Starting Pitcher Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers, Values: Middle-Round Discounts With Upside

February 20, 2026

Starting pitcher fantasy baseball sleepers, targets to draft in the mid rounds. Potential 2026 fantasy baseball sleepers and undervalued SP to target in drafts.

Welcome back RotoBallers, as we continue our mid-round targets and sleepers series -- today we are focusing on 2026 starting pitchers. In this article we'll highlight five middle-round starting pitcher fantasy baseball sleepers, values, and targets with upside for your upcoming 2026 fantasy baseball drafts. Once you reach the middle rounds of drafts, everyone is looking to draft players who can provide a great return on value.

With many fantasy managers taking hitters in the early rounds, it's critical not to miss in the middle rounds when selecting starter pitchers. There are aces to be found, and breakout pitchers that can be drafted at a discount, such as the players we cover here below. Are their ADPs undervalued? Will they make significant fantasy contributions and become a priority mid-round draft target? Read on to see our take.

The five starting pitcher fantasy baseball outlooks below are meant to give you a taste of the in-depth analysis you receive with our industry-leading 2026 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit. Be sure to save 30% on any MLB Package today to start reading all of our in-depth 2026 player outlooks and many other premium articles and tools, including Team Sync, the Live Draft Sync assistant, Custom Rankings Service, and so much more. Let's win some leagues in 2026!

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Starting Pitcher Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

Michael King, San Diego Padres

After emerging in 2024 as one of the best starting pitchers in baseball, Michael King couldn't repeat his success in 2025. He was still good last year, but injuries meant King couldn't reward the fantasy managers who banked on a repeat.

Shoulder and knee issues limited King to 15 starts last season. He still put up a solid 3.44 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 73 1/3 innings. But King's 24.7% K% dropped from 27.7% K% in 2024. It still ranked in the 66th percentile, though, so it wasn't a significant issue. And with a 4.20 xFIP and 3.99 SIERA, his ERA was a little lucky.

It's difficult to know how much the regression was due to injuries, but the Padres were confident enough to re-sign King for this year and potentially have him in their rotation through 2028. That's good news for King, with Petco Park being one of the more pitcher-friendly ballparks.

It's unlikely we see a repeat of King's breakout 2024 season this year. His 2025 numbers seem much more likely. If King can stay healthy and put up those numbers across a full season, he could reestablish himself as a top 25 starting pitcher.

-- Jamie Steed - RotoBaller

Bubba Chandler, Pittsburgh Pirates

Coming into 2025, MLB Pipeline ranked Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Bubba Chandler as the top pitching prospect in baseball. Most believed the Pirates would call up the 23-year-old right away in 2025, but the team waited until late August. When Chandler finally reached the majors, he was used out of the bullpen for his first three appearances, giving up just three earned runs while striking out 12 across 12 innings.

The team then transitioned him into the starting rotation, but his first MLB start was a rough one. The Brewers tagged Chandler for nine earned runs in just 2 2/3 innings. From that point on, however, he dominated as a starter. Over his final three starts, he posted a 1.98 ERA with 19 strikeouts and zero walks.

Overall, he finished his first MLB stint with a 3.09 SIERA, a 30% whiff rate, 25% strikeout rate, and a 3% walk rate across 31 1/3 innings. Looking ahead to 2026, Chandler has a 148 ADP and is the 40th starting pitcher off the board, yet he offers legitimate top-25 upside. He features a four-pitch mix backed by strong underlying metrics, including a 115 Pitching+, 109 Stuff+, and a 104 Location+.

Lastly, Chandler must find peace of mind knowing his role for 2026, and that's getting the ball every fifth day for the big-league club. While wins may be hard to come by, he should deliver strong ratios and plenty of strikeouts.

-- Marty Tallman - RotoBaller

Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians

Cleveland Guardians right-handed pitcher Gavin Williams is coming off a productive 2025 campaign, where he finished the season throwing 167 2/3 innings (31 games started) with a 3.06 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP to go along with173 punchouts. It was the first time in his MLB career that he made more than 16 starts, having made 16 starts in both 2023 and 2024.

