Secondly, best ball leagues require minimal effort. Once you draft your teams, all you have to do is root. Third, there is a massive advantage to using our best-ball rankings here at RotoBaller. I would advise you to drag the rankings straight into Underdog.

There are several strategies regarding best ball. You can follow me @CaseyW22 on X to get more advice. My favorite strategy for those familiar with NFL best ball is similar to the "Zero RB" strategy, where we will implement a "Zero SP" strategy. In many drafts, I am not drafting starting pitching until the later rounds. This article will help guide you on targets to load up on late in drafts, while you target position players specifically, outfielders, early.

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Starting Pitcher Value Picks for 2026

For this article, we are going to focus on Underdog's best ball scoring, as it is one of the more popular platforms to play on. The table below shows you how it is scored and how positions are scored.

*ADP is reflective of Underdog

Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves

ADP: 86.2

As I mentioned in the article introduction, I am not drafting starting pitchers in most of my drafts until the seventh round, where I find myself clicking Strider. Sure, I am grabbing Paul Skenes and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in drafts when they fall, but I will have many shares of Strider.

One of the main reasons I am buying into Strider is that he is now a year removed from Tommy John surgery. I actively avoid pitchers coming back from Tommy John until they have at least half a season under their belt the year before. That is the case here for Strider, and I expect his command to come back to earth in 2026.

In 2023, the year before injury, Strider had a 2.92 xFIP, 36.8% K rate, 18.9% SwStr rate, 7.6% BB rate. Strider had a 29.2% K-BB% during this time. Last season, his first back from injury, Strider posted a 4.24 xFIP, 24.3% K rate, 13.9% SwStr, and a 9.5% BB rate. He had a 14.8% K-BB last season.

And some #MLB starters who probably underperformed in K% last season based on their SwStr%

Will post some data and observations on walk rates next...(3/3) pic.twitter.com/aSZJvrgR79

— "Thunder Dan" Palyo (@ThunderDanDFS) January 6, 2026

If Strider gets his command back, I expect the strikeouts to increase over 30% and his K-BB to climb over 20%. This will push him into the top five among starting pitchers in best ball, giving us major value in the seventh rounds of drafts.

Eury Perez, Miami Marlins

ADP: 122.9

Eury Perez is an ace in the making, and I think he takes that step in 2026. His stuff is elite, and he is one of my favorite dark-horse Cy Young bets for 2026. He is an arm that can win us best-ball drafts and pair with Strider, and Chase Burns allows us to have three aces and draft elite bats early.

Perez, who is still only 22 entering this season, will take over as the Marlins' top gun. In 2025, he posted a 3.67 xFIP, 27.3% K rate, and 13.3% SwStr. Our own ATC projects Perez to have a 3.82 xFIP, a 27.3% K rate, and a 13.3% SwStr in 2026.

Perez runs his fastball into the triple digits, with a fastball that averages 97.9 mph. There are reports he has added 15 pounds to his frame, which should help him consistently pitch into triple digits deeper into games. Perez's slider is the pitch that is the most lethal. He throws it 23% of the time, and it has a 39.9% whiff rate.

Miami #Marlins starting pitcher Eury Pérez took the time for an exclusive interview with @FishOnFirst to talk about his offseason so far.

He also confirmed that he will NOT be participating in the World Baseball Classic. The Dominican Republic did not reach out to him. pic.twitter.com/lZiA5fphee

— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) January 24, 2026

I would click on his name at the end of the ninth round to make sure I don't miss out on a potential breakout season.

Chase Burns, Cincinnati Reds

ADP: 126.0

For those of you who follow my content, you know how much I love Burns. I believe this kid is Skenes-level good, and he showed glimpses of it last season. I hope the Reds take the training wheels off him and unleash him, because if that's the case, he will be a top-15 starting pitcher in 2026.

