Josh Shepardson | Sun, Feb 22nd 2026, 7:16am EST

8 RP-Eligible Starting Pitchers to Target (2026 Fantasy Baseball)

Fantasy baseball gamers should know their league’s settings and rules inside and out. Understanding those things will help astute gamers maximize their chances of winning a fantasy baseball championship by taking advantage of any edges they can push. In leagues that distinguish between starting pitcher and relief pitcher spots, having RP-eligible starting pitchers or the inverse can create roster flexibility to make the most of a fantasy squad’s pitching staff.

The following eight pitchers are intriguing RP-eligible options to target in fantasy leagues. Ryne Nelson is notably absent. His average draft position (ADP) is 270.0, which is rich for his underlying data. Nelson might be a useful option in some scoring formats, but he’s not an especially attractive target in 12-team mixed leagues with standard 5×5 scoring.

Fantasy Baseball RP-Eligible SP to Target

Chase Burns (SP, RP – CIN) | 116.4 ADP

Chase Burns isn’t a risk-free pick, as he’s competing for the No. 5 spot in Cincinnati’s rotation. Nevertheless, the 23-year-old righty’s upside is worth chasing. Burns was the second pick in the 2024 MLB Amateur Draft, and he zoomed through the minors in his first professional season in 2025. Burns began the year in High-A and logged 66 innings in the minors across 13 starts. The young righty made 13 appearances (eight starts) for the Reds.

Burns didn’t make a seamless transition to the Majors, as evidenced by his 4.57 ERA. Nevertheless, his 3.46 xERA, 2.68 xFIP and 2.76 SIERA, per FanGraphs, were far more encouraging. Burns also had a blistering 35.6 K%, supported by his 15.8 SwStr%, 28.6 CSW%, 115 Stuff+, 106 Location+ and 121 Pitching+. Again, Burns’ upside is worth taking a swing at, and even if he opens the year in the bullpen, gamers should hold him.

Quinn Priester (SP, RP – MIL) | 254.8 ADP

Quinn Priester enjoyed a breakout campaign for the Brewers last season. He made 24 starts and five bulk-reliever appearances behind an opener, logging the following stats in 157.1 innings.

3.32 ERA
3.65 xERA
3.81 xFIP
3.96 SIERA
1.24 WHIP
7.7 BB%
20.2 K%
56.1 GB%
10.2 SwStr%
26.9 CSW%
98 Stuff+
100 Location+
97 Pitching+

Priester’s ERA was better than all his ERA estimators, but all were under 4.00, and his profile was solid. He’s a desirable glue guy to offset high-risk, high-reward dice rolls earlier in fantasy drafts or hurlers with expected innings limits.

Cody Ponce (SP, RP – TOR) | 303.4 ADP

Cody Ponce last pitched in the Majors for the Pirates in 2021. He spent the following four seasons abroad, pitching moderately well in NPB for two years before bottoming out in his third campaign. Ponce didn’t just bounce back from the disappointing showing in NPB in 2024; he went on a warpath in his only year in the KBO.

In 29 starts spanning 180.2 innings in the KBO in 2025, Ponce posted the following absurd statistics.

17 wins
1.89 ERA
2.30 xFIP
0.94 WHIP
5.9 BB%
36.2 K%
16.5 SwStr%
35.1 CSW%

Michael Baumann summarized and put Ponce’s 2025 KBO dominance in perspective, and Eric Longenhagen’s scouting report was favorable. Longenhagen noted Ponce’s heater sat 94-97 mph at the end of October and can reach 98 mph. He also gushed about the depth of Ponce’s curveball, mentioned his best splitters “fall off the table,” and highlighted the command of his upper-80s cutter. Ponce’s arsenal is intriguing. However, his stuff, namely his secondary offerings, could suffer from switching back from KBO’s baseballs to MLB’s baseballs. Regardless, Ponce’s ADP after 300 is too cheap for a player coming off his dominant campaign in KBO.

Joey Cantillo (SP, RP – CLE) | 305.4 ADP

Joey Cantillo made 21 relief appearances for the Guardians last year before moving to the rotation for 13 starts to close out the campaign. The lefty excelled as a starter. In 67 innings as a starter in 2025, Cantillo had a 2.96 ERA, 3.51 xERA, 3.78 xFIP, 4.01 SIERA, and 1.21 WHIP. His 10.1 BB% left something to be desired, but Cantillo’s 25.9 K% helped him work around his below-average walk rate. Furthermore, Cantillo’s strikeout rate was supported by his 12.7 SwStr% and 31.4 CSW%. Cantillo is reasonably priced in drafts.

