Top 5 Sleeper Starting Pitchers for 2023 Fantasy Baseball Season

Opening Day is just around the corner, but there's still time to research and prepare for your 2023 fantasy baseball drafts.

Thankfully, The Duel is here to help with our annual fantasy baseball preseason prep. You can check out our top 100 fantasy baseball player rankings here, as well as our top 25 team names.

In addition to our top 10 fantasy baseball starting pitchers for the 2023 MLB season, here are our top fantasy baseball sleeper starting pitchers as well.

Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Sleepers 2023

5. Brayan Bello, Boston Red Sox

It's been years since the Red Sox developed a quality homegrown starting pitcher, but they finally seem to have cracked the code with Bello. The 23-year-old righty has a devastating changeup and found his groove down the stretch last season after getting called up, notching a 3.07 ERA over his final nine appearances (eight starts). Boston is counting on him to be a key member of its rotation in 2023, and he appears up to the challenge.

4. Jesus Luzardo, Miami Marlins

The Marlins have a ton of young pitching talent these days, so it can be tough to keep track of all their promising arms. Don't sleep on Luzardo, though, who showcased ace-caliber potential in 2022. The southpaw finished his 18 starts with an impressive 10.8 K/9 and 1.04 WHIP, bouncing back from a dismal 6.61 ERA in 2021. Still just 25, Luzardo already has the ability to anchor a rotation and looks like a capable wingman for reigning NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara.

3. Dustin May, Los Angeles Dodgers

May's already spent four years in the big leagues but only has 25 starts and 143 2/3 innings to show for it. Injuries and Covid have disrupted his development, but now he's finally healthy and ready to break out for real at age 25. He's looked sensational so far in Spring Training and appears poised to step up and help lead the Dodgers' rotation this year. Workload may be a concern for him given that he's never thrown more than 56 innings in an MLB season before, but the quality of his innings will make him a worthy investment.

2. Roansy Contreras, Pittsburgh Pirates

Contreras boasts phenomenal stuff and more than held his own as a rookie last year, going 5-5 with a 3.79 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 95 innings. Not bad for a 23-year-old kid who now has a better sense of how to attack hitters and navigate MLB lineups. Many see Contreras as the future ace of the Pirates, and this could be the year he starts proving them right. He's already an above-average starter, so even just minor improvements could turn elevate him to an All-Star.

1. Hunter Brown, Houston Astros

The Astros didn't sign any starting pitchers this offseason despite losing Justin Verlander to free agency, which shows how much they believe in Brown. The 24-year-old righty looked major-league ready after coming up to the big leagues last season, going 2-0 with a 0.89 ERA and a 22:7 K/BB ratio in 20 1/3 innings. While five of his seven appearances came out of the bullpen last year, he's ticketed for the starting rotation this season and has been starting during Spring Training. On a loaded team like Houston, Brown will get plenty of run support and is a leading candidate to win AL Rookie of the Year this season.