Under the Radar: The First Breakout Pitcher of 2026

Breakout pitchers in fantasy baseball are often identified in March and April, when early performances are few and far between. Savvy managers identify skills growth and improvement before the rest of their fantasy baseball league catches up. Through two starts in 2026, the clear early breakout candidate is José Soriano of the Los Angeles Angels.

First Breakout Pitcher of 2026

Soriano is entering his age-27 season, a time when a lot of pitchers reach their prime. He’s a fixture in the Angels’ rotation; he is no longer a prospect, and he is not in the bullpen trying to figure things out. Despite being our 83rd-ranked pitcher coming into the season, Soriano could easily finish in the top 30 this year.

Let’s dive deeper into why Soriano is a must-roster right now in fantasy baseball.

Jose Soriano’s First Two Starts Were Electric

The most immediate reason to believe in Soriano’s breakout is what he has already shown in his first two starts of the 2026 season. On Opening Day, Soriano dominated a strong Houston Astros lineup, tossing six shutout innings while allowing just two hits and striking out seven. He attacked the zone, limited hard contact, and looked fully in control against a lineup featuring elite hitters. That start looks even more impressive now that the Astros have rolled out more than eight runs in four straight games.

José Soriano first 2 starts this season:

12.0 IP
0.00 ERA
4 H
6 BB
11 Ks

DAWG 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/wAYfzDj5DL

— SleeperAngels (@SleeperAngels) April 1, 2026

Against the Cubs on Tuesday night, he was just as good. He only had four strikeouts, but held the Chicago lineup scoreless for six innings and only allowed four base-runners. Through two starts, that’s zero runs and only 10 men allowed on base in 12 innings (with one being an intentional walk).

It is quite the turnaround for a pitcher who posted a 4.26 ERA in 2025. What is behind the success so far? Let’s look more at his pitching profile.

Soriano’s Pitch Mix is Working Wonders

Jose Soriano is not a one-dimensional or one-pitch pitcher. He brings a deep arsenal, including a nasty curveball that has already proven to be a legitimate out pitch at the major league level. In 2025, the knuckle curve was his top Put-Away pitch with a 26.8% success rate. Add in a sinker (33% Put-Away rate so far in 2026), a four-seamer, and a split-finger fastball, and Soriano has the arsenal to keep batters constantly guessing.

He has also added some giddy-up with his fastball. Last season, his four-seamer sat at just under 98 miles per hour. So far in 2026, that pitch is up to 99.1 mph and has a whiff rate of 15.4%. But the sinker remains his bread and butter. He is throwing it 34% of the time through two starts and has an elite 30% strikeout rate on the pitch (and a .104 expected batting average against, according to Statcast).

Groundballs Cover a Multitude of Sins

What can Soriano do on a start where the swing and miss isn’t working for him? He can rely on his devastating sinker to induce groundballs all day long. In the past four seasons, that has become perhaps the most dominant part of his game.

José Soriano continued his shutout streak to start his 2026 season with 6 scoreless innings against the Cubs

The flame throwing righty has some of the loudest stuff in MLB, headlined by a wicked two-plane curveball and a pair or blazing fastballs. His upside is immense! pic.twitter.com/KoFkh8Tfcu

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) April 1, 2026

After debuting with a 51% groundball rate in 2023, Soriano has increased his groundball rate every single season, including 65.3% in 2025. So far in 2026, he is generating groundballs at a 69.2% clip. That mark hasn’t been touched in at least the last 10 years. Even in Framber Valdez’s most prolific groundball years, he was topping out at 66%.

In his Tuesday start, Soriano combined for 12 strikeouts and groundballs of his 18 outs. When batters can’t even get the ball in the air, there is very little chance they are going to put together enough barrels and hard hits to do much damage.

Soriano Was Projected to Be Good, But He Could Be Great

Add up all the attributes from above, and we have an ace to start the season. In fact, there are just five pitchers in the early part of 2026 who have at least a 40% whiff rate and a 40% overall swing rate:

Top Whiff Pitchers, According to Statcast:

1. Jacob Misiorowski
2. Dylan Cease
3. Michael King
4. Tanner Bibee
5. Jose Soriano

Projection systems are also beginning to buy in. Multiple models for 2026 put Soriano with an ERA in the mid-to-high 3.00s with close to a strikeout per inning across a full-season workload. That might not immediately strike you as “ace” material, but for fantasy purposes, that level of production, especially for what he cost you at drafts or on the waiver wire, can easily return top-25 starting pitcher value. If Soriano’s early command gains and whiff rates are real, he could outperform those forecasts by a huge margin.

Through two starts, it’s all working for him. I’m here to tell you this is going to continue, and Jose Soriano is the first true breakout pitcher of 2026.