Starting Pitcher Fantasy Baseball Draft Targets for Points Leagues (2026)

March 15, 2026

Kipp's fantasy baseball starting pitchers to target in points leagues. These are his fantasy baseball sleepers and starting pitcher values for 2026 drafts.

Spring training and the World Baseball Classic are in full swing, and that means it is time to start getting ready for your fantasy baseball drafts for the 2026 season, if you have not done so already. This article is going to focus on the four pitchers you should target for 2026 in your points league drafts.

When playing in a points league format, the strategy is a bit different from that of a standard rotisserie or head-to-head league. Two key factors to consider for your rosters are strikeouts and innings pitched. You want to focus on pitchers who can eat a lot of innings and strike out 200-plus hitters. These are cornerstones to a successful rotation. While they do not just grow on trees, there are several that we can look at this season.

So, let's look at four pitchers to target in 2026 fantasy baseball points leagues. These four pitchers are all currently going at different ADPs (on Yahoo) in drafts, but they are all strong targets in this format.

Jesus Luzardo, Philadelphia Phillies

ADP: 82

We are going to start with Jesus Luzardo, who currently has an ADP of 82, and that will be the theme in this article, as I do not plan to list the top-tier pitchers for obvious reasons. That being said, Luzardo put together a very solid 2025 campaign in which he struck out a whopping 216 batters across 183 2/3 innings pitched.

Luzardo made a total of 32 starts, averaging over 5 2/3 innings per start, which is a solid feat. His strikeout numbers were not all that surprising, as it was the second time in three seasons he was able to eclipse the 200 strikeout mark. The metrics backed this performance as well.

Overall, he posted a SwStr% of 14.1%, which ranked him in the 90th percentile of the league. Additionally, he was able to make batters swing outside of the zone, as noted by his chase rate of 30.4%, ranking him in the 76th percentile. His fastball velocity was solid, averaging 96.3 mph, which placed him in the 82nd percentile.

While the 3.92 ERA may have been a bit discouraging, it should be noted that the xERA was 3.33, and was good enough to place him in the 80th percentile, so some positive regression might be expected this season. He will also be backed by a potent Phillies' lineup, which could keep him in games longer.

He makes for a solid selection in your drafts with a current ADP of 84, meaning he is being drafted late in the seventh round in 12-team mixed leagues. Luzardo carries high-end strikeout upside and could greatly outperform his current cost.

Kyle Bradish, Baltimore Orioles

ADP: 81

I thought Kyle Bradish might fly a bit further under the radar heading into 2026, since he has started only 14 games over the past two seasons, but that is not the case. That being said, we can still grab him around the same ADP as Luzardo, and he makes for a solid arm in your rotation in points leagues as long as he remains healthy.

In 2025, Bradish returned from injury and made six starts for the Orioles. He racked up 47 strikeouts across 32 innings pitched. This trajectory shows us what he could be capable of in 2026, noting that in 2023, he posted 168 strikeouts across his 168 2/3 innings pitched.

What could be the reason for the uptick in strikeouts? Well, his spin rate looked very solid last year at 2424 rpm, which was good enough to rank him in the 85th percentile. That likely translated into his 14.6% SwStr%, which ranked him in the 93rd percentile. Given these two key metrics, I would definitely expect the strikeouts to continue in 2026.

In 2025, he averaged 5 1/3 innings pitched, which is a bit below the type of innings we are looking for in this article; however, we could see this average tick up once he is fully unleashed and healed from injury this season. It should also be noted that he was closer to averaging 5 2/3 innings pitched in 2023, which was his last full season of action.

With a current ADP of 81, Bradish makes for a solid rotation arm in your points league drafts heading into 2026, given his elite strikeout potential.

Gunnar Henderson and Kyle Bradish lead the way for the @Orioles in their 2026 projected #OpeningDay lineup and rotation 💪 pic.twitter.com/MXoEput27z

— MLB (@MLB) February 12, 2026

Nick Pivetta, San Diego Padres

ADP: 86

Nick Pivetta is my favorite player on this list for a number of reasons that we will cover here shortly, but first, let's start with the fact that he struck out 190 batters across 181 2/3 innings pitched while posting a 2.87 ERA across 31 starts in 2025. He was absolutely fantastic and deserves to be a top-100 ADP to be certain.

In addition to the raw numbers from 2025, a few metrics are worth noting. His spin rate, similar to Bradish's, was also superb, as noted by his mark of 2439 rpm, ranking him in the 86th percentile. He also posted a solid 26.4% K rate, which had him ranked in the 78th percentile.

Pivetta also increased his innings pitched in 2025, with 181 2/3, the most in his career. This translates to him averaging just under six innings pitched per game and is another reason to like him in 2026. The change of scenery to San Diego and the friendly confines of Petco Park likely played a role in his growth as a pitcher as well.

Nick Pivetta currently has an ADP of 86, meaning he is being drafted in the seventh or eighth round in 12-team mixed leagues. He will definitely be on my radar come draft night, given the success he enjoyed in his new home last summer.

7 innings, 1 hit allowed from Nick Pivetta 😤 pic.twitter.com/UzivGLJdWC

— MLB (@MLB) March 31, 2025

Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians

ADP: 155

Gavin Williams is the wildcard of this article, but I expect him to take a leap forward in 2026 and outperform his current ADP of 155. In 2025, he had some ups and downs, but finished the season strong, posting a 3.06 ERA overall, with 173 strikeouts across 167 2/3 innings pitched.

He averaged over 5 1/3 innings pitched in 2025, and this number should only continue to grow for "Big Rig" in 2026. He is an absolute horse who throws darts. This is most evident in his average fastball velocity in 2025, which came in at 96.5 mph, ranking him in the 84th percentile.

He also posted a very respectable 11.7% SwStr%, which ranked him close to the top third of the league. His 24.6% K rate was good enough to rank him in the 65th percentile, and he paired that nicely with a 27.7% whiff rate, ranking him in the 70th percentile.

Williams also benefits from pitching in the American League Central, which does not exactly feature the top offenses in baseball. In fact, three of the four teams he will likely face on a regular basis ranked 18th or worse in 2025 in terms of wRC+.

His current ADP of 155 means he is being drafted at the end of the 13th round in 12-team mixed leagues. This is a very reasonable price to pay, as the upside could be very strong in 2026, and even if he does not tap that upside to its fullest, the floor remains pretty reasonable, as evidenced by his solid 2025 campaign.

Gavin Williams receives a nice ovation from the crowd in Queens after coming just two outs away from a no-hitter 👏 pic.twitter.com/UdHDCpizVC

— MLB (@MLB) August 6, 2025

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