2026 Fantasy Baseball: Deep, Deep Sleepers - JR Ritchie, Kyle Harrison, Alek Manoah

Surfing the backend of the pitching pool comes with plenty of failure risk, but April tends to be the best month to fix fantasy holes. Here are five deep, deep sleepers to follow early in 2026.

Jul 17, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Ian Ritchie and Torie RItchie celebrate after their son JR Ritchie was selected by the Atlanta Braves as the 35th pick of the MLB draft at XBox Plaza at LA Live. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

With the baseball season about three weeks ago, the fantasy market is scouring for any hidden gem at the starting pitcher position. I’ve written about 120 starting pitchers, but there are many arms outside that range who emerge in 2026. Here are five options that I’m following this spring:

Kyle Harrison, Milwaukee Brewers

SP Kyle Harrison, Milwaukee Brewers | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As a Boston Red Sox fan, I was pissed when they gave away, and I mean gave away, Harrison to Milwaukee for nothing. Caleb Durbin isn’t a future building block, while not being much better than David Hamilton.

Left-handed pitchers tend to have nine lives, and Harrison has a chance to develop into a front-line starter with better command and a third winning off-speed pitch. In his first appearance this spring, he faced Great Britain, leading to three shut innings with three baserunners and two strikeouts. Harrison has been working on a changeup, which could be the missing link to unlocking his arm.

Over 42 starts in the majors at age 23, Harrison went 9-9 with a 4.39 ERA, 1.315 WHIP, and 191 strikeouts over 194.2 innings. His AAA resume (6-5 with a 4.12 ERA, 1.507 WHIP, and 193 strikeouts over 142.0 innings) is clouded by poor command (5.3 walks per nine) but an elite strikeout rate (12.2).

The Brewers' pitching coach can fix arms, suggesting Harrison will be much better in 2026. I expect him to make their starting rotation out of spring training, putting him in the deep sleeper watch category.

JR Ritchie, Atlanta Braves

JR Ritchie keeps making a strong case to break camp with the Braves!

The young righty struck out 5 over 2.0 IP as flexed his deep arsenal -- which all graded out well. Some release data missing, but the shapes all look impressive. He has been one of the sharpest arms this Spring pic.twitter.com/kHayTbXK1Z

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) February 27, 2026

In my first two high-stakes drafts, I snatched up Ritchie in the 40th and 41st rounds due to following his progress last summer and working for his dad. Injuries to some of the Braves’ starting pitchers and a good start to spring training (a solo home run over four innings with six strikeouts) have put more shine on him in the fantasy market. Earlier this week, a drafted added him inside of pick 360 in a 12-team draft with 30 roster slots, showcasing his flier potential in 2026.

After missing most of 2024 with TJ surgery, Ritchie climbed through three levels of the minors last year (8-6 with a 2.64 ERA, 1.007 WHIP, and 140 strikeouts over 140.0 innings). He already has 11 games of experience at AAA (3.02 ERA, 1.089 WHIP, and 61 strikeouts over 59.2 innings), putting him in a great position to pitch for Atlanta early in 2026.

Cristian Javier, Houston Astros

3 years ago today, Cristian Javier and the Astros complete the combined World Series no-hitter against the Phillies in game 4. Perhaps the most dominant pitching performance in Astros postseason history. pic.twitter.com/1KoYQPDss7

— TravisT (@LeftyTravis) November 2, 2025

When at his best for Houston in 2021 and 2022, Javier allowed only 156 hits over 250.0 innings, showcasing his elite arsenal (2.95 ERA, 1.044 WHIP, and 324 strikeouts) despite walking 3.8 batters per nine innings.

Since his TJ surgery in June of 2024, he’s only pitched 37 innings for the Astros (2-4 with a 4.62 ERA, 1.270 WHIP, and 34 strikeouts), with crook stats in the minors (10 hits, 15 walks, and 15 strikeouts over 14.0 innings with 15 strikeouts).

In an exhibition game on March 3rd, Javier allowed one run and three hits over two innings with no walks or strikeouts. His fastball peaked at 93.9 mph. If his command returns to at least his previous form, he has the tools to be a helpful backend arm due to the low number of hits allowed. A spring follow is a must, as Javier should be much improved this year.

Alex Manoah, Los Angeles Angels

SP Alek Manoah, Los Angeles Angeles | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

I had a great fantasy baseball season in 2022 when Manoah finished third in FPGscore (6.69) for pitchers. He went 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA, 0.992 WHIP, and 180 strikeouts over 196.2 innings, supported by success over his brief innings in the minors (25-9 with a 2.60 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 307 strikeouts over 308.1 innings).

Unfortunately, Manoah delivered manure innings over his next 24 starts with the Blue Jays (4-11 with a 5.40 ERA, 1.585 WHIP, and 105 strikeouts over 111.2 innings). He had TJ surgery in June of 2024.

Over his first two spring training starts, he pitched two shutout innings with four hits, three walks, and one strikeout. His luster is gone from many fantasy drafters' eyes, but Manoah had plenty of great innings to start his professional career.

Hunter Barco, Pittsburgh Pirates

SP Hunter Barco, Pittsburgh Pirates | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Pirates’ backend of their starting rotation is loaded with questionable arms, giving Barco a reasonable chance of pitching in the majors in 2026. Over three seasons in the minors, he went 8-5 with a 3.04 ERA, 1.154 WHIP, and 227 strikeouts over 183.2 innings. Pittsburgh gave him 21 games at AAA (3-1 with 3.79 ERA, 1.371, and 82 strikeouts over 73.2 innings) last year, but he walked 5.1 batters per nine.

Barco is a big lefty (6’4” and 225 lbs.) who had TJ surgery in 2022. His fastball has mid-90s upside while mixing in two favorable pitches (slider and split-finger). He falls only in the follow category while pitching well so far in spring training (no runs, five walks, and six strikeouts over 4.1 innings).