The day we’ve all been waiting for is finally here – Opening Day 2024! With the new season comes new hope for fantasy managers to contend or repeat in their leagues. One key aspect for contention involves both rostering and strategically using viable starting pitchers. Yet, the landscape is tricky to navigate as injury statuses and upcoming matchups can quickly change a pitcher’s immediate usefulness. That’s we why aim to help fantasy managers confidently use the right starting pitchers in their lineup with our ongoing weekly starting pitchers rankings.
Ready to make the 2024 MLB season the best yet? Fantrax offers a fantasy baseball league for everyone. Want to get started right away? Then jump into a Best Ball League or a Draft and Hold. Maybe you have an existing league but want the most customizable fantasy baseball platform in existence? Then you definitely need to check out the Fantrax Commissioner! And of course, whether you play roto or points, you can head to the Fantrax Mock Draft Lobby to start your draft prep for the 2024 fantasy baseball season.
Opening Weekend Starting Pitcher Rankings
A few prefacing notes to help you identify key risers and fallers in the starting pitcher rankings below:
- Tough matchups will play a factor for many high-end SPs this opening weekend. Most notably impacted are pitchers in the series between the offensive juggernauts of Atlanta and Philadelphia. Zach Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Max Fried, and even Spencer Strider all have their ranks lowered slightly this week as a result.
- Conversely, several pitchers have easier matchups to start the season, increasing their ranking. In particular, Cleveland’s matchup with Oakland presents a prime opportunity to realize the full potential of Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, and Tanner Bibee right out of the gate.
- Lastly, many of the spring training pitcher breakouts are ranked a bit lower than their current hype level/ perceived value. Names like Ryan Weathers, AJ Puk, Luis Severino, Gavin Stone, Jared Jones, and others are ranked safely in the middle tiers for now, until we see if spring success can carry into the regular season or not.
| Rnk | Pitcher | Team | Opp | Confidence Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corbin Burnes | BAL | LAA | 10 |
| 2 | Pablo Lopez | MIN | KCR | 9 |
| 3 | Zac Gallen | ARI | COL | 9 |
| 4 | Shane Bieber | CLE | OAK | 9 |
| 5 | Spencer Strider | ATL | @PHI | 8 |
| 6 | Tarik Skubal | DET | @CWS | 8 |
| 7 | Luis Castillo | SEA | BOS | 8 |
| 8 | Grayson Rodriguez | BAL | LAA | 8 |
| 9 | Tanner Bibee | CLE | @OAK | 8 |
| 10 | Zach Wheeler | PHI | ATL | 7 |
| 11 | Freddy Peralta | MIL | @NYM | 7 |
| 12 | George Kirby | SEA | BOS | 7 |
| 13 | Tyler Glasnow | LAD | STL | 7 |
| 14 | Zach Eflin | TBR | TOR | 7 |
| 15 | Jesus Luzardo | MIA | PIT | 7 |
| 16 | Bobby Miller | LAD | STL | 7 |
| 17 | Cole Ragans | KCR | MIN | 7 |
| 18 | Triston McKenzie | CLE | @OAK | 7 |
| 19 | Brayan Bello | BOS | @SEA | 7 |
| 20 | Jose Berrios | TOR | @TB | 7 |
| 21 | Merrill Kelly | ARI | COL | 7 |
| 22 | Framber Valdez | HOU | NYY | 7 |
| 23 | Bailey Ober | MIN | KCR | 7 |
| 24 | Chris Bassitt | TOR | @TB | 7 |
| 25 | Max Fried | ATL | @PHI | 7 |
| 26 | Yoshinubo Yamamoto | LAD | STL | 6 |
| 27 | Aaron Nola | PHI | ATL | 6 |
| 28 | Hunter Greene | CIN | WSH | 6 |
| 29 | Chris Sale | ATL | @PHI | 6 |
| 30 | Logan Gilbert | SEA | BOS | 6 |
| 31 | Mitch Keller | PIT | @MIA | 6 |