Sean Manaea (SP, RP – NYM) | 324.0 ADP

Sean Manaea had a dreadful 5.64 ERA in 15 appearances (12 starts) in 2025. His ERA estimators indicated he was unlucky, but Manaea’s not a stranger to drastically underperforming his ERA estimators. Thus, it’s unwise to handwave Manaea’s 2025 struggles away as lousy luck.

Having said that, the veteran lefty is also only a year removed from a fantastic campaign. In 32 starts totaling 181.2 innings in 2024, Manaea had the following numbers.

3.47 ERA
3.76 xERA
4.04 xFIP
3.96 SIERA
1.08 WHIP
8.5 BB%
24.9 K%
11.7 SwStr%
27.6 CSW%

Can Manaea bounce back? The 34-year-old lefty isn’t a stranger to ups and downs, as his career has been a rollercoaster ride.

Justin Willard is New York’s new pitching coach this season. Receiving instruction from a new voice is one reason for optimism about Manaea putting last year’s lousy campaign in the rearview mirror. Additionally, Manaea spent the offseason working with Tread Athletics. Manaea’s arm angle dipped in 2025 after his successful 2024, and he’s reportedly closer to where he was in 2024. A rebound to 2024 form would make Manaea a steal at his ADP.

Mike Burrows (SP, RP – HOU) | 327.4 ADP

Mike Burrows made 23 appearances (19 starts) for the Pirates last year, and he’ll ply his craft for the Astros this season after a three-team trade in December sent him to Houston. Burrows twirled a 4.15 ERA in his 19 starts spanning 86.2 innings, and his ERA estimators were in that vicinity. The righty had a 4.17 xERA, 3.74 xFIP and 3.80 SIERA in his starts.

Burrows was decent, and he had a tasty 25.3 K% and an OK 1.25 WHIP. Furthermore, Burrows had a 12.4 SwStr% and 29.1 CSW% in his starts. Hunter Brown is a legitimate ace. However, the rest of Houston’s rotation is filled with pitchers with question marks vying for a spot. Burrows is firmly in the mix for a rotation spot.

Braxton Ashcraft (SP, RP – PIT) | 331.2 ADP

Braxton Ashcraft was part of Pittsburgh’s pitching depth that allowed them to trade Burrows. Ashcraft was developed as a starter, and all 10 of his appearances in Triple-A in 2025 were starts. Yet, he made 18 relief appearances and just eight starts in his first taste of the Bigs with the Pirates.

Interestingly, Ashcraft was more successful as a starter than as a reliever in 2025. In eight starts lasting 33.1 innings for the Pirates last season, Ashcraft had the following stats.

2.16 ERA
3.12 xERA
3.18 xFIP
3.46 SIERA
1.14 WHIP
7.4 BB%
25.9 K%
52.8 GB%
11.9 SwStr%
28.6 CSW%
106 Stuff+
104 Location+
109 Pitching+

The fly in the ointment in Ashcraft’s profile is that he pitched five innings or more only three times last season. Will his pristine numbers hold up if the Pirates push him deeper into games this season? Ashcraft’s upside belies his ADP.

Reid Detmers (RP – LAA) | 355.2 ADP

Reid Detmers is the cheapest featured pitcher in this piece, and he’s the least likely to help fantasy teams. The 26-year-old has a 4.90 ERA in 75 career starts. Even Detmers’ 4.35 xERA, 4.24 xFIP, 4.11 SIERA and 1.37 WHIP in his starts weren’t encouraging marks for the once highly regarded prospect.

Detmers wouldn’t be highlighted as a suggested RP-eligible starting pitcher to target if he were bereft of upside or had zero chance at helping fantasy baseball teams this year, though. He’s coming off a successful season in the bullpen, and Detmers wouldn’t be the first pitcher who initially struggled as a starter before putting things together in the bullpen.

In 61 relief appearances lasting 63.2 innings last year, Detmer rattled off the following numbers.

3.96 ERA
3.60 xERA
3.08 xFIP
3.06 SIERA
1.30 WHIP
9.4 BB%
30.1 K%
14.6 SwStr%
31.6 CSW%
112 Stuff+
112 Location+
122 Pitching+

Gamers in need of strikeouts or those who can benefit from using a starting pitcher in a reliever spot should cast a dart in Detmers’ direction and keep him on the bench for a start or two to open the 2026 season to see if his 2025 relief success translates to starting success this year.

Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.

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