I’ve recently discussed four mid-round pitchers to target and three sleepers with an average draft position (ADP) of 276 or higher. All seven of the pitchers between those two articles are enticing selections. However, in the interest of highlighting new hurlers, the following three pitchers are must-have picks near their respective ADPs. The earliest ADP for the touted must-have pitchers is at the back of the fourth round of 12-team mixed leagues. Thus, everyone can draft multiple players from any draft slot before targeting one of the featured must-have pitchers. That ace is followed by later options, including a reliever with an ADP in the 12th round and another starting pitcher with an ADP at the turn for the 14th and 15th rounds.
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Must-Have Pitchers
Logan Webb (SP – SF) | 47.2 ADP/P14
Logan Webb is a workhorse, and he’s coming off a stellar season, finishing as the 17th-ranked pitcher (P17) in our value-based ranking (VBR) metric. According to FanGraphs, among 106 qualified pitchers since 2023, Webb is first in innings pitched (627.2), 16th in ERA (3.31), tied for 41st in xERA (3.85), tied for fifth in xFIP (3.00), tied for 39th in WHIP (1.18), fifth in ground-ball rate (57.5 GB%) and 49th in strikeout rate (23.2 K%). He’s pitched 61.1 more innings than the second-most during those three years.
Webb’s ability to pile up innings at an MLB-high level has amplified the impact of his ERA and laid the foundation for pitching stats on fantasy baseball squads. Additionally, while his strikeout rate has left something to be desired for a high-end fantasy pitcher, Webb had a blistering 26.2 K% last year after increasing his four-seam fastball, cutter, and slider usage at the expense of his sinker and changeup. Webb is an excellent selection for gamers who need their staff’s ace in the fourth round or for those who double up on aces early to lay an elite foundation for their pitching stats.
Jeff Hoffman (RP – TOR) | 136.2 ADP/P53
Jeff Hoffman was the P54 last year despite an ugly 1.99 HR/9 allowed and 20.0 HR/FB%. The home run issue was out of the ordinary since Hoffman moved to the bullpen full-time, and it was the primary reason for the gap between his 4.37 ERA and his 3.75 xERA, 3.73 xFIP, and 3.21 SIERA in 71 appearances and 68 innings last year.
In 157 appearances (one start) and 163.1 innings from 2022 through 2024, Hoffman allowed 0.77 HR/9 and 8.0 HR/FB%. Without the long-ball problems, Hoffman spun a 2.70 ERA, 3.14 xERA, 3.56 xFIP, 3.07 SIERA, 1.07 WHIP, 8.7 BB%, and 30.3 K% during those three years.
Hoffman might not get his ERA back below 3.00, but he can get it back into the 3.00s with homer regression. In addition, Hoffman should remain an outstanding source of saves after finishing fourth in saves (33) in 2025. The Zeile consensus projections project Hoffman to have 26 saves this year, tying for the 15th most. Hoffman is a high-end RP2 or a viable RP1 if gamers are reaching ahead of ADP on closers.
Shota Imanaga (SP – CHC) | 168.0 ADP/P70
Shota Imanaga has pitched two seasons in MLB after excelling in NPB, and his ERA jumped from 2.91 across 29 starts and 173.1 innings in 2024 to 3.73 in 25 starts and 144.2 innings in 2025. Sadly, Imanaga’s xERA, xFIP, and SIERA rose from 3.36 to 4.06, 3.62 to 4.51, and 3.50 to 4.36, respectively.
The veteran lefty’s strikeout rate also fell from 25.1 percent to 20.6 percent. It’s not all doom and gloom for Imanaga, though. His ability to beat his ERA estimators in both years was encouraging and could lead to another sub-4.00 ERA. Imanaga’s strikeout rate was also solid, if unspectacular, last year, and has room to bounce back, since his 11.9 SwStr% and 83.4 Z-Contact% were better than the MLB averages of 11.0 and 86.0, respectively.
Imanaga’s greatest fantasy baseball contribution is at WHIP. Run prevention is the name of the game in real baseball, and ERA is a category in 5×5 fantasy formats, but WHIP is equally important in fake baseball and shouldn’t be overlooked. Imanaga’s 0.99 WHIP last year was tied for the seventh-lowest among 95 pitchers with at least 130 innings pitched, and his 1.01 WHIP since 2024 is tied for the eighth-lowest mark among 100 pitchers with at least 220 innings pitched.
Even though Imanaga took a predictable step back from his pristine 2024 debut in The Show, he was the P37 in 2025. The 32-year-old lefty can regress even closer to his ERA estimators and deliver surplus value on his P70 ADP, and if he continues to beat his ERA estimators, he’ll crush his ADP.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.