Dodgers' Pitchers Fantasy Baseball Draft Preview | Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Bobby Miller, Evan Phillips, Clayton Kershaw and More

Discussing the top fantasy pitchers from the Los Angeles Dodgers as the 2024 season approaches.

The fantasy baseball season is closing in quickly. FantasySP has published a number of articles about the top players at every position, and while those kinds of stories will continue until the regular season starts up, we wanted to make sure we covered as many fantasy players as possible, so it’s time to start looking at options on a team–by-team basis.

We’ve covered the Texas Rangers (hitters and pitchers) and Oakland Athletics so far, and now it’s time to jump over to the National League and a loaded Los Angeles Dodgers roster. We covered the hitters earlier, so now it’s time to dive into the team’s pitchers.

Get ready for draft season! Check out our Mock Draft Simulator, Average Draft Position list and Draft Genius!

Top Fantasy Pitchers

The team’s top two pitchers are going within a couple picks in most drafts. Tyler Glasnow is ranked 35th on the FantasySP Average Draft Position chart with a mark of 35.08, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto is ranked 37th and has an ADP of 37.5.

Glasnow will make his debut with the Dodgers after spending the past five-plus seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays. In 2023, Glasnow went 10-7 and had a 3.53 earned run average across 21 starts. He struck out 162 batters over 120 innings.

With a loaded lineup, any Dodgers’ starter immediately is at least a decent fantasy asset. Glasnow has shown flashes that he can be one of the top starters in the game, and if can quickly settle in with LA, there’s a chance Glasnow could be one of the better fantasy options in the league. He does have some durability issues, so his ADP mark makes sense and is the appropriate place to take him.

Yamamoto was a star in Japan for seven seasons, pitching most recently for the Orix Buffaloes. He’s still just 25 years old.

While pitching in the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization, Yamamoto has led the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts (also known as the Triple Crown) in each of the past three seasons. He was 16-6 with a 1.21 ERA and 169 strikeouts in 2023. He was named the top pitcher in each of those three seasons.

Yamamoto is expected to serve as the team’s No. 1 starter in 2024. His projections vary from site to site, but they all expect him to be a workhorse and rack up plenty of strikeouts along the way. He likely won’t match his numbers from the previous few seasons, but with a stacked team behind him, he should be able to transition over smoothly, and it could lead to one of the best fantasy seasons from a pitcher.

Bobby Miller is next up on the ADP chart, ranking 109th with a mark of 110.96.

Miller made his MLB debut in 2023, going 11-4 with a 3.76 ERA. He struck out 119 batters over 124 1/3 innings. Miller made 22 total starts.

Miller should be the team’s third starter and should be able to boost most of his numbers with a few more starts. His win-loss record last season was great, but the ERA suggests that the record was boosted by the loaded lineup behind him. I’m interested to see how he improves in 2024, and makes him an intriguing pick near his current ADP.

Walker Buehler is next up, ranking 137th with an ADP mark of 131.81. He missed all of 2023 after having Tommy John surgery. He won’t pitch right away this season, and doesn’t have a timeline to return yet. That’s obviously an issue, even when considering him near his current ADP.

The last time we saw Buehler put together a full season was in 2021. He went 16-4 with a 2.47 ERA, striking out 212 batters over 207 2/3 innings. He worked 65 innings in 2022, going 6-3 with a 4.02 ERA.

He’s one of the bigger question marks for the upcoming fantasy season. Hopefully you’ll get an update on him before your draft, but otherwise, his ADP should probably go down for the time being.

Clayton Kershaw is next up, ranking 176th with an ADP mark of 149.25. He too is dealing with an injury, but has a timetable, although he’s not expected back until after the All-Star break, which is in mid-July.

He’s failed to reach 25 starts in four straight seasons now, and definitely won’t get there in 2024. But when he’s been out there, he’s still one of the best starters in the game. In 2023, Kershaw went 13-5 with a 2.46 ERA, striking out 137 batters over 131 2/3 innings.

If you are only going to get a couple months of starts out of him, it’s hard to invest a good pick in him. With his current ADP around the 15th round, there’s not as much risk involved with using a pick near there on him. I’d want my starting lineup of hitters and pitchers pretty much set before taking a gamble on a guy like Kershaw. If you can weather the storm until he returns, he might be that piece that takes you over the top.

Evan Phillips and Emmet Sheehan are next up. Phillips ranks 185th and has an ADP of 151.53, while Sheehan is ranked 186th with an ADP of 152.

Phillips is expected to serve as the team’s closer this season. Last year, he went 2-4 with a 2.05 ERA. He struck out 66 batters over 61 1/3 innings and picked up 24 saves.

Brusdar Graterol, ranked 227th with an ADP mark of 165, would be next up for saves if Phillips misses time or ever struggles. Graterol was 4-2 with a 1.20 ERA last season, striking out 48 over 67 1/3 innings and earning seven saves.

Sheehan is expected to be the team’s fifth starter out of spring training. He made 13 appearances (11 starts) in 2023, finishing 4-1 with a 4.92 ERA. He struck out 64 batters over 60 1/3 innings.

Phillips, Sheehan and Graterol are all solid picks late in fantasy drafts, because there isn’t much risk involved. 

It’s hard not to want to target the closer for a team that should win a ton of games, but the Dodgers might also blow a lot of teams out, leaving Phillips with not as many chances to earn saves. The fact that Graterol has proven to be a high-leverage reliever doesn’t help matters either.

If Sheehan breaks spring training with the team, his run in the rotation might end when Kershaw or Buehler returns. Dustin May will also start the season on the injured list and could bump Sheehan from the rotation if he returns in the second half of the season.

James Paxton is expected to be the team’s No. 4 starter to begin the season. 

The 35-year-old pitched for the Boston Red Sox last season, going 7-5 with a 4.50 ERA across 96 innings pitched and 19 starts. He struck out 101 batters along the way.

Paxton might be the more likely starter that’s bumped from the rotation when Kershaw, Buehler or May are ready to return, but Paxton could be a solid streaming option until that time.

While hitting will carry the Dodgers, the pitching staff isn’t too bad either. They’ll get a boost in the second half of the season, so if the initial assortment of pitchers can tread water and the lineup excels as expected, LA might have a chance to break the single-season record for team wins (116 wins). That record probably doesn't mean much to the team though, with the first goal being a World Series title.

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