2026 Starting Pitcher Fantasy Baseball Prospects: Later-Round Values for Drafts

February 25, 2026

Jamie's starting pitcher fantasy baseball prospects sleepers for the later rounds of drafts in 2026. These top MLB pitching prospects are late-round sleepers.

Every year, we get rookie pitchers emerging as legitimate fantasy stars. Some of them get hyped up in the offseason and go in the earlier rounds of fantasy drafts. And some of them are under-the-radar options that go unnoticed in drafts. It's the latter we're going to feature here.

We will be looking at some starting pitchers who have an ADP (Average Draft Position) north of 300 in National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC) drafts. To qualify for inclusion, they need to be eligible for the Rookie of the Year award.

These pitchers make ideal deep league picks. Just because they are being drafted late, if at all, they shouldn't be ignored in standard redraft leagues either. Don't forget to download our free mobile app with alerts and to follow the RotoBaller team on X for all your offseason news and articles.

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Parker Messick, Cleveland Guardians

Current ADP: 351.24
2025 MLB stats: 39 2/3 IP, 2.72 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 23.0% K%, 3.6% BB%

As with most pitchers in this article, Messick isn't a lock to start the season in the majors. He ended 2025 starting games for Cleveland and impressed with a 2.27 ERA in seven games. His 3.15 xFIP and 3.43 SIERA suggest small-sample luck wasn't the reason Messick kept his ERA low.

His success was due to limiting hard contact. Messick is something of a throwback, given the leftie doesn't have overpowering stuff. But he relied on excellent control and command of his five pitches. His Statcast Profile highlights how Messick succeeded during his short stint with the Guardians.

That wasn't entirely the case in the minor leagues. Messick had a 29.1% K% and 10.3% BB% in 98 2/3 innings at Triple-A last year before his call-up. In three years in the Minors, Messick has a 28.5% K% and 8.5% BB% (354 innings), so we should expect some more strikeouts and walks in the majors.

ATC Projections has Messick making 22 appearances (21 starts) with a 7-6 W-L record, 4.01 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and 104 Ks across 115 innings. It's fair to be a bit more bullish than that. Messick's career 3.33 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in the minors provide enough optimism that he can better his projections.

The Guardians rotation certainly isn't set in stone. While Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams are locks for starting roles, the other three spots are question marks. Slade Cecconi had a solid, if unspectacular, 4.30 ERA last year (132 innings) while Logan Allen was similar, with a 4.25 ERA.

Allen's 4.72 xFIP and 4.79 SIERA don't provide much confidence for 2026. While Joey Cantillo did impress last year with a 3.21 ERA (2.96 ERA as a starter), he'll need to improve his 10.5% BB% in 2025. At the very least, Messick is next in line for any injury or any struggles from that trio.

Rostering Messick will only require a late-round pick in your drafts. If he breaks camp in the Guardians rotation, he could be one of the best value picks of 2026. Even if he starts the season in the minors, it shouldn't be long until Messick returns to Cleveland's rotation.

Thomas White, Miami Marlins

Current ADP: 539.53
2025 MiLB stats: 89 2/3 IP, 2.31 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 38.6% K%, 13.6% BB%

Teammate Robby Snelling has been garnering more hype than White recently. That's understandable, given he had a 2.51 ERA and a 30.3% K% across Double-A and Triple-A in 2025 (136 innings). That doesn't mean White should be ignored or that there won't be an opportunity for them both in Miami.

White made 21 starts across three minor league levels in 2025. He had a 2.31 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 145 strikeouts in 89 2/3 innings. The total strikeouts certainly catch the eye, as does White's 38.6% K% in 2025. The downside is his 13.6% BB% last year. That was up from a 9.2% BB% in 2024.

Neither of them is on the 40-man roster, but both have been invited to spring training. It remains to be seen who would get the first shot at the majors. Snelling has a larger minor league body of work and is a bit older. It makes sense that Snelling gets a shot before White, especially given White's walk rate.

It's also likely that there will be multiple openings and opportunities in the Miami rotation this year. Sandy Alcantara is in the final guaranteed year of his contract and continues to be linked with a trade. Max Meyer and Braxton Garrett were limited to 12 and seven starts, respectively, in 2025 due to injuries.

Eury Perez looks the safest option to make 25+ starts for the Marlins in 2026. Miami signed Chris Paddack and will insert him into their rotation to start the season. Given his 5.35 ERA last year (and 4.99 ERA in 2024), Paddack is far from a certainty to remain a starter for long.

White's strikeout potential alone warrants consideration. With a late-round pick, you could end up with plenty of strikeouts and a good ERA. Even if White doesn't make his debut until the season is a few weeks old. Whenever he gets the call to the majors, White will be a very popular pickup if he's not drafted.

