Rest of Season Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Skenes Steals the Show

In last week’s ROS rankings column, I mentioned that I generally tend to rank young pitchers lower than most analysts. As with most “rules”, there are exceptions. And it is safe to say that Paul Skenes is breaking a lot more than my loose rules regarding young pitchers. Skenes is quickly becoming a phenomenon throughout the league and has been tapped to start Tuesday’s All-Star game. That designation is anything but a publicity stunt considering how he has carved through the league.

As we reach the season’s All-Star break, Skenes is an SP2 in 12-team fantasy leagues in terms of year-to-date value. But that does not even begin to tell the story. That is because Skenes did not even make his Major League debut until May 11. All he has done since then is go 6-0 in 11 starts with a 1.90 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and 89 strikeouts. Among 130 pitchers who have thrown at least 60 innings, Skenes ranks sixth or better in all ERA indicators. Skenes “only” ranks 11th among those pitchers in batting average allowed and 13th in walk rate. He trails only Garrett Crochet in strikeout rate and K-BB rate. Razzball credits Skenes with the highest per-game fantasy value among starting pitchers this season. Skenes is just short of Chris Sale, with Sale’s start on Sunday pending.

So, what can fantasy managers expect from Skenes in the second half? Perhaps more importantly, do we expect the Pittsburgh Pirates to rein in Skenes’ usage down the stretch?

Paul Skenes Second Half Outlook

I think some things are working in his favor in that regard. First is that he looks to be built differently. Though he recently turned 22 years old, Skenes is a big kid. He stands 6’6” and weighs 235 pounds. That should allow him to absorb a bigger workload than most pitchers his age. Skenes threw 122.2 innings at LSU last season before the Pirates drafted him first overall. Skenes only faced 28 hitters over five starts at three different stops for Pittsburgh last summer. In total last year, he threw 129.1 innings. Thus far in 2024, he has thrown 93.2 innings between Pittsburgh and Triple-A Indianapolis.

Last week I mentioned that I believed the Chicago White Sox would greatly reduce Garrett Crochet’s workload based on his lack of work in prior seasons. Sure enough, they pulled him after just two innings and 28 pitches in his last start. Fantasy managers should probably expect this to happen at least a couple of more times in the season’s second half. But I believe Pittsburgh will let Skenes work a bit more regularly given how much he pitched last year. I guess that they will build him up to somewhere in the 150-160-inning range. That means he should be good for about 10 starts at roughly six innings per start after the All-Star break. Given those parameters, I am comfortable tabbing Skenes as a top-15 fantasy starter in this week’s rest-of-season rankings.

The wild card (pun intended) in this equation is that Pittsburgh is currently within striking distance of an NL playoff berth. They are currently 2.5 games out of the last Wild Card spot, though several teams are in the hunt. If they are in a position to make the playoffs, they could save some of Skenes’ bullets for October baseball. If they fall too far out of contention, they may just throw in the towel on the season and save Skenes for 2025. I suspect that Pittsburgh will remain reasonably competitive but ultimately fall short of the playoffs. That is probably the best-case scenario for fantasy managers who are relying on Skenes over the next two months.