Burns flashed that upside in 2025, posting a 2.68 xFIP, 35.6% K, 15.8% SwStr, and a 27.1% K-BB. Those are elite-level numbers that not many pitchers achieved last season. I view the Reds as a team that will compete in 2026 and will unleash Burns.

Starters with 40+ innings in 2025 to have an xFIP under 3.00 and a K-BB% above 25%...

Chris Sale, Logan Gilbert, Garrett Crochet, Zack Wheeler, Tarik Skubal, Shohei Ohtani, Cole Ragans, and...

Chase Burns.pic.twitter.com/DO1ZBawvZY

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) January 14, 2026

Burns has a fastball that averaged 98.7 mph last season and one he often ran into the triple digits. Just like Perez, his fastball is a weapon and is a put-away pitch for him, as he had 30 strikeouts on his fastball in 2025. His slider is also an elite pitch, as he recorded 32 strikeouts with it and a 43.9% whiff rate.

I have been watching Burns compete since he pitched for Tennessee in the Hattiesburg Regional, and he has the "it" factor you look for in an ace. Let's just hope the Reds unleash the beast.

Emmet Sheehan, Los Angeles Dodgers

ADP: 210.7

Emmet Sheehan has been climbing in drafts over the last month or so, but I still love him at his current ADP. He's going very late, and you can still take him in the 17th round or later. I expect the Dodgers to go to a six-man rotation, but at the current ADP, there is no risk here getting one start a week out of him with upside if someone gets hurt.

Even if the Dodgers adopt a six-man rotation, the ADP in the last two rounds for Sheehan is risk-free. Why take a rookie who won't pitch for half the season when you can get a starter who posted a 2.82 ERA in 2025, pitching for the best team in baseball?
pic.twitter.com/QLhCkwvTXu

— Casey Wilson (@CaseyW22) January 4, 2026

Sheehan was tremendous in 2025. He had a 2.82 ERA, 30.6% K rate, 15.6% SwStr rate, and a 23.0% K-BB. He creates a ton of whiffs on all of his pitches. His slider in particular stands out, with a 43.6% whiff and 41 strikeouts in 2025.

Sheehan at this ADP is a steal in all drafts and should be your fifth starting pitcher with the "Zero SP" strategy.

Thomas White, Miami Marlins

ADP: 239.9

Thomas White is an arm I am drafting in the last round of drafts as my seventh and final starting pitcher. The Marlins cleared house this winter, and I expect them to move Sandy Alcantara before the deadline and the eventual expected lockout in 2027.

As mentioned above, the Marlins traded Edward Cabrera to the Cubs and Ryan Weathers to the Yankees. I expect Robby Snelling to grab a rotation spot, and he is on the list below, but I am more interested in waiting for White.

The southpaw is currently viewed as the top prospect in their system and has tremendous swing-and-miss stuff. In 45 1/3 innings pitched in Double-A last season, he has a 1.59 ERA, with 75 strikeouts. He did have 24 walks during that span as well, so there's still some command that needs to be figured out.

White was called up to Triple-A late in the season, where he made two starts. He had a 38.6% K and a 18.2% SwStr rate in 2025. Being able to draft his upside late in drafts in a pitcher's park is very appealing to me come playoff time, as I am looking to get arms with late-season ceiling. White fits that mold well.

Other Best Ball ADP Values

While those five starters are my primary targets, here's a list of other pitchers who stand out as values at their current ADPs.

• Jacob deGrom, TEX: 90.4 ADP
• Joe Ryan, MIN: 95.5 ADP
• Spencer Schwellenbach, ATL: 114.1 ADP
• Edward Cabrera, CHC: 171.0 ADP
• Jack Leiter, TEX: 186.9 ADP
• Cade Horton, CHC: 214.5 ADP
• Robby Snelling, MIA: 238.1 ADP
• Reid Detmers, LAA: 238.8 ADP
• Jacob Lopez, ATH: 238.8 ADP
• Ryan Weathers, NYY: 239.0 ADP

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