2026 Fantasy On SI Top 10 Projected Starting Pitchers Ranked by FPGscore

In a perfect fantasy world, all players would stay healthy to see which options were truly the best selections. Unfortunately, we play a game with unknown outcomes, with injury risk, and underperformance.
2026 Starting Pitching Dice Roll
2026 Starting Pitching Dice Roll | Shawn Childs

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3 - Chris Sale Atlanta Braves

Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves
Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Fantasy Outlook: Sale will turn 37 in late March, but his success with the Braves over his last 50 games (25-8 with a 2.46 ERA, 1.035 WHIP, and 390 strikeouts over 303.1 innings) is well worth an ace investment. When on the clock, I would select him over Cristopher Sanchez. An excellent chance at 15+ wins with a sub-2.50 ERA and 225+ strikeouts.

Projections: 15-7 with a 2.59 ERA, 1.046 WHIP, and 234 strikeouts over 183.0 innings


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Shawn Childs
SHAWN CHILDS

With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.

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