Starting pitchers can be the heart of your fantasy baseball team and can carry you to glory, or they can be what holds you back and keeps you from having any success at all. Like in the major leagues, a strong rotation can carry you to wins every week, but you’ll need to make sure to build in plenty of depth to deal with potential injuries. Getting the right fantasy baseball sleepers at starting pitcher late in your draft is key to finding fantasy baseball success, so let’s take a look at a few starters who I think can outperform their current ADP (average draft position).
To maximize our coverage of fantasy baseball sleepers, we’re splitting starting pitchers into an American League and a National League edition. In this post, we’ll focus on three starters from the AL.
Whether you play your fantasy baseball by leaning into season-long leagues, DFS contests or DraftKings Best Ball, DK Network will have you covered throughout the upcoming season. I began this series with fantasy baseball sleepers at catcher, first base, second base, shortstop, third base, and the outfield in the American League. In this post, we’ll look at my top three SP sleepers from the AL coming into spring training.
Cam Schlittler, New York Yankees
Even before his postseason heroics, Schlittler had established himself as one of the rising stars in fantasy baseball. He went 6-6 in his 15 minor-league games and 4-3 in his 14 major-league games. He had a 2.82 ERA in the minors and 2.96 ERA in the majors, racking up strikeouts at both levels. In the minors, he had 99 strikeouts in 76 2/3 innings and had 84 strikeouts in 73 innings in the majors.
In the postseason, he cemented the start of his legacy and became a household name, but his ADP is still outside the top 35 starting pitchers. Schlittler is a strong mid-round target with great upside.
He should be in one of the top spots in New York’s rotation to start the season, although he is dealing with a back issue early in spring training. He still looks like he’ll be ready to roll when the season begins, though, and be an anchor for the rotation full of veteran arms with durability concerns.
He should get plenty of wins with the Yankees’ lineup backing him up, and even if his ERA and FIP go up a little bit, his strikeouts should make him a very strong mid-rotation arm with the potential to break out as a true ace if he carries over his momentum from 2025.
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Shane McClanahan, Tampa Bay Rays
If you’re looking for a high upside for one of your fantasy baseball sleepers from the middle rounds, it’s worth considering taking a shot on McClanahan. The 28-year-old lefty has shown the ability to be a true ace when he’s at his best, but he hasn’t thrown an MLB pitch since August 2, 2023.
He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023 and missed all of 2024, and in spring training of 2025, he went down with a nerve issue that kept him out for the whole season. After resting and rehabbing, he opted for surgery in August that addressed the issue for good, hopefully.
Coming into spring training, McClanahan is expected to be a full go with no limitations. Rays’ pitching coach Kyle Snyder said the former ace has looked “really, really good” this offseason and is being “totally built up to start with the expectation” he’ll be in Tampa Bay’s rotation.
Before the injury, McClanahan was a top-15 starting pitcher in baseball. He went 12-8 with a 2.54 ERA, 3.00 FIP and 194 strikeouts in 166 1/3 innings in 2022. In 2023, he was 11-2 with a 3.29 ERA, 3.92 FIP and 121 strikeouts in 115 innings before the injury.
He’s a big risk after so much time off, but if he can return to even close to his previous form, he could be an outstanding value at his ADP. It’s best to draft him without counting on too much from him, but as a flier play or a high-risk flier, he does bring good potential upside, especially if he has a strong start to the spring.
Parker Messick, Cleveland Guardians
Looking toward the end of most standard-sized drafts, Parker Messick is almost 100 starting pitchers deep. The 25-year-old lefty is one of the best late-round fantasy baseball sleepers, though, after a strong first taste of the majors down the stretch last season.
Messick doesn’t have the prospect pedigree of some of the other young arms like Schlittler, but he did impress last season. At Triple-A, he made 20 starts and went 5-6 with a 3.47 ERA, 3.67 FIP and 119 strikeouts in 98 2/3 innings. He made his MLB debut on Aug. 20, and went 3-1 in 39 2/3 innings in seven starts with a 2.72 ERA, 2.98 FIP and 8.6 K/9.
Messick will have to earn a job in the rotation with a big spring. Last year, the Guardians went to a six-man rotation using Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Logan Allen, Joey Cantillo, Slade Cecconi and Messick. They could do that again to start the year, or Messick could force one of the other options out. Injuries, of course, can also be a factor to clear the logjam.
While he doesn’t have the ace upside of Schlittler or McClanahan, he can be a very serviceable starter from the back end of drafts. If he can carry over his momentum from last season, he could be one of the best fantasy baseball sleepers on the mound to emerge from the last few rounds.
