Early 2027 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 40 at starting pitcher depicts a deep collection of aces old and new

1 Jacob Misiorowski Milwaukee Brewers SP A historic performance in which he led the majors in ERA, WHIP and strikeouts, not to mention opponent batting average, makes Misiorowski an easy choice at No. 1. His unprecedented radar gun readings may amplify the injury risk, but presuming 2027 will be the year he goes down is the coward's way.2 Cam Schlittler New York Yankees SP Though it was overshadowed by Misiorowski's performance, Schlittler's 2026 was an all-timer as well, marking the first time since 2018 that two qualifying pitchers had an ERA below 2.00 (excluding 2020, of course). I'm tempted to rank him ahead of Misiorowski because his velo (while also high) doesn't seem quite as destructive, but the 0.12 gap in WHIP is too much for me to overlook.3 Tarik Skubal Los Angeles Dodgers SP Midseason surgery to remove loose bodies from the elbow would have doomed most pitchers, but Skubal became the first to undergo a less invasive version of it and returned in record time, looking no worse for wear. He enters the free agent market with no lingering concerns and a well-established ace pedigree.4 Cristopher Sanchez Philadelphia Phillies SP Sanchez has a near-perfect profile for limiting damage with plus bat-missing ability and elite control and ground-ball skills. His WHIP has trended high in part because of those ground balls but in part because of the Phillies' infield defense, which is sure to look different in 2027.5 Yoshinobu Yamamoto Los Angeles Dodgers SP Yamamoto traded some strikeouts for even better efficiency in 2026, yielding a 0.87 WHIP to go along with his 2.53 ERA. There may be a best-of-all-worlds scenario still to come, but he's an ace regardless.6 Chris Sale Atlanta Braves SP By the percentages, Sale could challenge Tarik Skubal for the third spot in these rankings, but the Braves build in so much extra rest for the 37-year-old that he has virtually no shot at 30 starts or 180 innings. Even in this format, which rewards percentages more than points leagues do, it puts a cap on his upside.7 Zack Wheeler Philadelphia Phillies SP A year ago, Wheeler was on the mend from thoracic outlet surgery and facing an uncertain future. While he did lose a little something in the way of velocity upon his return, he didn't lose anything in terms of performance. Decline is still possible at age 36, but honestly, he seems pretty bankable.8 Jesus Luzardo Philadelphia Phillies SP In Luzardo, the Phillies have a third near-perfect starting pitcher, with his ERA estimators all matching up with his actual 2.86 mark and his strikeout and ground-ball rates both ranking sixth among qualifiers. My one hesitation with drafting him here would be his late-season bout with shoulder inflammation, but to me, he put that concern to rest with a dominant postseason start.9 Chase Burns Cincinnati Reds SP Burns was trending toward a top-10 finish before the Reds put a stop to it in the name of workload management, but the reins should come off in 2027. He has just one swing-and-miss pitch, which is worrisome for a profile so dependent on whiffs, but he's been so dominant to this point in the majors that I'm choosing to see the glass half full.10 Dylan Cease Toronto Blue Jays SP It feels a little wrong to rank Cease so high, seeing as he was leaking velocity all year and finished on the IL with shoulder inflammation, but he was contending for the Cy Young through it all. He genuinely did make a leap with the Blue Jays, broadening his arsenal beyond just a fastball and slider, but walks remain an issue.11 Gavin Williams Cleveland Guardians SP Williams is a pitcher of extremes, emerging as a bat-missing marvel over the course of 2026, with eight of his final 14 starts yielding double-digit strikeouts, but he also gives up some of the hardest contact of any pitcher. You can expect his ERA to skew high as a result.12 Paul Skenes Pittsburgh Pirates SP A series of mechanical misfires, along with a velocity dip that may or may not have been related, relegated a generational talent to something far more ordinary, compiling a 4.56 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 23 starts from mid-May on. The underlying data was still pretty impressive, though, and simply restoring Skenes' crossfire delivery would go a long way to fixing him. Seems worth the gamble here.13 Drew Rasmussen Tampa Bay Rays SP Turns out Rasmussen is just as effective going six innings at a time as he was going five innings at a time -- maybe more, even, with the introduction of a changeup to his three-fastball arsenal. He's as stable as they come for ERA and WHIP, and now that the reins are off in terms of workload, he's not far off from being a Fantasy ace.14 Parker Messick Cleveland Guardians SP Despite a solid seven-start showing late in 2025, Messick was the rookie few saw coming in 2026, throwing the seventh-most innings of any pitcher (186 1/3) with strong ratios all around. He