2026 Fantasy Baseball: Rookie Starting Pitchers to Watch

There are a plethora of rookie starting pitchers that will emerge this season. Trey Yesavage and Nolan McLean still have rookie status, but if you watched any baseball down the final stretch of the regular season in 2025, then you heard these two names quite regularly. In limited appearances, they both showed they were ready for the big stage of MLB.

Because of their young age and stellar pitching arsenal, they are popular targets in fantasy baseball drafts this season. For that reason, I left these two off my list. Below is my list of the next three rookie starting pitchers who fantasy managers need to keep an eye on in their drafts this season.

Rookie Starting Pitchers to Keep an Eye on for Fantasy Baseball

Tatsuya Imai – Houston Astros

Tatsuya Imai brings an impressive pitching arm over from Japan. Over eight seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization, he’s posted a 3.15 ERA, a 1.267 WHIP, and racked up 907 strikeouts over 963.2 innings. The right-handed pitcher can throw his fastball in the mid-90s mph, a slider, a changeup, a splitter, and a sinker. It’s difficult to imagine a 27-year-old being a rookie, but the Houston Astros desperately needed solid starters.

Besides Hunter Brown, this rotation may be one of the worst on paper. Christian Javier and Lance McCullers Jr. were both limited last season due to injuries but posted 4.62 and 6.51 ERAs, respectively. Mike Burrows was decent, throwing 96 innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates last season and posting a 3.94 ERA, though walks have been an issue throughout his career.

He averaged three free bases per nine innings in his seven professional seasons in the minors and MLB. The Astros also have Ryan Weiss, who is a 29-year-old rookie. He’s returning to America after two seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization, following five minor league seasons in which he struggled. In his last season in the minor leagues (2023), he posted a 7.07 ERA for the Kansas City Royals Triple-A affiliate.

Connelly Early – Boston Red Sox

I could have used Payton Tolle here as well for the Boston Red Sox, but I like what Connelly Early offers slightly more. Early threw 19.1 innings last season in the big leagues, where he was phenomenal, posting a 2.33 ERA, 29 strikeouts, and four walks in his MLB debut. His mid-90s fastball is a tad slower than Tolle’s, but I like Early’s secondary pitches better. His changeup, slider, and curveball had a 31 percent whiff rate against right-handed batters in MLB last season.

The lefty did struggle getting hit, though, as batters had a .378 BABIP off of him. The main issue for Early is that the Red Sox’s starting rotation is stacked with talent. With Garrett Crochet, Ranger Suarez, Sonny Gray, Brayan Bello, and Johan Oviedo all blocking the prospect, it’ll take an injury or two for fans to see the prospect back in Boston. He’ll also have to outduel Tolle to be the first lefty called up. However, Early has too much talent to be stuck in Triple-A all season.

Andrew Painter – Philadelphia Phillies

Andrew Painter was off to an electric start in the minor leagues after being drafted 13th overall in the 2021 MLB draft. In 2022, he posted a 1.56 ERA and a 155:25 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 103.2 innings combined over the Single- and Double-A levels.

Injuries brought Painter’s season in May to a screeching halt. He suffered a sprained UCL in March 2023. The lefty tried to rehabilitate the sprain, but it didn’t work, and he needed surgery to repair his UCL injury. He would sit out the entire 2024 season and make his return in April last season. Painter has yet to break into MLB, but that looks to change this season, as he’s a possibility to break camp with the Phillies as their number five starting pitcher.

Painter can touch 100 mph with his fastball; a low-80s slider is a solid strikeout pitch; an upper-70s curveball; and a changeup. Look for big things from this 22-year-old who has the stuff to be a future ace. Fantasy managers will need to watch how the Phillies manage their rotation when Zack Wheeler returns, though. Wheeler is hoping to return in late April or early May after needing thoracic outlet decompression surgery in September.

For more of the great fantasy baseball rankings and analysis you’ve come to expect from FantraxHQ, check out our full 2026 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit! We’re here for you all the way up until Opening Day and then on into your championship run.