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Kevin projects which 10 pitchers will finish the season in the top 10 for the 2025 fantasy baseball season as we head into Week 8 of MLB action.
Welcome to the Week 8 edition of our Top 10 Starting Pitchers series for the 2025 fantasy baseball season. You need consistent starting pitching to rack up precious wins, making it one of the more important things to focus on with your lineup.
As we traverse ever so close to Memorial Day, we are starting to truly understand who's real and who's not. Some pitchers who started cold are heating up. Some surprising starters are falling back to earth. Both are reaching their middle ground and projections are starting to become more clear.
With about two months of the season in the books, let's take a look at this season's current top-ranked pitchers.
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Current Top 10 Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball
According to Yahoo's player rankings, here are the top 10 most valuable starting pitchers in standard leagues (as of May 20).
| Pitcher | IP | W | K | ERA | WHIP |
| Zack Wheeler | 64 | 5 | 80 | 2.67 | 0.891 |
| Hunter Brown | 56.2 | 6 | 67 | 1.43 | 0.829 |
| Nathan Eovaldi | 61.1 | 4 | 65 | 1.61 | 0.766 |
| Garrett Crochet | 63 | 4 | 73 | 2.00 | 1.063 |
| Max Fried | 62.2 | 6 | 60 | 1.29 | 0.926 |
| Carlos Rodon | 59.2 | 5 | 72 | 3.17 | 0.989 |
| Logan Webb | 63.1 | 5 | 69 | 2.42 | 1.121 |
| Tarik Skubal | 54 | 4 | 71 | 2.67 | 0.926 |
| Kris Bubic | 61.1 | 5 | 61 | 1.47 | 1.060 |
| Joe Ryan | 52 | 4 | 63 | 2.42 | 0.788 |
Let's start with some of the newcomers on this list. Kris Bubic had a phenomenal performance for Kansas City on Monday night, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Giants before it got broken up by a Wilmer Flores single that second baseman Michael Massey simply misplayed.
Kris Bubic, Filthy 87mph Changeup. 👌 pic.twitter.com/x29BU6kdBR
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 20, 2025
The Royals lefty has had ups and downs at the major league level, going from starter to bullpen and now back as a starter. But his 1.47 ERA is a welcome sign for both the Royals and fantasy managers who took a chance on him. His 3.50 xFIP points toward some negative regression coming, but he'll still have staying power on your roster even after it hits.
Joe Ryan sneaks into the top 10 as well, holding a ridiculous 0.788 WHIP. The Twins starter has continued to get better results after a subpar 2023, seeing his ERA drop from 4.51 in 2023 to 3.60 last season and now 2.42 this season.
Consider him a victim of bad luck in 2023, as his xFIP of 3.76 showed he should have had a better stat line that season. Matter of fact, his xFIP has been hovering around the 3.50 mark for each of the last three seasons. It's only just now starting to pay off a little more.
Joe Ryan in his last four starts after allowing 6 ER to ATL on 4/20...
25 IP, 0.72 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, 3.3% BB, 38.5% K, .138 BAA#MNTwinspic.twitter.com/y7FCXSIV9P
— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) May 19, 2025
With a heavy reliance on his fastball, Ryan has now posted four quality starts in a row. The strikeouts have ticked upward as well, with him notching at least seven punchouts in each of those starts. He may not stay in the top 10 by season's end, but he's certainly hot right now with the Guardians on deck.
Nathan Eovaldi and Max Fried continue to find their way in the top 10 as well. Eovaldi has been a model of consistency for his past six starts. He had logged five straight quality starts before coming just one out short of extending that streak to six against the Astros.
Nathan Eovaldi, Nasty 78mph Curveball. 😨 pic.twitter.com/ewSYOhpSj3
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 17, 2025
Eovaldi is averaging just around 90 pitches per start and hasn't allowed multiple earned runs since April 19th. A 2.63 xFIP points toward some negative regression coming his way, but that's still a rock-solid mark that makes him a threat to all opposing lineups the rest of the season.
Fried continues to defy what the models say he should do, posting a 1.29 ERA with a 3.41 xFIP. His last start against the Mets showed he can still get strikeouts when he needs them, as he struck out eight Mets. It was his fourth consecutive game with at least five strikeouts and his second in his last three with eight Ks.
Max Fried the Yankee vs. Juan Soto the Met 👀 pic.twitter.com/AdyTCIyzdH
— MLB (@MLB) May 19, 2025
Generally known for soft contact, he's getting the benefit of the doubt with a strong Yankees lineup behind him, helping to stack his wins. He's just one of four pitchers with six wins on the season. But for how long will that last? A .234 wOBA and a .303 xwOBA point toward negative regression. How much longer can the southpaw continue to beat the models?
The rest of the top 10 are our usual suspects, with Zack Wheeler and Hunter Brown leading the way. Both should continue to stay near the top of the rankings. Are we looking at Cy Young winners with these two as well?
