Top 10 Starting Pitcher Prospect Rankings for Fantasy Baseball (2025)

February 18, 2025

Eric Cross' top starting pitcher fantasy baseball prospects. Read his 2025 fantasy baseball SP prospect rankings, including which pitchers to target in dynasty.

We've reached the end of my positional fantasy baseball prospect rankings for 2025. After covering every offensive position so far, we close out this series with my Top-10 pitching prospect rankings for fantasy baseball entering 2025.

In general, the starting pitcher position is as strong as I've seen it in several years, and it should continue to get stronger in 2025. Out of my Top-10 below, seven or eight should see time in the Majors this season, and I'd only entirely rule out one from having a shot at debuting.

For my additional prospect write-ups, check out my Patreon, where you can find the full Top 150 pitchers. And make sure to continue checking RotoBaller, as I'm going to be going through all positions in the coming weeks!

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Pitching Prospect Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

Age and highest level in parenthesis

1. Andrew Painter, PHI (21/AA)

You'll have a tough time finding a more dominant season from a 19-year-old pitching prospect than Andrew Painter's 2022 season, which feels like a lifetime ago at this point. But that's what happens when you have Tommy John surgery and are brought along slowly once returning, which was the right thing to do.

Andrew Painter's first strikeout on a 83 mph curveball.

10-pitch first inning with two whiffs.#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/F4fke7HAQs

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) October 30, 2024

Painter features three potential plus or better offerings in his fastball, slider, and changeup, and his curveball has also flashed above average. Before the injury, Painter also showed advanced feel and command for all of his pitches and recorded an impressive 6.2% walk rate back in 2022 to pair with a 1.56 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 38.7% strikeout rate.

The Phillies will delay his MLB debut until June or July, but Painter could have a massive second half and is one of the few pitching prospects around that has legitimate Cy Young caliber upside.

2. Jackson Jobe, DET (22/MLB)

If you wanted to put Jackson Jobe over Painter as the top pitching prospect right now, I wouldn't argue against it. While Jobe's walk rate rose last season, he still showed his immense upside, with four potential plus pitches including a mid to upper 90's fastball and arguably the best slider of any pitching prospect. Jobe also features a cutter and an impressive changeup with good fade and depth.

Jackson Jobe first whiff on a 92 mph cutter pic.twitter.com/XqgCy2WVkl

— Eno Sarris (@enosarris) September 26, 2024

I'm not worried about the rising walk rate from last season either, as Jobe has generally shown above-average or better command and control.

After getting a cup of coffee with Detroit late last season, Jobe should enter their rotation full-time in 2025 and is one of the favorites for American League Rookie of the Year honors. There are only a handful of prospects that I believe have ace upside, and Jobe is definitely one of them.

3. Noah Schultz, CHW (21/AA)

Noah Shultz is the No. 1 left-handed pitching prospect in the game today, and it's not even that close. In 23 starts between High-A and Double-A last season, Schultz posted a stellar 2.24 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 6.7% walk rate, and a 32.1% strikeout rate. Given his frame, arsenal, and organization, the Chris Sale comps are easy to land on.

Schultz is a 6-foot-9 southpaw with a mid-90s fastball that can touch 98-99, along with a wipeout slider and a solid changeup as well. And even though he's tall with longer levers, Schultz does a good job keeping his mechanics in check while showing above-average to plus command and control.

The White Sox have babied him so far and only let him go three to four innings in most starts last season, but we will probably see the reigns loosen a bit in 2025 with a second-half debut in the cards.

4. Bubba Chandler, PIT (22/AAA)

After a solid 2023, Bubba Chandler fully broke out in 2024 with a 3.08 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and a 30.9% strikeout rate between Double-A and Triple-A. On top of that, Chandler dropped his walk rate from 10.5% to 8.6%.

Chander has a strong 6-foot-2 frame and sits in the mid to upper-90s on his fastball with plenty of extension. The pitch is easily plus and borders on double-plus. Chander will also mix in a slider, changeup, and curveball, the former two grading as above-average or better.

I'm not willing to throw the "future ace" tag on Chandler, but he should be a rock-solid No. 2 starter at the Major League level and form a three-headed monster in Pittsburgh's rotation with Paul Skenes and Jared Jones early in the 2025 season.

5. Travis Sykora, WAS (20/A)

You can make a strong case for Travis Sykora being the biggest breakout pitcher of 2024, along with a few other names.

The 2023 third-round selection began his professional career with a bang, posting a stellar 2.33 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 8.2% walk rate, and a 39.2% strikeout rate in 85 innings for Low-A Fredricksburg. For pitching prospects with at least 80 innings in 2024, only Alejandro Rosario had a higher K-BB rate than Sykora's 31% mark.