Rest of Season Fantasy Baseball Rankings

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	POS
1	Shohei Ohtani	LAD	UT
2	Bobby Witt Jr.	KC	SS
3	Aaron Judge	NYY	OF
4	Juan Soto	NYY	OF
5	Jose Ramirez	CLE	3B
6	Yordan Alvarez	HOU	OF
7	Gunnar Henderson	BAL	SS/3B
8	Freddie Freeman	LAD	1B
9	Elly De La Cruz	CIN	SS/3B
10	Rafael Devers	BOS	3B
11	Zack Wheeler	PHI	SP
12	Trea Turner	PHI	SS
13	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	TOR	1B
14	Kyle Tucker	HOU	OF
15	Tarik Skubal	DET	SP
16	Austin Riley	ATL	3B
17	Bryce Harper	PHI	1B
18	Francisco Lindor	NYM	SS
19	Matt Olson	ATL	1B
20	Julio Rodriguez	SEA	OF
21	Corey Seager	TEX	SS
22	Corbin Burnes	BAL	SP
23	George Kirby	SEA	SP
24	Pete Alonso	NYM	1B
25	Chris Sale	ATL	SP
26	CJ Abrams	WSH	SS
27	Marcus Semien	TEX	2B
28	Marcell Ozuna	ATL	UT
29	Aaron Nola	PHI	SP
30	Emmanuel Clase	CLE	RP
31	Ozzie Albies	ATL	2B
32	Dylan Cease	SD	SP
33	Joe Ryan	MIN	SP
34	Pablo Lopez	MIN	SP
35	Logan Gilbert	SEA	SP
36	Luis Castillo	SEA	SP
37	Freddy Peralta	MIL	SP
38	Ketel Marte	ARI	2B
39	Paul Skenes	PIT	SP
40	Jose Altuve	HOU	2B
41	Christian Yelich	MIL	OF
42	Max Fried	ATL	SP
43	Josh Hader	HOU	RP
44	Logan Webb	SF	SP
45	Kevin Gausman	TOR	SP
46	Tyler Glasnow	LAD	SP
47	Christian Walker	ARI	1B
48	Corbin Carroll	ARI	OF
49	Luis Robert Jr.	CHW	OF
50	Gerrit Cole	NYY	SP
51	Josh Naylor	CLE	1B
52	Teoscar Hernandez	LAD	OF
53	Cole Ragans	KC	SP
54	Oneil Cruz	PIT	SS
55	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	MIA	OF
56	Adolis Garcia	TEX	OF
57	Zac Gallen	ARI	SP
58	Manny Machado	SD	3B
59	Jarren Duran	BOS	OF
60	Bryan Reynolds	PIT	OF
61	Sonny Gray	STL	SP
62	Framber Valdez	HOU	SP
63	Adley Rutschman	BAL	C
64	Ezequiel Tovar	COL	SS
65	Randy Arozarena	TB	OF
66	Tanner Bibee	CLE	SP
67	Alec Bohm	PHI	1B/3B
68	Seiya Suzuki	CHC	OF
69	Bo Bichette	TOR	SS
70	William Contreras	MIL	C
71	Lane Thomas	WSH	OF
72	Shota Imanaga	CHC	SP
73	Alex Bregman	HOU	3B
74	Camilo Doval	SF	RP
75	Evan Phillips	LAD	RP
76	Kyle Schwarber	PHI	OF
77	Justin Steele	CHC	SP
78	Will Smith	LAD	C
79	Andres Gimenez	CLE	2B
80	Clay Holmes	NYY	RP
81	Willy Adames	MIL	SS
82	Grayson Rodriguez	BAL	SP
83	Raisel Iglesias	ATL	RP
84	Hunter Greene	CIN	SP
85	Spencer Steer	CIN	1B/3B/OF
86	Nico Hoerner	CHC	2B/SS
87	Mason Miller	OAK	RP
88	Taylor Ward	LAA	OF
89	Fernando Tatis Jr.	SD	OF
90	Edwin Diaz	NYM	RP
91	Paul Goldschmidt	STL	1B
92	Carlos Rodon	NYY	SP
93	Riley Greene	DET	OF
94	Andres Munoz	SEA	RP
95	Anthony Santander	BAL	OF
96	Christopher Morel	CHC	3B/OF
97	Ranger Suarez	PHI	SP
98	Tyler O’Neill	BOS	OF
99	Blake Snell	SF	SP
100	Bryson Stott	PHI	2B/SS
101	Nick Castellanos	PHI	OF
102	Ryan Helsley	STL	RP
103	Salvador Perez	KC	C/1B
104	Anthony Volpe	NYY	SS
105	Maikel Garcia	KC	3B
106	Jhoan Duran	MIN	RP
107	Michael Harris II	ATL	OF
108	Royce Lewis	MIN	3B
109	Chris Bassitt	TOR	SP
110	Bailey Ober	MIN	SP
111	Ian Happ	CHC	OF
112	Jeremy Pena	HOU	SS
113	Zach Eflin	TB	SP
114	Cody Bellinger	CHC	1B/OF
115	George Springer	TOR	OF
116	Steven Kwan	CLE	OF
117	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX	SP
118	Jack Flaherty	DET	SP
119	Brandon Nimmo	NYM	OF
120	Yandy Diaz	TB	1B
