Spring training is officially underway! The Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees have started their first game, with four other games starting a little after 3 pm ET. There is no better time than to start prepping for fantasy baseball, as drafts will be starting in roughly 2-3 weeks.
Fantasy baseball is a grind. Sticking with it for an entire season is not easy with the daily needs. This article will help you determine five starting pitchers that you should avoid for the 2026 season. These five pitchers have all had tons of success in their careers, with one of them being much younger than the other four. However, for 2026, they shouldn't be on your fantasy baseball roster in standard points scoring. Every league is different, but it's expected that these five pitchers will not live up to their projections this season.
Top 5 fantasy baseball starting pitcher busts in 2026
Gerrit Cole
ESPN Fantasy Position Ranking: 52
Gerrit Cole is one of the best pitchers in the sport when healthy. The issue is that health was a big concern for him the last two seasons. The 35-year-old started only 17 games in 2024, which was the shortest of his career, not counting 2020. His 3.41 ERA was also his second-highest since 2017. Cole is going to continue to strike out hitters, but it's unclear if he will be able to get back to pitching close to 200 innings again in his career.
Cole will start the season on the IL and may not return until May or June as he continues to progress from Tommy John surgery. He should not be drafted before round 18 at all. If you decide to take him on and stash him on your IL for a few months, then pray that he is able to stay healthy for the rest of the season. It may not be worth it to just rely on his strikeout numbers.
Roki Sasaki
ESPN Fantasy Position Ranking: 55
Roki Sasaki has a promising career ahead of him. The 24-year-old is a part of a deep rotation in Los Angeles led by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and, of course, Shohei Ohtani. Sasaki is going to be the No. 5 starter for the team unless Dave Roberts wants him out of the bullpen. There are tons of depth with Emmet Sheehan and Gavin Stone there as well.
Sasaki seriously struggled in 2025. He started only eight games and pitched in only 36.1 innings, ending with a 4.55 ERA. He allowed 18 runs, including six homers. The numbers aren't good enough to indicate that he will turn things around in 2026. Sasaki is likely to finish with an ERA above 4.00, and with all the depth the Dodgers have, he may not pitch more than 130 innings. There is a lot to love about his game, but I would stay away from Sasaki in drafts. Everyone who drafted him last season was surely disappointed.
Matthew Boyd
ESPN Fantasy Position Ranking: 57
Boyd is an interesting pitcher to pay attention to in the early stages of 2026. He's been in the league for 10 seasons and is coming off his best one yet. He finished with an ERA of 3.21 in 179 innings, adding 17 quality starts. It is going to be difficult to see Boyd replicating those numbers, especially with all the depth the Cubs have in the rotation. If he doesn't begin the season on the right foot, he may lose his spot in the rotation later on. Shota Imanaga, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, and Jameson Taillon aren't going anywhere. Justin Steele is also expected to return to the rotation at some point in the summer.
It's best to stay away from Boyd in the draft unless he falls to the late rounds. He may start the season pitching well, but the odds of him maintaining it are slim.
Joe Musgrove
ESPN Fantasy Position Ranking: 68
Similar to Cole, Musgrove is going to return to the mound coming off TJ. The difference is that Murgrove's surgery was earlier than Cole's, and the right-hander should start the season in the rotation. It's going to be difficult to judge how Musgrove will do, but the hope is that he can stay on the mound and not suffer any setbacks.
Musgrove will be available in late rounds, but proceed with caution, knowing he likely won't exceed any expectations.
Jose Berrios
ESPN Fantasy Position Ranking: 71
Jose Berrios is going to start the season in the rotation while Shane Bieber begins on the Injured list. When Bieber returns, there is a good chance that Berrios is the odd man out. After signing Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce in the offseason, those two are locks for the rotation alongside Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage. Berrios' numbers have decreased over the years, and he has proven that he can become a dominant force.
Berrios relies on his strikeouts, but he gives up a ton of runs. He began last season on a rough patch, so be very careful if you have him on your roster.
