Top 101 Starting Pitchers: Rest-Of-Season Rankings for Fantasy Baseball Week 5 (2026)

April 29, 2026

Nick Mariano's updated fantasy baseball starting pitcher rankings for Week 5 (2026). Baller Ranks is a weekly rankings list for the top-101 starting pitchers.

We're about to put April 2026 to bed and move on to May, which means about 20% of the fantasy baseball season is already written. It's easy to fall into the trap of wanting to see patterns where there is largely randomness, so balance keeping an open mind to new data while remembering why you held your original stance. It's time for the latest edition of the FSWA-award-winning Best Baseball Series, our weekly updated "Top 101 Starting Pitchers", where my weekly Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks help give you the tools to build a champion.

Readers will find my SP thoughts with tiered ranks (the tiers matter more than individual ranks), complemented by a rest-of-season auction value orientation point ($), their Previous Week's Value (PV), the trend between the two, and a (+/-) column denoting the rank shift from last week. There is also a prospect table at the end from star evaluator, Eric Cross. This is written throughout Tuesday so that the table reflects some games (but not all), and the stats cited are typically gathered through Monday.

These ranks are geared toward traditional 5x5 roto leagues, and I typically exclude most injured SPs unless they're about to return (setbacks being so common). The swings in the ranking table will become more pronounced as the season lurches on. Let's get on with the show!

Starting Pitcher Rankings Analysis for Week 5

-Bryan Woo is going to have tilted stats due to that St. Louis start, where the ball was simply flying. He’s never been an elite home run suppressor (career 1.19 HR/9, 11.3% HR/FB rate) as a fly-ball arm, yet he had managed to go without one allowed in his first five outings of 2026. Regression isn’t supposed to hammer you all at once, but here we are.

Speaking of regression, his Ks may have folks worried that his true self is more 2024’s 21.4% K% rather than the 27.1% jump seen last year. His extension is also down, continuing a three-year trend. The usage itself isn’t far off from ‘25, but the whiff rates on all of his offerings are down near ‘24 levels. It isn’t one out pitch that is a central source of fewer Ks.

It is still early, and Woo proved that he has that gear available to his engine, and it’s not like he’s suddenly issuing walks. 2024 Woo was still plenty valuable, but even then, he pounded the zone with a 72.9% first-strike rate. If his 11.2% swinging-strike rate is closer to that (11.4%) than last year (12.4%), then will a lesser rate of 0-1 counts catch up on us with loud fly balls?

The chances remain strong that he’s just dandy in the end (he certainly has the home park to support that), but I’m prepared to reset expectations here as we head through May.

-Max Fried set a season-high mark with nine strikeouts at Fenway, though this may say more about the Red Sox than Fried re: whiffs. He followed that up five Ks over six innings at Texas, so we’re still sitting on 37 Ks through 47 ⅓ IP.

Of course, he didn’t give up an earned run in either contest, so consider “seeking more whiffs” more of a suggestion than a complaint. It’ll all come together; he’s an ace.

-Cristopher Sanchez continues to get dogged by balls hit into play. We noted last week how his .411 BABIP rose to .413 after his April 18 start. Well, that jumped to .423 after a 12-hit shellacking by the Cubs at Wrigley on April 23.

Saying that he isn’t a .400+ BABIP guy and that it’ll come down does have limits, and if that sinker is down nearly a full tick (94.7 mph vs. 95.4 last year), then trouble is afoot. The slider is also getting bopped around early. He’s unlucky, yes, but also a .290 xBA on your primary sinker and a .313 xBA on the slider is inviting Lady Luck to slap you silly.

-Garrett Crochet went back to the basics and ripped off a 59% fastball usage in his latest start after sitting below 38% in each of his first five outings. It still “only” averaged 95.7 mph, but seven batted balls off of it only resulted in one double.

The 20% sweeper rate was also his highest yet, capping off four strikeouts. The cutter was, well, largely cut out. He only threw five of them after rattling off at least 17 in all of his other starts. Was this a one-off show based on how he felt that day? It’s a good turn, but sustainability is another thing.