seemed to get better as the year went on, too, delivering a 2.30 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 10.0 K/9 in the second half.15 Payton Tolle Boston Red Sox SP Tolle is my pick to be next year's Cam Schlittler and I'm ranking him aggressively as a result. His fastball is already a world-beater, and the rest of his arsenal is rounding into form, with the clearest evidence being his 1.94 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 12.6 K/9 when throwing his curveball at least 10 percent of the time.16 Cade Cavalli Washington Nationals SP Cavalli got better as his control improved over the course of his breakout season, resulting in a 2.14 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 11.5 K/9 over his final 16 starts. I've ranked him based on his full-season numbers, which is the most I think you'll have to pay for him, but clearly he has the potential for more.17 Logan Gilbert Seattle Mariners SP Mariners pitchers have been resolute about adding more pitches, and it's backfired for the most part, with Gilbert being no exception. There's still a lot to like about his game -- from the high whiff rate to the plus control to the big workload -- but he'll need to reverse the trend of a rising ERA.18 Reid Detmers Los Angeles Angels SP Detmers used his 2025 banishment to the bullpen constructively, learning to attack better and improving the depth on his slider. It culminated in a breakthrough 2026 in which he put together a 2.63 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 10.4 K/9 in his final 22 starts.19 Logan Henderson Milwaukee Brewers SP The Brewers quit fence-straddling with Henderson finally, and he ended up being about as effective in 18 starts as he was in five a year earlier. His mediocre velocity and limited pitch selection are sure to invite more skepticism but his line now, in 23 career starts, is a 2.33 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, and 10.4 K/9.20 Max Fried New York Yankees SP Despite contending with a bone bruise in his elbow that relegated him to the IL twice, Fried ended up delivering about his typical stat line, at least as far as percentages go. He could still deliver 95 percent of what we're expecting from Drew Rasmussen, but he'll need improved health at age 33 to do so.21 Bryan Woo Seattle Mariners SP Woo's ERA jumped from 2.94 in 2025 to 4.01 in 2026, which accounts for him dropping about a dozen spots in the rankings, but if you dig a little deeper, the difference is mostly in the quality of the defense being played behind him. He's still a WHIP standout with adequate strikeout capabilities, making him a strong bounce-back candidate for 2027.22 Nolan McLean New York Mets SP Most will probably rank McLean higher than this given that he already carries a lot of name value and was basically fine during his first full season. He really leaned into his sinker as the year went on, though, averaging less than a strikeout per inning in the second half and registering just a 9.6 percent swinging-strike rate for the season.23 Garrett Crochet Boston Red Sox RP The biggest first-round bust of 2026 hardly pitched because of a shoulder capsule issue and a lat strain, and given the severity of those injuries, it's anybody's guess what he'll look like in 2027. He reportedly used the time off to sort out his mechanics, and if he's lighting up the radar gun this spring, he'll likely rocket up these rankings.24 Hunter Brown Houston Astros SP Brown failed to live up to his breakthrough in 2025 a year later, mostly because he missed 2 1/2 months with a shoulder strain. He still returned to deliver a 3.19 ERA, showing his usual velocity, which points to him having a high floor. He'll need to shore up his mechanics to get his command back in line, though.25 Gerrit Cole New York Yankees SP Cole returned from Tommy John surgery with improved velocity and impeccable command, leaving little in the stat line to complain about. Still, his breaking balls lacked their usual bite, leading to harder contact and a rather pitiful 9.6 percent swinging-strike rate. Sometimes the stuff takes a little longer to come back after such a procedure, but seeing as he's 36, it's not certain to happen.26 Jared Jones Pittsburgh Pirates SP This is an aggressive ranking for a guy who soared to new heights in September with a 0.93 ERA, 0.59 WHIP and 12.4 K/9 across five starts. Armed with a new curveball and having shaken off the rust from his UCL repair, Jones showed genuine ace upside, for as brief as it was.27 Blake Snell Los Angeles Dodgers SP Snell's 2.69 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 11.8 K/9 over the past five years would make him a cinch top-10 option if not for the fact that he's also averaged just 103 innings during that time because of injuries. And given the Dodgers' incredible pitching surplus, I'm not sure they'd have it any other way, content to give him long periods of rest to ensure he's in peak form when it matters most.28 Jacob deGrom Texas Rangers SP I may be underrating deGrom