Projecting Rest of Season Top 10 Starting Pitchers in 2026 Fantasy Baseball: July Update

July 14, 2026

Dan Palyo projects which 10 starting pitchers will finish the season in the top 10 for the 2026 fantasy baseball season as we head into Week 16 of MLB action.

It's time, once again, to refresh the list of top-10 starting pitchers for fantasy baseball.

This might be the best year for elite starting pitching that we have seen in some time, especially in the National League. In fact, only one of the current top 10 starting pitchers in the Yahoo rankings is from the American League (Cam Schlittler).

So, which starting pitchers do we expect to finish in the top 10 by the end of the season? Let's start by looking at the current top 10 starters as of the All-Star break.

Current Top 10 Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball

Here are the top 10 most valuable starting pitchers in 5x5 roto leagues right now, according to Yahoo's player rankings. All stats were current through Sunday, July 12.

Remember, this is the current top 10. Keep reading to see my projected top 10!

Yes, Jacob Misiorowski skipped his final start of the first half on Sunday, but he's set to resume throwing today, and there doesn't seem to be much concern about any type of significant injury.

It's likely that Milwaukee just wanted to give him a full week off ahead of his next start as a way to manage his innings a bit. He's still the undisputed top pitcher in baseball, and the leader in the NL Cy Young race features the strongest crop of dominant starters, dare I say, ever?

Zack Wheeler has thrown his name in the ring with his third straight spectacular performance on Sunday, and made it known that he was not thrilled about being only an injury replacement for the All-Star game by turning down the invitation.

What an end to the 1st half for Zack Wheeler!

6 IP | 2 H | 0 ER | 2 BB | 10 K

He heads into the All-Star break with his 3rd straight double-digit strikeout game 🔔 pic.twitter.com/5OXYwS4K00

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) July 12, 2026

Meanwhile, Cam Schlittler is the AL leader in the Cy Young race in what has become a two-man competition with him and Toronto ace Dylan Cease.

Shohei Ohtani hangs onto the fourth spot in the rankings, despite significantly fewer innings and strikeouts than the rest of the group. He had his last start skipped, too, and I have him falling down the ranks by season's end simply because his value right now is tied to his elite ratios that could regress, and he won't have the strikeouts to make up for it.

His teammate, Yamamoto, has risen to the fifth spot in the rankings, but he's just barely ahead of two pitchers who I think have stronger overall profiles in Cristopher Sanchez and Chase Burns. Oh, and Chris Sale, too, who was the victim of having his last start shortened by a rain delay and continues to be uber dependable start to start.

Foster Griffin is one of the best stories in baseball this year. He's a former first-round pick of the Royals who had to reinvent himself over in Japan before returning to the major leagues at age 30. He's been fantastic in June (1.15 ERA) and July (1.50 ERA so far) and was a very deserving All-Star replacement.

Foster Griffin has been named to the NL All-Star team!

He replaces Braxton Ashcraft on the roster. pic.twitter.com/aKYholJo4m

— MLB (@MLB) July 11, 2026

I do think he'll slide outside the top 10, not because he'll struggle in the second half, but mainly because the group of pitchers chomping at the bit in my "honorable mention" section is so strong that it's going to be tough to hold them off.

Max Meyer, Painted 90mph Slider. 🖌️🎨 pic.twitter.com/93VVppknhf

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 7, 2026

Max Meyer is an All-Star, too, and quite deserving as he's poised for the best season of his young career. Like Griffin, Meyer is getting it done despite having elite stuff (his Stuff+ grade is 97, Griffin's is 98, and remember that the average is 100). I worry a bit about how dependent he is on his breaking pitches. He's throwing sliders and sweepers nearly 60% of the time, but it's working well for him so far.

Projected Top 10 Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball

When we factor in the remaining schedule and adjust for some expected regression, we end up with this list - my prediction for which pitchers finish as the top 10 starting pitchers by the end of the season.

Tarik Skubal is sitting all the way down at 28th right now, but only because he missed a large chunk of time with an injury. He's looked pretty much like the dominant version of himself that we've been used to seeing the last two years, and a trade (if it happens) to a better team like the Dodgers is likely going to boost his win total.

Tarik Skubal, Devastating the Side. pic.twitter.com/0Its1MRdNH

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 1, 2026

I like Cease to work his way up into the top 10. He still has a bit of an elevated walk rate (11%), but he's making up for it with elite strikeout numbers this year (36.9%) and nearly pitched a no-hitter right before the break. He's among the league leaders in SwStr (15%) and Z-Contact% (76.8%), while his SIERA of 2.96 trails only Miz, Skubal, and Sanchez.

Dylan Cease, K'ing the Side in the 3rd.

5Ks thru 3 pic.twitter.com/Y80xYh7FC5

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 8, 2026

I suppose I didn't mention Chase Burns yet, but I am dropping him down a few slots this month. His 87.4% strand rate is one of the highest from this top group of arms, and he's also seen his walk rate creep up to 9%. We are really getting nitpicky here, but we have to since we have such a strong overall group constantly jockeying for position!

Honorable Mentions

• Sonny Gray
• Max Meyer
• Foster Griffin
• Joe Ryan
• Paul Skenes
• Jacob deGrom
• Parker Messick
• Braxton Ashcraft
• Logan Gilbert
• Bryce Miller

If you told me that any one of this next group of 10 starters were to sneak into the 9th or 10th spot in the rankings by next month, I wouldn't be surprised. Sonny Gray has been on a tear lately, but gets by on a lot of called strikes and doesn't have the same type of stuff as most of these other dominant starters.

Sonny Gray, Hesitation Front Door Two Seamer. 🦵 pic.twitter.com/zlwIStMCz9

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 29, 2026

It seems like Gray is now likely to stay put in Boston as the Red Sox have turned things around, but perhaps we see Joe Ryan still moved from Minnesota to a contender? He's been fantastic lately, too, stringing together a bunch of really strong starts and making him possibly the best right-handed pitcher on the market if Cease and Gray aren't available.

I hope Paul Skenes gets it going in the second half, but frankly, Braxton Ashcraft has been better, and Skenes's dip in velocity continues to be discussed as a potential concern going forward.

Don't sleep on Jacob deGrom, who still has some of the best underlying numbers of any starter in baseball. Let's hope he's healthy and can finish another full season for fantasy managers.

The Mariners now have co-aces with Bryce Miller joining Logan Gilbert as two elite arms atop their rotation. Bryan Woo has been fine, but isn't having anything close to the season that Miller has had since he debuted for Seattle in May.

Last but not least, my guy Parker Messick just keeps on keepin' on. If you drafted him or Ashcraft in the later rounds, you have to be feeling pretty good about the return on that investment!

Enjoy the rest of the All-Star break, and thanks for reading!

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