Across 320 2/3 innings, Atlanta’s mustachioed ace has a 3.37 ERA and a 2.48 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching, a metric that estimates ERA by removing all balls hit into play). In 2023, Strider delivered the second-best K/9 season in MLB history, punching out 13.55 hitters per nine innings — and somehow he ended up with a 3.86 ERA. According to the batted-ball data, Strider’s ERA should’ve been right around 3.00, but the baseball gods were not kind to the 25-year-old flamethrower.

Strider’s incredibly bizarre season was still dominant enough to earn a fourth-place Cy Young finish, but there’s no doubt that from a pure production standpoint, there’s much more in the tank. If he repeats his output from last year and stays healthy, his numbers will almost certainly improve. What’s more, Strider, who has been primarily a two-pitch, fastball/slider pitcher, looks to have added a curveball to his arsenal over the winter, a pitch that should help him keep left-handed hitters at bay.

It’s weird to call one of the game’s best pitchers “underrated,” but I think Strider could be in line for a truly memorable pitching season.

Tyler Glasnow (ADP: 44.3) ranks behind only the aforementioned Spencer Strider when it comes to skills (and stuff), and his ADP comes at a discount thanks to past health issues. Roughly 40% of starting pitchers spend time on the injured list each season, but Glasnow enters fully healthy and finally over his one arm injury that took years to properly diagnose. He’s also now pitching for the Dodgers in the NL West, so he should be a big help in the wins category, even if his volume doesn’t quite match others. Glasnow has topped 155 innings before (counting the minors), and he’s a real threat to win the Cy Young if health cooperates.