here, seeing as he had the fourth-best K/9 rate (11.1) and second-best swinging-strike rate (15.9 percent) among qualifiers, but a bad second half from a 38-year-old with a marked injury history makes me a little squeamish.29 Carlos Rodon New York Yankees SP The anxiety associated with Rodon's return from elbow surgery (loose bodies) turned to panic in June when he went back on the IL with inflammation in that same elbow. But after another six weeks of recovery, he excelled in his final eight starts, putting together a 1.89 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 9.2 K/9. He also finished on the highest possible note with eight shutout innings against the eventual AL champion Rays.30 Joe Ryan Minnesota Twins SP Ryan is beginning to develop a reputation as a pitcher who can't finish, once again dominating in the first half before slipping in the second half and landing on the IL, this time with a glute strain. As long as you don't mind an ERA in the mid-to-high threes, his WHIP and strikeout upside are worth selecting here.31 Braxton Ashcraft Pittsburgh Pirates SP The first two months established Ashcraft as one of the breakthrough pitchers of 2026, but he treaded water thereafter, having to trade off strikeouts for ground balls as he wore down from the unfamiliar workload. The Pirates ultimately shut him down in September, but the final line was strong enough for you to hope for better as he comes into 2027 more built up.32 Logan Webb San Francisco Giants SP After a five-year run as an ace or something close to it, Webb faltered in 2026, leaving too many pitches over the fat part of the plate instead of working the corners. Or that's the narrative, anyway, but he actually had a better WHIP than the previous two years and a FIP nearly a run lower than his ERA. I say he's fine, but I can only slot him so high since he's a tricky categorical fit even at his best. 33 Shohei Ohtani Los Angeles Dodgers DH Only Jacob Misiorowski averaged more Head-to-Head points per game than Ohtani, who actually had the lower ERA of the two. Ohtani could only sustain it for half a season, though, being done in by biceps and knee issues that ended up undermining his hitting as well. Because his bat is so important, you have to figure the Dodgers will proceed cautiously with him as a pitcher, for as good as he is at it.34 Tyler Glasnow Los Angeles Dodgers SP The story remains the same for Glasnow, whose performance is consistently stellar but whose inability to stay healthy makes him more of a garnish than a main course. Now 33, he still has yet to throw even 140 innings in a season, and you know the Dodgers' top priority with him is to make sure he's ready for the playoffs.35 Trevor Rogers Baltimore Orioles SP Rogers' final numbers in 2026 -- a 4.03 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 8.3 K/9 -- don't quite merit this ranking, but keep in mind his mechanics were compromised early on by a severe bout with the flu. From June 1 forward, he had a 2.90 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP and 8.9 K/9, confirming that his 2025 breakout was no fluke.36 Eury Perez Miami Marlins SP Perez's control issues carried over into 2026, leading him to lean more on his sinker during the summer months. It worked at first but quickly became his most hittable pitch, bringing about a bumpy finish. His final numbers were decent, but he doesn't seem to be any closer to meeting his sky-high potential.37 George Kirby Seattle Mariners SP Kirby has been trending in the wrong direction for a few years now, and after a second straight season with an ERA over 4.00, some would describe this ranking as generous. The pitch design crowd remains hopeful of a turnaround, though, believing his decline is less a matter of skill than of an overly broad arsenal and suboptimal pitch sequencing. He's fixable, in other words.38 Sean Burke Chicago White Sox SP Burke is tough to rank because, while his 3.34 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 9.7 K/9 are impressive, particularly over 172 1/3 innings, they were fueled by a midseason surge that was bookended by some pronounced control issues. So the stuff works, which points to a high ceiling, but his failure to repeat his mechanics consistently makes for heightened volatility.39 Taj Bradley Minnesota Twins SP Between the high exit velocities and high walk rate, Bradley seemed like he was on a razor's edge all season, but his performance turned out to be pretty steady from start to finish. Unless he improves in those two areas, his ERA and WHIP will track high, but if he's racking up 200 strikeouts, you can live with it.40 Sonny Gray Boston Red Sox SP Everyone will bristle at this, seeing as Gray won 18 games and was the 13th-best starting pitcher for Rotisserie leagues in 2026, but his 2.72 ERA came in spite of a higher FIP than the previous two seasons, when he had a combined 4.07 ERA. His K/9 rate also cratered from 10.5 in those two seasons to 7.9, which is a particularly alarming development for a guy in his late 30s.