Travis Sykora in a winner-take-all contest for the Carolina League title:
5 IP | 1 H | 0 R | 0 BB | 9 K

Named a Single-A All-Star (@FXBGNats) earlier in the day, the @Nationals' No. 1 pitching prospect racked up 147 K's in 95 innings between the regular and postseason. pic.twitter.com/JqyrcrdQRK

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 19, 2024

Sykora is still working to refine his command, but he pounded the zone with his impressive three-pitch mix in 2024, headlined by an elite fastball. With three of the above four likely to graduate from prospect status in 2024, Sykora could give Shultz a run for his money for the new top pitching prospect crown later in 2025.

6. Alejandro Rosario, TEX (23/A+)

The Texas Rangers found a gem in the fifth round of the 2023 draft class with Alejandro Rosario, who made his professional debut in 2024 and immediately began soaring up prospect rankings.

In 88.1 innings between Low-A and High-A, Rosario dominated to the tune of a 2.24 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 3.7% walk rate, and a 36.9% strikeout rate. His 33.2% K-BB rate was easily the top mark in the minors for pitchers, with at least 80 innings last season and the second-highest mark of the last four seasons.

I'm not sure why, but Rosario's name doesn't get brought up enough when discussing elite pitching prospects. He features three above-average to plus pitches with plus elite command and control as well. Honestly, I'm not sure I have him high enough.  He's an extremely strong buy right now in dynasty leagues.

7. Kumar Rocker, TEX (25/MLB)

It's been an interesting few years for Kumar Rocker following his Vanderbilt tenure, but the 6-foot-5 right-hander is now poised to step into Texas' rotation full-time in 2025 at age 25. Rocker only has 64.2 minor league innings under his belt but was a force to be reckoned with in 2024, recording a 1.96 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 3.6% walk rate, and a 39.6% strikeout rate in 36.2 innings across three levels.

Rocker has one of the best sliders in the game to play with a mid to upper-90s four-seamer, mid-90s sinker, and a changeup around 90 mph. That slider had a 50% whiff rate in his three Major League starts last season and is honestly one of the best sliders in all of baseball. While the track record isn't long, the upside is considerable with Rocker.

8. Quinn Mathews, STL (24/AAA)

From a fourth-round pick to a top-10 overall pitching prospect, it was one heck of a professional debut for Quinn Mathews. The 6-foot-5 southpaw soared up four levels while finishing with a 2.76 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and a minor league-leading 202 strikeouts in 143.1 innings. I'll admit I was a bit skeptical earlier in the season, given his age to level, but now I value him more highly than Tink Hence.

Quinn Mathews entered the night leading @MiLB in strikeouts ... and he put a stamp on that with another gem for the Double-A @Sgf_Cardinals 💎

7.2 IP
2 H
1 R
1 BB
12 K

The @Cardinals' third-ranked prospect lowers his ERA to 2.27 in 22 starts. pic.twitter.com/uPymHG6UTN

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 24, 2024

A big reason for Mathews' ascension in 2024 was adding several ticks to his fastball, which now sits 94+ on average, to pair with a decent slider and dominant changeup.

On top of that, Mathews commands his entire arsenal well and had a 7.1% walk rate before walking 14 in 16.2 Triple-A innings. While the St. Louis rotation currently doesn't have an opening, Mathews will force their hand soon and should spend the majority of the 2025 season at the Major League level.

9. Cade Horton, CHC (23/AAA)

We can chalk up 2024 as a lost season for Cade Horton. A lat injury limited Horton to just nine starts and caused his velocity to drop a bit, with underwhelming results overall. There's a reason why Horton ascended to elite pitching prospect status in 2023, and we need to keep those reasons in mind. He dominated in 2023 to the tune of a 2.65 ERA and 25.8% K-BB% in 21 starts.

Horton has one of the best sliders in the minors, and his fastball could be plus if his velocity returns to normal in 2025. With that said, I'd still like to see him establish his changeup more moving forward. If he does so, Horton could be a #2 starter. If not, he could still be a high-K No. 3 starter or a back-end bullpen weapon with his fastball/slider combination.

10. Chase Dollander, COL (23/AA)

I'm sure I wasn't alone when I grumbled after Chase Dollander was selected ninth overall by the Colorado Rockies back in 2023. I've always been high on Dollander in general, but Colorado is the kiss of death for pitchers. With that said, Dollander is the most talented pitching prospect the Rockies have had in quite some time, and if anyone can succeed despite Coors Field, it would be Dollander.

In 23 starts last season, Dollander posted a 2.59 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 9.4% walk rate, and a 33.9% strikeout rate. Dollander's fastball is a weapon thanks to his release height, velocity, and movement profile, and he's also shown an above-average curveball and slider/cutter.

I'd probably have him as a borderline top-5 pitching prospect in most other organizations, but he gets knocked down a few pegs due to his future home ballpark. One area I'd love to see Dollander improve in 2025 is his groundball rate, which was below 40% in both levels in 2024.

If you enjoyed these rankings and want to see additional rankings, analysis, and more, check out Eric's Toolshed Fantasy Patreon.

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