121	Max Scherzer	TEX	SP
122	Vinnie Pasquantino	KC	1B
123	Ha-Seong Kim	SD	2B/SS/3B
124	Garrett Crochet	CHW	SP
125	Jordan Westburg	BAL	2B/3B
126	Luis Arraez	SD	1B/2B
127	Ryan Mountcastle	BAL	1B
128	Wyatt Langford	TEX	OF
129	Robert Suarez	SD	RP
130	Nestor Cortes	NYY	SP
131	Dansby Swanson	CHC	SS
132	Ryan McMahon	COL	2B/3B
133	Tanner Houck	BOS	SP
134	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD	SP
135	Jose Berrios	TOR	SP
136	Gleyber Torres	NYY	2B
137	Nick Pivetta	BOS	SP
138	Mitch Keller	PIT	SP
139	Isaac Paredes	TB	1B/3B
140	Nolan Arenado	STL	3B
141	Carlos Correa	MIN	SS
142	Craig Kimbrel	BAL	RP
143	Brenton Doyle	COL	OF
144	Lourdes Gurriel Jr.	ARI	OF
145	Bryce Miller	SEA	SP
146	Michael King	SD	SP
147	Zach Neto	LAA	SS
148	David Bednar	PIT	RP
149	Hunter Brown	HOU	SP
150	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	SP
151	Nick Lodolo	CIN	SP
152	Alexis Diaz	CIN	RP
153	Matt Chapman	SF	3B
154	Willson Contreras	STL	C
155	Jorge Soler	SF	OF
156	Brandon Pfaadt	ARI	SP
157	Jonathan India	CIN	2B
158	Yusei Kikuchi	TOR	SP
159	Jeimer Candelario	CIN	1B/3B
160	Jared Jones	PIT	SP
161	Paul Sewald	ARI	RP
162	Charlie Morton	ATL	SP
163	Ryan Pepiot	TB	SP
164	Nathaniel Lowe	TEX	1B
165	Taj Bradley	TB	SP
166	Rhys Hoskins	MIL	1B
167	Cedric Mullins	BAL	OF
168	Luis Rengifo	LAA	2B/SS/3B/OF
169	Kenley Jansen	BOS	RP
170	Mike Trout	LAA	OF
171	Tanner Scott	MIA	RP
172	Brice Turang	MIL	2B/SS
173	Jackson Merrill	SD	SS/OF
174	MacKenzie Gore	WSH	SP
175	Luis Gil	NYY	SP
176	Jake Burger	MIA	1B/3B
177	Justin Verlander	HOU	SP
178	Logan O’Hoppe	LAA	C
179	Jarred Kelenic	ATL	OF
180	Jackson Chourio	MIL	OF
181	Daulton Varsho	TOR	OF
182	Pete Fairbanks	TB	RP
183	J.D. Martinez	NYM	UT
184	J.T. Realmuto	PHI	C
185	Kutter Crawford	BOS	SP
186	Reynaldo Lopez	ATL	SP
187	Brayan Bello	BOS	SP
188	Byron Buxton	MIN	OF
189	Jake Cronenworth	SD	1B/2B
190	Aaron Civale	MIL	SP
191	Seth Lugo	KC	SP
192	TJ Friedl	CIN	OF
193	Masyn Winn	STL	SS
194	Ceddanne Rafaela	BOS	SS/OF
195	Jurickson Profar	SD	OF
196	Mookie Betts	LAD	2B/SS/OF
197	Kyle Finnegan	WSH	RP
198	Andrew Vaughn	CHW	1B
199	Kirby Yates	TEX	RP
200	Yainer Diaz	HOU	C
201	Ke’Bryan Hayes	PIT	3B
202	Jose Alvarado	PHI	RP
203	Josh Jung	TEX	3B
204	Nolan Jones	COL	OF
205	Devin Williams	MIL	RP
206	Yu Darvish	SD	SP
207	Gavin Williams	CLE	SP
208	Ronel Blanco	HOU	SP
209	Triston Casas	BOS	1B
210	Bryan Woo	SEA	SP
211	Eloy Jimenez	CHW	UT
212	Josh Lowe	TB	OF
213	James Wood	WSH	OF
214	Jason Foley	DET	RP
215	Kodai Senga	NYM	SP
216	Brady Singer	KC	SP
217	Luis Garcia	WSH	2B
218	Brendan Donovan	STL	2B/OF
219	Cal Raleigh	SEA	C
220	Lars Nootbaar	STL	OF
221	Bryan De La Cruz	MIA	OF
222	Starling Marte	NYM	OF
223	Bobby Miller	LAD	SP
224	James McArthur	KC	RP
225	Carlos Estevez	LAA	RP
226	Brent Rooker	OAK	OF
227	Nolan Gorman	STL	2B
228	Josh Bell	MIA	1B
229	Marcus Stroman	NYY	SP
230	Gavin Stone	LAD	SP
231	Erick Fedde	CHW	SP
232	Brendan Rodgers	COL	2B
233	Jon Gray	TEX	SP
234	Brandon Marsh	PHI	OF
235	Sean Murphy	ATL	C
236	Masataka Yoshida	BOS	OF
237	Joe Musgrove	SD	SP
238	Zack Gelof	OAK	2B
239	Sean Manaea	NYM	SP
240	David Hamilton	BOS	2B/SS
241	Kyle Gibson	STL	SP