Projected Top 10 Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball
Plenty will change between now and October, though. Here's how I think the top 10 will look by the end of the season. I based these rankings on where each pitcher stands now, what the underlying metrics indicate about their performance, and who will likely have sustained success over the next five months.
My rest-of-season projections change weekly, but here's where they stand for now.
| Pitcher | Projection | Current Rank |
| Zack Wheeler | 1 | 1 |
| Tarik Skubal | 2 | 8 |
| Hunter Brown | 3 | 2 |
| Logan Webb | 4 | 7 |
| Garrett Crochet | 5 | 4 |
| Yoshinobu Yamamoto | 6 | 13 |
| Paul Skenes | 7 | 12 |
| Carlos Rodon | 8 | 6 |
| Nathan Eovaldi | 9 | 3 |
| MacKenzie Gore | 10 | 11 |
No surprises up top here as Wheeler, Skubal, and Brown round out the top three for the second week in a row. Wheeler threw another gem on Saturday against the Pirates with six innings of shutout ball on just three hits. The six strikeouts were his fewest since April 13th, but positive regression has started swinging his way. His 2.67 ERA nearly matches his 2.57 xFIP. He'll be in contention for the NL Cy Young at the end of the year.
Zack Wheeler, Painted 95mph Back Door Two Seamer. 🖌️🎨 pic.twitter.com/K5fUng770g
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 17, 2025
Skubal got hit around in his last start, giving up five ER on seven hits against the Red Sox. It's the first time he's given up more than two ER since April 2nd. However, he balanced that out with 11 Ks. It marks his third straight game with 11 strikeouts or more, with the only other miss being an eight-strikeout outing against the Angels, where he was limited to just 73 pitches.
Brown got back on the quality start train after missing it by one out against Cincinnati. He was dealt the loss against Texas on Thursday, but that barely tells the true story, as he threw eight innings of one-run ball in a game Houston lost 1-0. It marked his fifth straight game with exactly nine strikeouts. His fantasy value isn't going away anytime soon.
Hunter Brown's 9th K thru 7. pic.twitter.com/zwK2udUcjc
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 16, 2025
Webb comes in at No. 4. His ability to go deep in any ballgame against any team is a huge reason he's ranked so highly. It doesn't hurt that his 2.42 ERA and 2.43 xFIP are essentially identical. No positive or negative regression is coming here. He's dominant and will continue to be so until further notice.
Crochet's last outing on Friday was similar to Brown's against the Rangers in that he was dealt the loss but didn't necessarily deserve it. He gave up just two ER and struck out eight Braves. He did give up seven hits for the second consecutive game, the most he's given up this season, and that may be something to watch. But if he keeps racking up strikeouts, his value will remain high.
Garrett Crochet is dealing in the @RedSox new City Connects 😮💨
He strikes out the side in the first. #RivalryWeekend pic.twitter.com/ajk0DdtWKr
— MLB (@MLB) May 16, 2025
Yamamoto hit another speed bump against the A's as he gave up three runs in six innings last week. This wouldn't be much of a speed bump for many other pitchers, but with Yamamoto's stature, it's something we'd like to see a little bit less of. He's now given up three ER in three of his last four starts. He's still dominant, but not to the degree he started the season with.
Skenes comes in seventh after finally posting a Skenes-esque performance in the strikeout department. He struck out nine Phillies on Sunday in eight innings of dominant baseball. In true Pirates fashion, Pittsburgh lost the game 1-0, and Skenes was dealt a loss he didn't deserve. If the strikeouts come back, then his biggest worry will be one that's out of his control: A Pirates offense that can provide enough run support to get him some precious wins.
Paul Skenes this afternoon:
8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO
102 pitches, 71 strikes, 22 whiffsComplete game. 1-0 loss. Pain. pic.twitter.com/D01fB9lkOW
— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) May 18, 2025
Rodon edges out Eovaldi to come in at No. 8 on our list. Control became an issue again in his most recent start against the Mets as he walked four batters in five innings on 102 pitches. He struck out just five, taking him a bit in the opposite direction we were hoping to see. He still gave up just one run on two hits, though, so consider him lucky that walks didn't lead to further damage.
Carlos Rodon wins the battle to end the 5th! pic.twitter.com/bRWQSvnmN3
— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) May 17, 2025
Rounding out the list is MacKenzie Gore. The Nats southpaw had nine strikeouts on Friday against Baltimore, continuing his trend of being MLB's top strikeout thrower. That's barely the story of his start, though, as he gave up 10 hits and couldn't get through four innings. Gore's value hinges on his strikeouts. If those go away, and he can't limit hits, then his 3.67 ERA may start to shoot above 4.00 and take away the strong standing he currently has.
Who do you think is missing from the list, RotoBallers? Let me know! Reach out to me here on X and share your thoughts.
Thanks for reading, and good luck the rest of this fantasy baseball season!
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