Brandon Sproat, Milwaukee Brewers

Current ADP: 577.89
2025 MLB stats: 20 2/3 IP, 4.79 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 20.2% K%, 8.3% BB%

Sproat was part of the offseason trade that saw Freddy Peralta head to the Mets. The Brewers will hope Sproat can have a career similar to Perlata's in Milwaukee. There's plenty to suggest he will make a name for himself with the Brewers.

Sproat's debut in the majors was overshadowed by fellow rookie teammate Nolan McLean. Although Sproat only made four major league starts, there is enough encouragement to believe that he's ready to fill a rotation spot in 2026. It's a very small sample, but Sproat's 3.84 xFIP and 4.17 SIERA were better than his ERA.

The one question mark hanging over Sproat is whether he can consistently get out left-handed hitters (LHH). He faced 42 LHH in 2025, striking out nine of them. Sproat also faced 42 righties and struck out eight. But lefties hit .282/.333/.436 against him and righties hit .200/.310/.257.

While Sproat threw six different pitches in 2025, he relied mainly on his sinker and sweeper, with his sweeper having a 34.6% Whiff%. Yes, it's a small sample. But as we can see from the clips below, Sproat should continue to enjoy plenty of success against RHH.

The Brewers will likely keep Sproat in the minors to begin the season, especially to develop his changeup and curveball to help against LHH. But it wouldn't take much for Sproat to break camp with the Brewers.

Brandon Woodruff has dealt with health issues for some time, and Sproat isn't far behind Logan Henderson or Chad Patrick in the pecking order. A stellar spring might be enough for the Brewers to start the year with Sproat in their rotation.

Even if Sproat starts 2026 in the minors, the Brewers might call him up early in the season. Taking a flyer on Sproat with the last pick in your drafts is set to provide dividends even if you have to stash him for a few weeks to begin the year.

Honorable Mentions

Trevor McDonald, San Francisco Giants

Current ADP: 666.65
2025 MLB stats: 15 IP, 1.80 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 23.3% K%, 3.3% BB%

Technically, McDonald shouldn't be included, having pitched for the Giants in each of the last two seasons. But he's only got a total of 18 major league innings under his belt. The reason why McDonald is on my radar is that he could wind up closing games for San Francisco.

McDonald is almost exclusively a sinker and curveball pitcher. His arsenal doesn't bode well for being a successful starter, and his future is probably one as a reliever. The Giants don't have a standout closer, with Ryan Walker struggling in the role last year. In save situations, Walker had a 7.04 ERA in 2025.

This pick is more of a crapshoot. McDonald still has a minor league option, so he might continue starting games at the Triple-A level. The Giants' bullpen could use some help, especially in the later innings. McDonald might be the one to give it to them while filling in as a starting pitcher on your rosters.

Chase Dollander, Colorado Rockies

Current ADP: 672.31
2025 MLB stats: 98 IP, 6.52 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 18.6% K%, 11.1% BB%

Ok, so Dollander technically isn't eligible to be included, too, and why would anyone want to roster a Rockies pitcher? Well, as you might expect, Dollander's home and road splits are vast. Very vast. He was actually one of the best rookie pitchers in 2025 when not pitching at Coors Field.

There's no point pretending that Dollander can put up similar numbers at home as on the road. Hopefully, he can adapt to Colorado's home ballpark and have more respectable numbers. Even if he doesn't, using your last pick on the sophomore and only starting him on the road will yield fantasy value.

Andrew Morris, Minnesota Twins

Current ADP: 755.66
2025 MiLB stats: 94 2/3 IP, 4.09 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 22.4% K%, 7.0% BB%

After having a standout 2024 season in the minors, in which Morris put up a 2.37 ERA across 133 innings, Morris took a bit of a step back last year. He still had a solid 4.09 ERA (94 2/3 innings), pitching exclusively at Triple-A. The Twins added Morris to their 40-man roster this offseason.

Protecting him from being taken in the Rule 5 Draft means the Twins see some future for Morris in their organisation. With Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober locked into the Twins rotation, Morris will need to beat out two of Simeon Woods Richardson, Taj Bradley, and Zebby Matthews. However, his path is slightly clearer with Pablo Lopez (elbow) being diagnosed with a torn UCL and likely undergoing season-ending surgery.

None of that trio has had much success in the majors, and all come into 2026 with question marks. It might only take an injury, a good preseason, or a trade for Morris to start 2026 in the Twins rotation. If he does, there's a very real chance that Morris sticks and emerges as a viable fantasy option in even shallow leagues.

It wouldn't be a shock if the Twins turn to Morris early in the season.

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