Welcome to the inaugural edition of the 2025 two-start pitcher rankings!
Each week, I’ll break down all the projected two-start starters and group them into four tiers: Set and Forget, Probably Start, Questionable, and Avoid. Set-and-Forget starters are simply that; get them in your lineup and don’t think twice. The Most Likely tier includes players with a mix of skill and matchups that make them almost certainly two-start plays, but not without some elevated risk compared to the top tier. Questionable starters are those best suited for daily lineup leagues where you can bench them against the tougher of their two opponents or are more situation-dependent in weekly leagues. Finally, we have the Avoid tier, which includes two start SPs who should remain on your bench or the wire.
I’ll also be highlighting one Two-Start Streamer of the Week. The criteria for a streamer will be a rostered rate under 50% in Yahoo & ESPN leagues. The Streamer of the Week will be highlighted in green in the tables.
This week, most teams will be starting up their second series of the year. That means that the pitchers who are slated to start early in the week—and therefore make multiple starts—are guys near the back of their team’s rotations. That leaves a group of questionable starters to choose from, so the pickings are a bit slimmer than they’ll be in most weeks.
Still, there are a handful of guys worth targeting in one way or another. Let’s dive in.
As a friendly reminder, the projected starters are just that, projections and subject to change.
Set-and-Forget
- Corbin Burnes is an unquestioned ace, checking in as Nick Pollack’s No. 8 starting pitcher heading into the season. He hasn’t been quite as dominant in recent years as he was in his prime, but there’s no reason not to roll him out for both starts this week.
- The Dodgers truly have an embarrassment of riches on the mound. Tyler Glasnow will get multiple starts for them this week, and despite being near the back of the team’s rotation, he’d be an ace for most of the other teams in baseball. He pitched to a 2.65 xERA with 11.28 strikeouts per nine innings last season, and there’s no reason to expect much different in 2025. He draws two dreadful matchups to start the year—home vs. the Braves and on the road vs. the Phillies—but he’s simply too talented to bench.
Most Likely
- Ronel Blanco will almost certainly regress following last year’s breakout showing. He had a 2.80 ERA but a 4.00 xERA, and his BABIP was a minuscule .220. With some more average luck this season, his numbers are going to be much more reasonable. Still, he starts the year with two decent matchups against the Giants and Twins. Who knows, maybe Koufax will smile favorably on him once again.
- Cristopher Sánchez starts the week with one of the best possible matchups and finishes it with one of the worst. When the Rockies were away from Coors Field last season, they had the second-worst wRC+ against southpaws and a strikeout rate north of 30%. Sanchez should absolutely shove in that spot. The Dodgers were first in wRC+ against left-handers in 2024, so you could certainly make a case for benching him in that matchup. Still, Sanchez’s stuff is good enough, and the matchup versus the Rockies is so juicy that he deserves to be started in weekly leagues.
- Drew Rasmussen has done nothing but excel at the MLB level, and now he’ll get his opportunity to work as a full-time starter. That’s an extremely exciting prospect. He racked up a 2.83 ERA, 1.98 xERA, and 10.99 strikeouts-per-nine across 28.2 innings last season, and he followed that up with an outstanding spring training. He starts the week with a fantastic matchup versus the Pirates, and his second matchup at the Rangers isn’t too terrifying.
- Casey Mize gets the nod as “Streamer of the Week” thanks to the best schedule among the two-start pitchers. He opens up with a matchup against the Mariners in one of the most pitcher-friendly venues in baseball. His second start is arguably even better against the dreadful White Sox. They were dead last in wRC+ vs. right-handers last year, and not much figures to change in 2025. Mize is a former top prospect who had a phenomenal spring training, so expect him to start the year on a high note.
Questionable
- This is the most robust tier this week, featuring a handful of pitchers with the viability for one start. A few of these guys might establish themselves as better options as the year progresses, and Kumar Rocker is near the top of that list. He has electric stuff, and he struck out nearly 14 batters per nine innings during spring training. Start him with confidence versus the Rays—who had the fifth-highest strikeout rate against right-handers last season—but it’s probably best to avoid him in Cincinnati.
- Grant Holmes is a hard pass in his first start of the year on the road versus the Dodgers. But at home versus the Marlins? Yes, please. Holmes was quietly excellent last season, and he’s a big favorite to pick up a win against Miami.
- Is Bowden Francis legit? He was a stud down the stretch last season, but the pitch modeling metrics don’t love his stuff. He’s definitely usable at home versus the Nationals, but he’s best left on the bench in New York versus a potent Mets lineup.
- Kris Bubic is back in the rotation after a phenomenal year in the Royals’ bullpen. There are reasons to be optimistic about him, especially in his first start against the Brewers.
- David Peterson has solid stuff, and he’s capable of generating swings and misses. Unfortunately, he also hands out more than his fair share of free passes. That shouldn’t be an issue versus the Marlins, but it makes him a risky option versus a righty-heavy Blue Jays lineup.
- Luis L. Ortiz, Ben Brown, Tyler Alexander, and Brady Singer were all grouped similarly in our preseason rankings, and all four have one solid matchup and one scary matchup this week.
- Jordan Hicks doesn’t have one standout matchup like most of the other pitchers in this tier, but his home matchup vs. the Mariners to end the week is good enough. San Francisco is one of the most pitcher-friendly venues in baseball, and the Mariners had the highest strikeout rate against right-handers last year.
- Kyle Hart is back in the US after winning the equivalent of the Cy Young Award in the KBO last season. Can he translate that into MLB success? That seems unlikely, but keep your eye on the weather conditions for his second start in Chicago. The winds play a major factor at Wrigley Field, and if they’re blowing in, Hart would enter the streamer conversation.
- Martín Pérez, Chris Paddack, Emerson Hancock, and Will Warren round out this tier. All four are questionable MLB starters, but each will draw an elite matchup this week. Perez and Hancock get the Tigers, Paddack gets the White Sox, and Warren gets the Pirates. Anyone with a pulse is at least worth considering in those matchups.
Avoid
- There’s nothing to get excited about here: no exciting prospects, no elite matchups, minimal win upside. Maybe you can find a start for one or two of these guys if you’re desperate, but you’d have to squint really hard to find it. You’re best off just avoiding this tier entirely, with the risk far outweighing the upside.