| 32 | Aaron Civale | TBR | TOR | 6 |
| 33 | Nathan Eovaldi | TEX | CHC | 6 |
| 34 | Logan Webb | SFG | SDP | 6 |
| 35 | Yusei Kikuchi | TOR | @TB | 6 |
| 36 | Yu Darvish | SDP | SFG | 6 |
| 37 | Logan Allen | CLE | @OAK | 6 |
| 38 | Dylan Cease | SDP | SFG | 6 |
| 39 | Ryan Weathers | MIA | PIT | 6 |
| 40 | Tyler Wells | BAL | LAA | 6 |
| 41 | Nick Pivetta | BOS | @SEA | 6 |
| 42 | Seth Lugo | KCR | MIN | 6 |
| 43 | AJ Puk | MIA | PIT | 5 |
| 44 | Joe Ryan | MIN | KCR | 5 |
| 45 | Kenta Maeda | DET | @CWS | 5 |
| 46 | Michael Wacha | KCR | MIN | 5 |
| 47 | Kutter Crawford | BOS | @SEA | 5 |
| 48 | Joe Musgrove | SDP | SFG | 5 |
| 49 | Carlos Rodon | NYY | @HOU | 5 |
| 50 | Luis Severino | NYM | MIL | 5 |
| 51 | Ryne Nelson | ARI | COL | 5 |
| 52 | Frankie Montas | CIN | WSH | 5 |
| 53 | Justin Steele | CHC | @TEX | 5 |
| 54 | Andrew Heaney | TEX | CHC | 5 |
| 55 | Zach Littell | TBR | TOR | 5 |
| 56 | JP Sears | OAK | CLE | 5 |
| 57 | Jon Gray | TEX | CHC | 5 |
| 58 | Jack Flaherty | DET | @CWS | 5 |
| 59 | Tylor Megill | NYM | MIL | 5 |
| 60 | Nestor Cortes Jr. | NYY | @HOU | 5 |
| 61 | Bryce Miller | SEA | BOS | 5 |
| 62 | Kyle Harrison | SFG | SDP | 5 |
| 63 | Tanner Houck | BOS | @SEA | 4 |
| 64 | Jordan Hicks | SFG | SDP | 4 |
| 65 | Brandon Pfaadt | ARI | COL | 4 |
| 66 | Graham Ashcraft | CIN | WSH | 4 |
| 67 | Cristian Javier | HOU | NYY | 4 |
| 68 | Eric Fedde | CWS | DET | 4 |
| 69 | Marcus Stroman | NYY | @HOU | 4 |
| 70 | DL Hall | MIL | @NYM | 4 |
| 71 | Ranger Suarez | PHI | ATL | 4 |
| 72 | Ross Stripling | OAK | CLE | 4 |
| 73 | Hunter Brown | HOU | NYY | 4 |
| 74 | Gavin Stone | LAD | STL | 4 |
| 75 | Garrett Crochet | CWS | DET | 4 |
| 76 | Jhony Brito | SDP | SFG | 4 |
| 77 | Paul Blackburn | OAK | CLE | 4 |
| 78 | Trevor Rogers | MIA | PIT | 4 |
| 79 | Jose Quintana | NYM | MIL | 4 |
| 80 | Kyle Freeland | COL | @ARI | 3 |
| 81 | Jordan Wicks | CHC | @TEX | 3 |
| 82 | Mike Soroka | CWS | DET | 3 |
| 83 | Griffin Canning | LAA | @BAL | 3 |
| 84 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | @TEX | 3 |
| 85 | Cal Quantrill | COL | @ARI | 3 |
| 86 | JP France | HOU | NYY | 3 |
| 87 | Josiah Gray | WSH | @CIN | 3 |
| 88 | Austin Gomber | COL | @ARI | 3 |
| 89 | Clarke Schmidt | NYY | @HOU | 3 |
| 90 | Alex Wood | OAK | CLE | 3 |
| 91 | Patrick Corbin | WSH | @CIN | 3 |
| 92 | Colin Rea | MIL | @NYM | 3 |
| 93 | Patrick Sandoval | LAA | @BAL | 3 |
| 94 | Martin Perez | PIT | @MIA | 3 |
| 95 | Chase Silseth | LAA | @BAL | 3 |
| 96 | Marco Gonzalez | PIT | @MIA | 3 |
| 97 | Lance Lynn | STL | @LAD | 3 |
| 98 | Kyle Gibson | STL | @LAD | 3 |
| 99 | Keaton Winn | SFG | SDP | 2 |
| 100 | Miles Mikolas | STL | @LAD | 2 |
| 101 | Tyler Alexander | TBR | TOR | 2 |
| 102 | Luis Ortiz | PIT | @MIA | 2 |
| 103 | Steven Matz | STL | @LAD | 2 |
| 104 | Bowden Francis | TOR | @TB@ | 1 |
| 105 | Jake Irvin | WSH | @CIN | 1 |
| 106 | Ryan Feltner | COL | @ARI | 1 |
For more of the great fantasy baseball rankings and analysis you’ve come to expect from FantraxHQ, check out our full 2024 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit! We’re here for you all the way up until Opening Day and then on into your championship run.
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no Iminaga?
He’s not pitching until next Monday against Colorado at home actually. While that’s a favorable matchup, he has the Dodgers later in the week. Weather factors could alter the schedule, though, so stay tuned for next week’s rankings this weekend.