Fantasy Baseball 2025 Two-Start Pitchers & Streaming Starters - Week 20

Week 20 provides fantasy baseball managers with a good selection of aces or SPs pitching like aces in the top tier of the Fantasy Baseball 2025Two-Start Pitchers to employ in fantasy rotations to continue the march toward a league championship over the next couple of months. There are also a fine contingent of arms to consider when selecting those Fantasy Baseball 2025 Streaming Starters that you might want to pluck off the waiver wire for a start…or perhaps to stash on your pitching staff for the rest of the season.

Please realize that these articles feature most recent rotation information available when the article is written, but that circumstances do change due to weather conditions, injuries and general craziness with managers. If a pitcher listed here as having two starts ends up with one (or perhaps none) in the upcoming week, apologies but this article is meant to provide analysis, it is up to the manager to set the lineups or rotations.

Without further ado, here are this week’s two start pitchers:

This week there are a full dozen arms that should be plugged into your fantasy baseball rotations for both their scheduled trips to toe the rubber for their respective teams. As is frequently suggested, these hurlers in the upper group should be relied upon no matter where they are plying their trade or against whom. Thank your drafting skills or savvy waiver wire selection abilities if you have one or more of these SPs on your fantasy roster.

Abbott faded late in his last outing, costing him the opportunity to collect his fourth quality start out of his last five trips to the mound, and saddling him with a loss, only his second of the season. His ratios are still worthy of admiration: 2.34 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and he demonstrates good control (2.7 BB/9 over 115.1 IP to date). Two home starts play to his strength on the hill, although the opponent matchups are less than ideal.

Flaherty had trouble locating the strike zone in his loss at home to the Twins, and broke his QS streak at two games. He will be facing another division opponent to open the scoring period, then gets to seek redemption against the Twins in their home park. He has been an excellent source of Ks this season, with an 11.0 K/9 rate through his 120.1 IP, and his peripheral metrics suggest that he should be able to return to his generally effective ways heading forward.

Springs has been pitching deep into his starts, lasting into the sixth frame in five of his last six outings. He has assembled an attractive 3.38 ERA and even more eye-catching 0.81 WHIP over those 34.2 IP, and has been stingy with the free passes, allowing just three during that stretch of action. His home/road splits are fairly even, so two home starts in Week 20 do not demand he be inserted into your fantasy rotations, although both opponents are playing sub-.500 ball on the season when away from their home parks.

Horton extended his scoreless string of innings to 22.1 with a 5.2 IP effort at home against the Reds, collecting his sixth victory in his rookie season. The second home start projects as his best chance for continued fantasy success, as he has struggled on the road this season, and the Blue Jays have been difficult to defeat in Toronto. While his K production is below average, he does generate a ton of groundballs when dealing from the bump, and keeps the ball in the yard (o.8 HR/9 over 79.1 IP.

Allen has been a steady presence for the Guardians, especially since mid-June, racking up a useful 3.68 ERA and 1.18 WHIP over his most recent 58.2 IP. He has been frugal with the walks over that period; he is not much more than an average source of strikeouts, though. Two home starts in Week 20 give hope that he can continue to be a useful SP, even if not an overly exciting option for fantasy purposes.

Alexander picked up his second QS of the season in Miami, stymying the Marlins by allowing just three hits and one walk, while striking out six. If you want to use the righty as a fantasy starter, though, realize that some injured SPs will be returning soon from the IL to resume their places on the Astro staff, likely making his time as a dual-start or streaming option limited in duration.

Some of these pitchers were residing in the middle tier but have been having less than stellar efforts on the hill in recent days. It does not mean that they will not rediscover the magic they were demonstrating earlier in the season, just that their efforts are less than dependable currently, and thus discretion suggests that perhaps now if not the optimal time to slide them into your lineups. If you must use one or more of the bottom tier arms, pick wisely based on venue and opponent, so as to minimize damage to your ratio stats. Better yet, look to the SPs profiled below for better streaming options to employ as the season runs through the dog days of summer.

Potential Streaming Options for Week 20

There is no promise that each game day will provide a streaming option. First of all, the pitcher must be available in at least 50% of leagues to be a viable candidate to snag off the wire. Then, the pitchers discussed above are not included as they have a different sort of value, even though some might be available as free agents in your league. Plus, some days the matchups and/or venues just do not figure as positive enough factors to favor plugging the arm into your rotation, even for one start. That all being said, here are this week’s best Fantasy Baseball 2025 Streaming Starters candidates:

Emmet Sheehan, Los Angeles Dodgers @ Los Angeles Angels

The 25-year-old second-year righty has been used more in a starting role than relief, and with the Dodgers employing a six-man rotation scheme, his spot as a member of the starting staff in LA seems solid for the present. He is coming off a 5.0 IP outing against the visiting Cardinals where he allowed two runs, neither of which was of the earned variety, and he also racked up five Ks in that appearance. His stats are impressive, albeit in limited action, with a 3.00 ERA and 1.20 WHIP to his credit over his 30.0 IP. This road start is not all that distant from his home park, but note that his road work has been his strength…again, recognize his limited time on the mound for the Dodgers.