While the numbers on the surface look solid, under the hood, he had a 4.30 xERA, 4.35 SIERA, and a 4.08 xFIP, showcasing potential signs of regression for the 2026 season. Williams struggles most with his control. He had a poor 11.8 percent walk rate (seventh percentile) in 2025 to go along with batters hitting .268 and slugging .498 against his fastball, compared to his curveball and sweeper, where batters hit .116 and .181, respectively.

No starting pitcher decreased their O-Contact% more from 2024 to 2025 than Gavin Williams of the Cleveland Guardians, who went from 68.6% to 53.4% (-15.2%).

Williams ditched his slider for a sweeper, which he paired with his big curveball as his main breaking pitches.

Williams… https://t.co/gPElxa2Ynd

— "Thunder Dan" Palyo (@ThunderDanDFS) February 12, 2026

Williams features an above-average fastball that averages 96.5 mph (84th percentile), and his whiff rate is 27.7 percent (70th percentile), indicating that the stuff is there; it's just his command and location that struggle, as evidenced by his 95 Location+.

All that said, Williams has elite strikeout upside and is projected to be the Guardians' No. 1 pitcher heading into the 2026 season. RotoBaller currently ranks him as the 39th pitcher off the board, while NFBC ADP has him going 149.0 overall. Fantasy managers looking for a high-upside arm in the middle part of their drafts will want to target Williams.

-- Nicho Roessler- RotoBaller

Trey Yesavage, Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays' starting pitcher, Trey Yesavage, burst onto the scene on the biggest stage for the Blue Jays last season on their run to the World Series, which ended up coming down to the wire against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The former 2024 first-round pick spent most of his 2025 season climbing up the minor leagues, where he threw 98 innings with a 14.69 K/9, 3.77 BB/9, a 3.12 ERA, and 0.97 WHIP across all levels.

Once he was called upon by the big league club in September, he started three games and threw 14 innings with a 1.43 WHIP, 3.21 ERA, and a 10.29 K/9. Where Yesavage really flashed his brilliance was during the postseason run, where he was (3-1) with a 3.58 ERA and 39 strikeouts in five starts (six appearances) and 27 2/3 innings pitched.

What are your expectations for Trey Yesavage in 2026? #MLBTonight pic.twitter.com/VFIdx82lYa

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 15, 2026

Yesavage is considered the Blue Jays top prospect and projects to be the team's No. 3 starter to open the season behind Kevin Gausman and newly acquired Dylan Cease. The 22-year-old features a north/south movement profile, primarily focusing on his four-seam fastball, slider, and split-finger. As a result, in his short stint at the Major League level, he generated an excellent 56.4 percent ground ball rate to go along with a 35.4 percent whiff rate.

RotoBaller currently ranks him as the 35th-ranked pitcher off the board, while NFBC ADP has him at 155.0. Fantasy managers looking for a young, high-upside arm should be looking to target him in their upcoming drafts.

-- Nicho Roessler- RotoBaller

Cam Schlittler, New York Yankees

New York Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler (back) broke out in a big way during his first stint at the MLB level in 2025, starting 14 games (73 innings pitched) with a 2.96 ERA, 84 strikeouts, and a 1.22 WHIP. Schlittler has an excellent fastball that averages 98.0 mph (95th percentile) and a strong strikeout rate of 27.6 percent (82nd percentile).

While the underlying metrics showcase some signs of regression, evident by his 4.13 xERA, 3.84 SIERA, and 3.77 xFIP, his fastball is fantastic, as he held opponents to a .173 batting average against. His second pitch, the cutter, was also excellent, holding batters to a .204 batting average. While there is some room for improvement beyond that with his command (10.2 percent walk rate), sinker, and breaking balls, his primary pitches were tough on hitters in 2025.

The former seventh-round draft pick in 2022 injured his back on February 12, but recent reports suggest he is going to resume throwing from the mound on Tuesday. The news is encouraging, considering he is projected as the Yankees' No. 2 starter behind Max Fried with Gerrit Cole (elbow) tentatively expected back in June, and Carlos Rodon (elbow) missing some time as well and tentatively projected back in May.

RotoBaller ranks Schlittler as the 40th overall starting pitcher off the board, while NFBC ADP ranks him 134.0 overall. Schlittler is primed for a second-year breakout, and fantasy managers looking to target a young arm with a good fastball and strikeout rate should be looking his way.

-- Nicho Roessler- RotoBaller

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