Top 20 fantasy baseball starters for the 2023 season

Fantasy baseball season is here, and teams that haven’t drafted for the 2023 season yet will soon. We start our rankings with starting pitchers, which is an insanely deep position. Fantasy baseball starters is such a deep position that Shane Bieber — an ace in this game — didn’t even make the just missed section. Crazy.

This list is a ranking of the top 20 fantasy baseball starters you should target for your team.

First, let’s start with a few guys who just missed the list:

Giants ace Logan Webb had a nice 2022 season. In 32 starts, he pitched 192.1 innings, allowed just 174 hits, 62 earned runs, 49 walks, and struck out 163 batters. His ERA was 2.90, his FIP was 3.03, his WHIP was 1.159, and his ERA+ was 139. He got Cy Young votes for the first time in his career, and he’s looking to build off that in 2023.

Spencer Strider burst on the scene with an awesome rookie campaign. He made 20 starts and had 11 relief appearances. He pitched 131.2 innings and allowed just 86 hits, 39 earned runs, 45 walks, and struck out a crazy 202 batters. His ERA was 2.67, his FIP was 1.83, his WHIP was 1.00, and his ERA+ was 152. He missed the end of the regular season with an oblique injury, but he should be good to go to start 2023.

Clayton Kershaw just misses the list because of his injury tendencies. Last year, he made 22 starts and pitched 126.1 innings. He allowed 96 hits, 32 earned runs, 23 walks, and struck out 137 batters. His ERA was 2.28, his FIP was 2.57, his WHIP was 0.94, and his ERA+ was 184. Unfortunately we just can’t expect him to pitch a full season, since he’s made 22 starts or less in the last three seasons.

Julio Urias had a great 2022 season, but unfortunately he is due for some regression according to his metrics. He made 31 starts and pitched 175 innings last season, allowing just 127 hits, 42 earned runs, 41 walks, and striking out 166 batters. His ERA was 2.16, but his FIP was 3.71, so there was a hefty amount of luck in that National-League-leading ERA and ERA+ (194). He can still be really good this year, and he’s young, just don’t expect a repeat of 2022.

You should want all of these guys on your fantasy baseball team this year and beyond. With the honorable mentions out of the way, let’s look at the top 20 fantasy baseball starters you should target for your team in 2023.

Fantasy baseball starters #20: Alek Manoah

Alek Manoah is a bulldog on the mound. Last year, he made 31 starts and pitched 196.2 innings. He allowed just 144 hits, 49 earned runs, 51 walks, and he struck out 180 batters. His ERA was 2.24, his FIP was 3.35, his WHIP was 0.99, and his ERA+ was 174. Similar to Urias, he may be due for a little regression given the substantial difference between his ERA and FIP, but he’s still a guy you’d rather have on your fantasy baseball team than against it.

Fantasy baseball starters #19: Cristian Javier

Cristian Javier had a breakout season in 2022. He made 25 starts and pitched 148.2 innings. He allowed just 89 hits, 42 earned runs, 52 walks, and struck out 194 batters. His ERA was 2.54, his FIP was 3.16, his WHIP was 0.95, and his ERA+ was 152. His fastball is a truly special pitch that befuddles even the best hitters in the game, as we saw repeatedly in the playoffs last fall. If he repeats or exceeds those numbers in 2023, he will cement himself as one of the best pitchers in the game.

Fantasy baseball starters #18: Framber Valdez

Framber Valdez had an incredible 2022 season. He made 31 starts and pitched 201.1 innings while allowing just 166 hits, 63 earned runs, 67 walks, and striking out 194 batters. His ERA 2.82, his FIP was 3.06, his WHIP was 1.16, and his ERA+ was 137. He led the AL in innings, complete games (three), shutouts (one), and batters faced (827). He also set the record for the most consecutive quality starts ever with 25, so if your fantasy baseball league has those in the scoring system, you can take him a little higher if you really want him.

Fantasy baseball starters #17: Zac Gallen

Zac Gallen had a career season in 2022. He made 31 starts and pitched 184 innings. He allowed just 121 hits, 52 earned runs, 47 walks, and struck out 192 batters. His ERA was 2.54, his FIP was 3.05, his WHIP was 0.91, and his ERA+ was 158. He led the National League in WHIP, and he led MLB with 5.9 H/9. He also set the Diamondbacks’ scoreless inning streak with 44.1.

Fantasy baseball starters #16: Max Fried

Max Fried is one of the most underappreciated starters in baseball, but he is also one of the most reliable. In 2022, he made 30 starts and pitched 185.1 innings. He allowed 156 hits, 51 earned runs, 32 walks, and struck out 170 batters. His ERA was 2.48, his FIP was 2.70, his WHIP was 1.01, and his ERA+ was 164. He excels at limiting home runs, with just 0.8 HR/9 in his career, and he was even better last year at 0.6 HR/9.

Fantasy baseball starters #15: Kevin Gausman

Kevin Gausman had a good season last year, and he may be due for an even better 2023. He made 31 starts and pitched 174.2 innings. He allowed 188 hits, 65 earned runs, only 28 walks, and struck out 205 batters, good for an American-League best 7.32 K/BB. His ERA was 3.35, his FIP was nearly a run lower at 2.38, his WHIP was 1.24, and his ERA+ was 116. Expect an upswing from Gausman this season.

Fantasy baseball starters #14: Luis Castillo

Castillo missed the beginning of the 2022 season, but he was fantastic when he was on the mound. He made 25 starts between Cincinnati and Seattle. He pitched 150.1 innings, allowed just 118 hits, 50 earned runs, 45 walks, and struck out 167 batters. His ERA was 2.99, his FIP was 3.07, his WHIP was 1.08, and his ERA+ was 138. Perhaps his best performance came in the playoffs against Toronto in the Wild Card round when he tossed 7.1 shutout innings.