Jacob Lopez, Athletics vs Tampa Bay Rays

The third-year southpaw has been collecting a goodly amount of Ks during his times on the bump this season (10.8 K/9 rate) but he needs to work on his control, as evidenced by an inflated WHIP of 1.34 and a corresponding 3.9 BB/9 rate. Picking up 10 Ks against the Nationals while not walking any batters was a great development for the youngster. He gets to face the Rays at home, where he has found much of his success while toeing the rubber for the Athletics this year. His opponent is playing sub-.500 ball when not in their home environs this season, too, if you need another impetus to stream the youngster.

Jose Quintana, Milwaukee Brewers vs Pittsburgh Pirates

The veteran southpaw has been reliable if not exciting as a member of the Brewer starting staff, compiling a useful 3.57 ERA over his 93.1 IP in 2025. The bloated 1.35 WHIP together with a sub-par 6.4 K/9 rate, coupled with his home/road splits this season make this a less than stellar streaming opportunity, but the two teams’ home/road results make it a palatable start if you need the innings. He is coming off a victory and QS against the host Braves.

Aaron Civale, Chicago White Sox vs Detroit Tigers

Heading into his scheduled Friday start against the visiting Indians, the veteran righthander has been on a nice run, not allowing an earned run over three recent outings (and only one unearned run over those 17.1 IP). He is striking out better than a hitter per inning recently, a pleasant recent development.

Charlie Morton, Detroit Tigers @ Minnesota Twins

The veteran was added to the Tiger rotation and immediately added value to his new team, although he was denied a victory due to a lack of offensive support. He has now tossed four QS among his last five times scraping the slab, heading into a home effort against the visiting Angels on Friday. He offers excellent K potential and has been trending in the proper direction mostly since he worked his way out of the Atlanta bullpen.

Eduardo Rodriguez, Arizona Diamondbacks @ Colorado Rockies

The Diamondbacks did not move the southpaw at the trade deadline and he reversed his trend to allow earned runs entering August, holding the host A’s to two earned tallies on six hits and three walks, not exactly an enviable amount of traffic on the basepaths but ultimately another victory for the veteran. Keep an eye on his results in Denver against the Rockies’ hitters on Saturday to see if he has righted the ship.

Brad Lord, Washington Nationals vs Philadelphia Phillies

The rookie righthander had not allowed more than two earned runs in an appearance since mid-April before coughing up three earned tallies to the visiting Brewer lineup in his most recent outing. He will look to return to form, at home against the NL East-leading Philadelphia team, although his home/road splits are not entirely auspicious for that to take place. 

Nick Martinez, Cincinnati Reds vs Milwaukee Brewers

Keep an eye on the righty’s status as a member of the Cincy starting rotation, as he had been shifted to the bullpen with the arrival of Zack Littell from Tampa Bay at the trade deadline, but now Nick Lodolo is likely to hit the IL with a finger blister. In his four starts before his most recent bullpen appearance, he had accumulated a 3.38 ERA and 1.22 WHIP over those 21.1 IP, where he also accumulated three wins and 20 Ks.

Sean Burke, Chicago White Sox @ Kansas City Royals

Over his last four starts, he has racked up 25 Ks over those 18.2 IP, but he also allowed nine free passes and did not last more than five frames in any of those outings. If you use him for the strikeouts, just be aware of the potential for an inflated WHIP due to his questionable control.

Justin Verlander, San Francisco Giants vs Tampa Bay Rays

It has been near vintage Verlander over his last three outings, where he has compiled a superior 0.60 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with 14 Ks over those 15.0 IP. He did allow an uncharacteristic five walks in one of those starts, but allowed only one free pass in each of his last two time atop the hill. He will attempt to keep things running smoothly on the bump against a sub-.500 visiting Tampa Bay squad in this contest.

Mike Burrows, Pittsburgh Pirates @ Chicago Cubs

Prior to getting shoved around by the visiting Giants to the tune of six earned runs allowed over just 4.0 IP, the young Pirate righty had shone in three outings, allowing just three earned runs over 17.0 IP where he put up an admirable 18:4 K/BB ratio. His team’s road record is abysmal, but the second-year rookie has the potential to deliver Ks and useful ratios for the fantasy owner will to take a chance on him.

Ryan Bergert, Kansas City Royals vs Chicago White Sox

Should Michael Lorenzen’s rehab go well, this start for Bergert is not guaranteed to occur. He did fare well in his first time on the bump for his new team, falling just an out short of collecting a QS while allowing just two earned runs to the host Red Sox. Just two Ks to his credit, well below his just below average K rate of 7.8 K/9 over his 41.1 IP throughout the season. Facing the Pale Hose at home carries the potential for a successful streaming start.