242	Noelvi Marte	CIN	3B
243	Ryan O’Hearn	BAL	1B/OF
244	Joc Pederson	ARI	OF
245	Jo Adell	LAA	OF
246	Hector Neris	CHC	RP
247	Andrew Abbott	CIN	SP
248	Lance Lynn	STL	SP
249	Heliot Ramos	SF	OF
250	Leody Taveras	TEX	OF
251	Kyle Harrison	SF	SP
252	Luis Severino	NYM	SP
253	Francisco Alvarez	NYM	C
254	Chas McCormick	HOU	OF
255	Alec Burleson	STL	OF
256	Dean Kremer	BAL	SP
257	Miles Mikolas	STL	SP
258	Zack Littell	TB	SP
259	Max Muncy	LAD	3B
260	Justin Turner	TOR	1B
261	Michael Kopech	CHW	RP
262	J.P. Crawford	SEA	SS
263	Jonah Heim	TEX	C
264	Jake Fraley	CIN	OF
265	Matt Waldron	SD	SP
266	Christian Scott	NYM	SP
267	Tommy Pham	CHW	OF
268	Walker Buehler	LAD	SP
269	Brandon Lowe	TB	2B
270	Michael Wacha	KC	SP
271	Reese Olson	DET	SP
272	Max Kepler	MIN	OF
273	Trevor Megill	MIL	RP
274	Gabriel Moreno	ARI	C
275	Xander Bogaerts	SD	2B/SS
276	Michael Massey	KC	2B
277	Harrison Bader	NYM	OF
278	Keibert Ruiz	WSH	C
279	Evan Carter	TEX	OF
280	Giancarlo Stanton	NYY	OF
281	Wilyer Abreu	BOS	OF
282	Alex Verdugo	NYY	OF
283	Jordan Montgomery	ARI	SP
284	Andy Pages	LAD	OF
285	Matt Vierling	DET	3B/OF
286	Jordan Hicks	SF	SP
287	Braxton Garrett	MIA	SP
288	Jose Miranda	MIN	3B
289	Jose Quintana	NYM	SP
290	Mark Vientos	NYM	3B
291	Reid Detmers	LAA	SP
292	Ryan Jeffers	MIN	C
293	Colton Cowser	BAL	OF
294	Sal Frelick	MIL	OF
295	Jameson Taillon	CHC	SP
296	Jesse Winker	WSH	OF
297	Colt Keith	DET	2B/3B
298	Eduardo Rodriguez	ARI	SP
299	Michael Busch	CHC	1B/3B
300	Shane Baz	TB	SP
301	Chad Green	TOR	RP
302	Willi Castro	MIN	2B/SS/3B/OF
303	Nick Gonzales	PIT	2B/SS
304	Brandon Drury	LAA	1B/2B
305	Joey Ortiz	MIL	2B/3B
306	Shea Langeliers	OAK	C
307	Frankie Montas	CIN	SP
308	Jeffrey Springs	TB	SP
309	Merrill Kelly	ARI	SP
310	Kerry Carpenter	DET	OF
311	Tyler Stephenson	CIN	C
312	Ben Lively	CLE	SP
313	Yimi Garcia	TOR	RP
314	Jacob deGrom	TEX	SP
315	Jose Siri	TB	OF
316	Jason Adam	TB	RP
317	Thairo Estrada	SF	2B/SS
318	Tyler Anderson	LAA	SP
319	Matt Strahm	PHI	RP
320	Kenta Maeda	DET	SP
321	Alec Marsh	KC	SP
322	Jake Irvin	WSH	SP
323	Spencer Arrighetti	HOU	SP
324	Connor Wong	BOS	C
325	Andrew Heaney	TEX	SP
326	Jordan Romano	TOR	RP
327	Michael Lorenzen	TEX	SP
328	Mitch Garver	SEA	C
329	David Robertson	TEX	RP
330	Rece Hinds	CIN	OF
331	Cade Povich	BAL	SP
332	Ben Rice	NYY	C/1B
333	Edward Cabrera	MIA	SP
334	MJ Melendez	KC	OF
335	James Paxton	LAD	SP
336	Alex Vesia	LAD	RP
337	Davis Schneider	TOR	2B/OF
338	Jesus Sanchez	MIA	OF
339	Griffin Jax	MIN	RP
340	Jesus Luzardo	MIA	SP
341	Danny Jansen	TOR	C
342	Scott Barlow	CLE	RP
343	Daniel Hudson	LAD	RP
344	Nolan Schanuel	LAA	1B
345	Chris Paddack	MIN	SP
346	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	SP
347	Griffin Canning	LAA	SP
348	Trevor Rogers	MIA	SP
349	Brooks Lee	MIN	SS
350	Ty France	SEA	1B
351	Yuki Matsui	SD	RP
352	Eugenio Suarez	ARI	3B
353	Jake Meyers	HOU	OF
354	Jeff Hoffman	PHI	RP
355	Alex Cobb	SF	SP
356	Mitchell Parker	WSH	SP
357	Anthony Rendon	LAA	3B
358	Jeff McNeil	NYM	2B/OF
359	Ryan Weathers	MIA	SP
360	Charlie Blackmon	COL	OF
361	Kevin Ginkel	ARI	RP
362	Ryan Pressly	HOU	RP
363	Tylor Megill	NYM	SP
364	A.J. Minter	ATL	RP
365	Tyler Freeman	CLE	3B/OF