Cam Schlittler headlines pitchers providing major fantasy baseball value — will the ride continue?

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When I first got into fantasy baseball, my draft strategy was simple. Draft hitting, figure out the pitching. The goal was to load up with the best offense possible, while looking to get lucky with the pitching side, be it through value picks or even waiver-wire adds.

Sometimes I wonder why I ever deviated from that strategy, though in recent years I’ve come back to it. Of course, any strategy ultimately works if you pick the right players.

A bunch of the right fantasy players — pitchers specifically — were doing their thing Tuesday night. Consider five of the starting pitchers who earned wins on the night: Cam Schlittler, Chase Burns, Emerson Hancock, Kyle Harrison and Braxton Ashcraft. They’re all Top 15 starters in banked value thus far, and all were downright affordable — and in some cases, free — when we were starting from scratch, back in March.

Let’s look at Tuesday’s Fab 5 a little closer and see what we can figure out.

Cam Schlittler, Yankees

March Global ADP: 118
Current 5x5 banked value: SP1

A lot of fantasy managers had Schlittler targeted after his 14-start debut last year (2.96 ERA, 1.219 WHIP). And the price probably rose after two ridiculous postseason starts (14.1 IP 13 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 14 K). But I don’t think anyone had Cy Young contender on their bingo card.

Schlittler’s 1.50 ERA and 0.847 WHIP are a result of holding his elite strikeout rate and cutting his walk and homer rates by over 50%. And note it’s not just dominant innings with Schlittler, it’s the ability to work deep in games. He leads the AL in innings and he’s allowed three runs or fewer in every start. Sure, wins are somewhat fluky, but when you average six innings per start and routinely keep the score down, you’re going to get your share. Even his ground-ball rate is above average, a tidy way to get out of the occasional jam (and ground balls never fly over the fence).

I’ve probably been slow to react to the Schlittler reality, but let’s fix that. He’d be a second or third-round pick in any league that drafted tonight.

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Chase Burns, Reds

March Global ADP: 119
Current 5x5 banked value: SP4

Although Burns had a 4.57 ERA in his brief MLB debut last summer, he was still a hot commodity during draft season. It was impossible to ignore that strikeout clip (13.9 K/9) and his prospect pedigree (all three clipboards had him No. 27 or better before 2025). Burns has 98 mph gas and a fearlessness on the mound, let’s go.

The fastball continues to generate strikeouts by the truckload, but it’s been the development of a slider that’s turned Burns into a star. Again, it’s hard to truly own a 1.96 ERA, but a 2.87 xERA validates ace status. Any pitcher with a high strikeout rate and a plus walk rate is likely to be a star, especially when you tie it to a decent ground-ball clip and the ability to get swings out of the zone. Burns had a brief injury hiccup in March, which was the only thing keeping his draft price affordable. I’m bumping him up to a third-round ticket moving forward.

Kyle Harrison, Brewers

March Global ADP: 328
Current 5x5 banked value: SP8

I feel like this was gettable before the season, if you knew what to look for. Harrison was a rated prospect from 2022-2024, rising as high as No. 18 on one of the three primary scouting sheets. The Brewers acquired him in a winter trade, and Milwaukee is one of those shrewd teams you want to copy off. Milwaukee also has a plus defense, and an overall winning infrastructure. Harrison flashed some upside in the spring, with 20 strikeouts against four walks over 14 innings.

It’s basically impossible for any pitcher to truly deserve a 1.57 ERA, but Harrison’s expected ERA of 2.96 still signals a potential ace. He’s limiting hard contact, getting swings out of the zone, and has an outstanding strikeout rate paired with a good walk rate. Harrison makes hay with an outstanding four-seam fastball; it will be his other pitches that dictate how high his ceiling is. But if the floor already looks sturdy here, and maybe there’s ace potential through his 20s.

Braxton Ashcraft, Pirates

March Global ADP: 680
Current 5x5 banked value: SP14

Ashcraft had a curious 2025 season, where he was shaky at Triple-A (5.03 ERA) but sharp in 69.2 innings with Pittsburgh (2.71 ERA). The market chose to ignore Ashcraft, perhaps because of his mediocre minor-league resume. But Ashcraft stands 6-foot-5 and was a second-round pick in 2018. Sometimes the bigger starters need time to mature.

This year, it’s been a dream: 2.75 ERA, 1.049 WHIP. His strikeout rate is static from last year and he’s cut his walks by 29%. His off-speed pitches (slider, curve) have become weapons for him, and his 96.9 mph heater is also grading as a plus offering. Ashcraft has also shown the ability to make adjustments — three times he’s faced a division foe for the second time, and he’s improved his performance in each rematch. I don’t care how meandering this road might have been, I like where Ashcraft is now. He’s at the back end of the Circle of Trust.

Emerson Hancock, Mariners

March Global ADP: 509
Current 5x5 banked value: SP15

Here’s another case of being rewarded for scouting spring training — Hancock collected 21 strikeouts against just one walk in 15 spring innings. Yes, the ERA was over five, but all I’m looking for in March is a tidy K/BB ratio and perhaps some positive velocity readouts. I understand anyone who doesn’t want to put significance into any of the exhibition games, but I can’t ignore that type of K/BB number.

Hancock’s fast start might be the hardest to trust of this group — his 2.78 ERA is linked to a 4.08 xERA, and while Seattle’s roomy ballpark is an eternal plus, the Mariners have a negative defense this year. Hancock’s fastball velocity and ground-ball rate are average, and he’s below code in generating swings out of the strike zone, a key stat for most fantasy stars. Hancock also might be pitching for his spot in the Seattle rotation, given the depth the Mariners have.

Nonetheless, Hancock has made 11 starts and only one of them has been bad (five runs against the White Sox). He walked into Sacramento’s minor league park Tuesday (a great place to hit) and allowed just one hit and two walks over six scoreless innings. At minimum, Hancock has earned the right to stick in our rotations until he has at least two bad outings. At that point, we can reevaluate.

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