Fantasy baseball starters #13: Shane McClanahan

Shane McClanahan established himself as an elite starter in 2022. The lefty made 28 starts and tossed 166.1 innings. He allowed 116 hits, 47 earned runs, 38 walks, and struck out 194 batters. His ERA was 2.54, his FIP was 3.00, his WHIP was 0.93, and his ERA+ was 142. His K/BB was 5.11. He tailed off a little bit in the second half, but still finished sixth in the AL Cy Young voting. He’s still young, so there’s no reason to think performances like this will stop any time soon.

Fantasy baseball starters #12: Zack Wheeler

Coming off of a career year in 2021, Zack Wheeler looked strong once again in 2022. He made 26 starts, tossing 153 innings, allowing 125 hits, 48 earned runs, 34 walks, and striking out 163 batters. His ERA was 2.82, his FIP was 2.89, his WHIP was 1.04, and his ERA+ was 144. Wheeler missed about a month from the middle of August to the middle of September, but he looked good when he came back, so there’s no reason to have doubts about his health going into 2023.

Fantasy baseball starters #11: Brandon Woodruff

Brandon Woodruff has been one of the most consistent starters in baseball for a few years now, and he continued that trend in 2022. He made 27 starts and pitched 153.1 innings. He allowed 122 hits, 52 earned runs, 42 walks, and struck out 190 batters. His ERA was 3.05, his FIP was 3.08, his WHIP was 1.07, and his ERA+ was 129.

Fantasy baseball starters #10: Max Scherzer

Mad Max was excellent for the Mets in 2022. He made 23 starts and pitched 145.1 innings. He allowed just 108 hits, 37 earned runs, 24 walks, and struck out 173 batters. His ERA was 2.29, his FIP was 2.62, his WHIP was 0.91, and his ERA+ was 169. Unfortunately he dealt with oblique injuries throughout the season, so hopefully he’s taking care of that this offseason. When he’s on the mound, he’s still a premier pitcher.

Fantasy baseball starters #9: Dylan Cease

We’ve seen Dylan Cease’s potential for a few years now, but in 2022, he finally put it all together and had a dominant season. Cease made 32 starts and tossed 184 innings. He allowed 126 hits, 45 earned runs, 78 walks, and struck out 227 batters. His ERA is 2.20, his FIP was 3.10, his WHIP was 1.11, and his ERA+ was 180. The only issue was the walks, which led baseball, but since he doesn’t allow many hits (only 6.2 H/9), he was able to keep his WHIP down. If he can trim those walks down a bit, he can be even better.

Fantasy baseball starters #8: Shohei Ohtani

Obviously if I was ranking overall fantasy baseball players, he would be the easiest #1 pick ever, but I’m only looking at Shohei as a starter here. Last year was his best pitching season to date. He made 28 starts, tossed 166 innings, allowed 124 hits, 43 earned runs, 44 walks, and struck out 219 batters. His ERA was 2.33, his FIP was 2.40, his WHIP 1.01, and his ERA+ was 172. Factor in the offensive value he also brings, and you can’t go wrong with this guy.

Fantasy baseball starters #7: Aaron Nola

Aaron Nola had one of his best seasons in 2022. He made 32 starts and tossed 205 innings while allowing 168 hits, 74 earned runs, only 29 walks, and striking out 235 batters, good for a ridiculous K/BB of 8.10. His ERA was 3.25, his FIP was 2.58, his WHIP was 0.96, and his ERA+ was 125. He was hurt by the poor Phillies defense behind him, as you’ll see his ERA was 67 points higher than his FIP. In some ways, this was the best year of his career, and there’s no signs of him slowing down.

Fantasy baseball starters #6: Carlos Rodon

After having some injury issues earlier in his career, Carlos Rodon has established himself as a dominant force on the mound. The lefty made 31 starts last year and pitched 178 innings. He allowed 131 hits, 57 earned runs, 52 walks, and struck out 237 batters. His ERA was 2.88, his FIP was 2.25, his WHIP was 1.03, and his ERA+ was 140. His FIP led MLB, as did his 12 K/9. This was his second year in a row finishing in the top six of Cy Young voting.

Fantasy baseball starters #5: Gerrit Cole

Who will be better for the Yankees this year, Rodon or Cole? It’s going to be really close, but I’ll give Cole the edge because of his track record. Last year, he pitched 200.2 innings in his MLB-leading 33 starts. He allowed 154 hits, 78 earned runs, 50 walks, and struck out and MLB-best 257 batters. His ERA was 3.50, his FIP was 3.47, his WHIP was 1.02, and his ERA+ was 111. It was a bit of a down year, largely due to his league-leading 33 home runs allowed, but if he can reign those in a bit, he can return to his old form. Even if he doesn’t, he’s still a workhorse and a strikeout machine.

Fantasy baseball starters #4: Justin Verlander

Like fine wine, Justin Verlander continues to get better with age. After missing 2021 with Tommy John surgery, the righty came back and casually won the AL Cy Young in 2022. He made 28 starts and pitched 175 innings, allowing just 116 hits, 34 earned runs, 29 walks, and striking out 185 batters. His ERA was 1.75, his FIP was 2.49, his WHIP was 0.83, and his ERA+ was 220. He led the league with 6.0 H/9, and he led MLB in ERA, WHIP, and ERA+. While I wouldn’t expect a repeat of this incredible performance, I would still expect him to be one of the best pitchers in baseball in 2023.