RADIO
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 fantasy baseball values 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!
Featured Promo: Save 50% the regular price with discount code SPRING, for a limited time. Exclusive access to our Team Sync platform, DFS cheat sheets, Lineup Optimizers, betting/prop picks, and exclusive content from Nick Mariano and Eric Cross! GAIN ACCESS NOW
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
Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers right-handed pitcher Jacob Misiorowski is a top breakout candidate heading into the 2026 season. He debuted for the Brewers on June 12 and threw five shutout innings against the St. Louis Cardinals, putting the league on notice. He finished the season throwing 66 innings (14 games started) with a 4.36 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 87 strikeouts.
Milwaukee Brewers' starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski threw 86 pitches, the most in Spring Training (2026).
🥵Misiorowski had the four-seam cooking, with a 15.7% swinging-strike rate on Friday against the Diamonbacks, with most whiffs coming in the upper third of the zone.
⬅️He… pic.twitter.com/DgkQxuQTa3— Corbin (@corbin_young21) March 21, 2026
The key to his success is that he has one of, if not the best, fastballs in the game, which averages 99.3 mph (99th percentile). His fastball held opposing batters to a .193 batting average against with a 32.5 percent whiff rate. Misiorowski had a 32 percent strikeout rate (93rd percentile) and a 29.7 percent whiff rate (80th percentile) in his first stint at the MLB level. His stuff is outstanding, evident by his 119 Stuff+, and his underlying numbers showcase room for positive regression, evident by his 3.56 SIERA, 3.66 xFIP, and 3.41 xERA, all well below his actual ERA.
He was named the Brewers Opening Day starter, and RotoBaller ranks him as the 35th starting pitcher off the board. Fantasy managers looking for a high-upside arm should be taking Misiorowski in 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
Who Should I Draft Tool
Not sure who to draft? Use our free Who Should I Draft tool.
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to draft...
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four MLB players at once, and then click the Who To Draft? button to see who the recommended draft picks are based on fantasy baseball rankings, projections and more.
Improvements For Who Should I Draft? We have lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your 2026 fantasy baseball drafts. You'll see MLB player tiles with stats and projections, ADPs, and news -- enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their preseason fantasy baseball rankings and projections based on their research, and update it constantly throughout the preseason. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players that are ranked.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy baseball managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's roto leagues (rotisserie) scoring, or points leagues scoring. The second thing you want to do, is to select the scoring format. There are two small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Draft Searches. Curious to see some tough draft decisions for 2026? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Draft? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at, including recent trending player names who are seeing increases or decreases in their draft values. Click any of the links to see the results and recommendations.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Draft
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Draft tool for 2026 drafts:
More Fantasy Baseball Analysis
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!