-Logan Gilbert has given us one genuine ace start this year, which naturally came against a top offense (Houston). He held them to one run with only five baserunners and seven Ks in seven innings, which bequeathed his one win through seven starts.

He’s only gone six innings in two of those, but the inefficient outings are not coming with the overwhelming whiffs. We’d been able to hang our hats on that last year, but 39 Ks in 38 IP isn’t going to cover up the 4.03 ERA/1.26 WHIP. At least there are only eight walks, but he needs to be giving us longer, quality starts if there aren’t a ton of strikeouts and walks.

-Shota Imanaga has been outstanding thus far, but being a guy who can head into Dodger Stadium and handle that stacked lineup is rarified air. While he’s capable of being that guy on any given day, he’s not so high up the ranks where you can lock it in.

-Zack Wheeler showed relatively little rust in his first MLB start of 2026, considering the severity of his injury and recovery timeline. Facing a strong Braves lineup in Atlanta, Wheeler allowed two runs on three hits and three walks (there’s your rust) with six strikeouts over five innings. This was way more than I’d hoped for and expected, which is wonderful.

The fastball averaged 94.7 mph and maxed out at 96.5, which is fantastic after some colder rehab appearances saw him closer to 92-93. The weather shouldn’t be a big concern for us as the calendar progresses, so let’s see how the control looks against a lesser Miami lineup in his next scheduled start on May 1.

Zack Wheeler's first pitch of the night: 95 mph. He strikes out Ronald Acuna Jr. on a 96.5 mph fastball. pic.twitter.com/WH44PdI8u5

— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) April 26, 2026

-Spencer Strider is coming back and will draw a tough assignment at Coors Field, but we’re happy after he posted an 18:5 K:BB with only six hits scattered across 12 ⅔ IP.

-Jose Soriano just struck out the side in the first inning against the White Sox. Everything he’s doing is taunting me and others in the field just to keep nudging him upwards before a rug pull.

Okay, I’m circling back, and he did wind up giving up three runs on six hits (two homers) with six strikeouts over five innings. But that’s not even that bad, and it seems this was an injury-maligned Soriano!

José Soriano said he woke up today with a stiff neck, so he wasn’t 100%.

Doesn’t expect it to be an issue going forward.

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) April 29, 2026

-Trevor Rogers is another decent example of, “That’s not really what regression means.” Yes, he had a 1.81 ERA that outpaced his 2.82 FIP and 3.75 SIERA over 109 ⅔ IP last year. The .226 BABIP was unlikely to be replicated.

That doesn’t mean the pendulum swings up with a 1.45 WHIP and .337 BABIP! Middle ground will be found, especially since he still looks solid.

-Shane McClanahan finally pieced things together for an entire start, striking out seven Twins with three hits and two walks allowed over five scoreless frames. He seemed to finally be feeling it with the offspeed, tossing it a season-high 39.5% of the time. Seeing him throw 34 of them against 18 fastballs when he tossed 47 heaters and 19 changeups on April 19 is encouraging.

**Guys like Randy Vasquez, Landen Roupp, and Michael Soroka may prove to be those waiver adds you never fully trust, but who wind up producing all year long. It’s a strange relationship.

**Most teams should seek to dedicate at least one pitching slot to the high-ceiling lotto ticket scratching. These are your JR Ritchie, Payton Tolle, Noah Schultz, Chase Dollander, and Connor Prielipp types.

Chase Dollander vs. Jacob deGrom, Mechanics (both 100mph Fastballs). pic.twitter.com/wOk1lFaC6T

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 26, 2026

Top 101 Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball - Week 5

Top Starting Pitcher Prospects for Fantasy Baseball - Week 5

Here are the key SP stashes, including honorable mentions, from our esteemed, industry-leading prospect analyst, Eric Cross. You should also read his full Top 25 Fantasy Baseball Prospects To Stash article, which is updated weekly!

More Fantasy Baseball Analysis