Starting Pitcher Chart – August 20th, 2025
by Paul Sporer
August 20, 2025
The chart includes their performance for 2025, their opponent’s wOBA rank versus the pitcher’s handedness from this year so far, my general start/sit recommendation for 10-team, 12-team, and 15-team (or more) leagues, and then a note about them. Obviously, there are league sizes beyond those three so it’s essentially a shallow, medium, deep. If a pitcher only has an “x” in 15-team, it doesn’t mean there’s no potential use in 10s and 12s, but it’s a much riskier stream for those spots.
These are general recommendations, and your league situation will carry more weight whether you are protecting ratios or chasing counting numbers. This is for standard 5×5 roto leagues. The thresholds for H2H starts are generally lower, especially in points leagues so I thought there would be more valuable focusing on roto.
Starter Notes August 20, 2025
| RK | PITCHER | GAME | 10 | 12 | 15+ | IP | ERA | WHIP | K-BB | 2025 wOBA RK | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Framber Valdez | HOU at DET | x | x | x | 152 | 3.01 | 1.18 | 16% | 5th | Out a bit later than normal for a friend’s birthday dinner so focusing on 2-x’s and lower w/commentary today |
| 2 | Drew Rasmussen | TBR v NYY | x | x | x | 117 | 2.60 | 0.98 | 17% | 3rd | |
| 3 | Noah Cameron | KCR v TEX | x | x | x | 98 | 2.47 | 1.06 | 13% | 28th | |
| 4 | Chris Bassitt | TOR at PIT | x | x | x | 138 | 4.22 | 1.33 | 16% | 30th | |
| 5 | Jesús Luzardo | PHI v SEA | x | x | x | 139 | 4.21 | 1.34 | 19% | 12th | |
| 6 | Kodai Senga | NYM at WSN | x | x | x | 99 | 2.35 | 1.23 | 11% | 22nd | |
| 7 | Cam Schlittler | NYY at TBR | x | x | 29 | 3.94 | 1.52 | 12% | 13th | Wow this is a thin board when our top 2-x’s are rookies! Schlittler might actually be getting the better matchup w/TBR sitting 22nd in L30… | |
| 8 | Hurston Waldrep | ATL v CHW | x | x | 17 | 1.02 | 0.79 | 18% | 29th | …meanwhile CHW is up to 12th in the L30; it doesn’t take me off him, just worth noting CHW isn’t the streaming free space anymore (in fact, they’re 6th vR over L2 mos.) | |
| 9 | Aaron Civale | CHW at ATL | x | x | 79 | 4.88 | 1.35 | 11% | 16th | Even w/the 9 ER demolition v. CLE, he’s at 4.12 ERA/1.11 WHIP/22% K-BB in his L5 & the improved CHW offense increases the W chance | |
| 10 | Yusei Kikuchi | LAA v CIN | x | x | 143 | 3.52 | 1.44 | 14% | 24th | Standard Kikuchi downswing (5.40 ERA/1.72 WHIP in L5) but he still salvaged 2 Ws and 26 Ks in 25 IP | |
| 11 | PIT v TOR | 41 | 3.02 | 1.27 | 14% | 4th | |||||
| 12 | Bailey Ober | MIN v ATH | x | 108 | 5.15 | 1.35 | 13% | 6th | I hope this is just a dud year as opposed to decline into 4th SP workhorse-type, but a low-90s heater and far too many HRs isn’t a combo that often ages well | ||
| 13 | Charlie Morton | DET v HOU | x | 117 | 5.20 | 1.50 | 13% | 24th | The Wheel O’ Morton will come up snake eyes sometimes, but even w/his 2 duds mixed in, he has a 3.90 ERA/1.36 WHIP/16% K-BB in his L14 and he had 10 Ks in 1 of the duds! | ||
| 14 | Nick Martinez | CIN at LAA | x | 139 | 4.73 | 1.23 | 11% | 19th | LAA’s bats have cooled, but his 1.2 HR9 could unlock them | ||
| 15 | Luis Castillo | SEA at PHI | x | 142 | 3.48 | 1.22 | 15% | 7th | Long-time fan, but he’s no longer set-and-forget; now a Team Streamer, this is mostly a sit for me bc while he does have some gems v. good tms, all of his bad outings are against ’em, too | ||
| 16 | Landen Roupp | SFG at SDP | x | 104 | 3.45 | 1.45 | 12% | 18th | Rough return from the IL (3 IP/5 ER), but at least he had 5 Ks & just 1 BB; upside feels a bit light here w/low W probability and bad WHIP | ||
| 17 | J.T. Ginn | ATH at MIN | x | 55 | 5.04 | 1.32 | 18% | 21st | Sure MIN is a good matchup, but is Ginn a good option? 1055 OPS vL and MIN runs 5 in their main lineup w/3 more on the bench (2 L, 1 S) | ||
| 18 | JP Sears | SDP v SFG | W | x | 116 | 5.12 | 1.31 | 14% | 30th | Sure SFG is a good matchup (yes, I’m doing the whole bit again), but is Sears a good option? Better v. lesser tms so it’s not a terrible W Hail Mary (4.26 ERA/1.13 WHIP in 13 starts) | |
| 19 | Colin Rea | CHC v MIL | x | 121 | 3.99 | 1.28 | 11% | 9th | Strong over his L3 (2.37 ERA/1.05 WHIP/16% K-BB) incl. 15 Ks in 15.7 IP, but a really tough spot here, too, so I lean toward sitting | ||
| 20 | Shohei Ohtani | LAD at COL | x | 23 | 3.47 | 1.11 | 28% | 27th | Got our 2 short outing kings here, but Ohtani is working up and Mis is coming down so I’d much rather start Shohei b/w the 2 | ||
| 21 | Jacob Misiorowski | MIL at CHC | 34 | 3.89 | 1.13 | 24% | 8th | I’ve haven’t seen anything on his expected outing length & I get anyone starting him just in case they let him go off v. the divisional rival, but there is still no real incentive for them to push him until dialing back up for the playoffs | |||
| 22 | Sandy Alcantara | MIA v STL | 127 | 6.31 | 1.41 | 9% | 23rd | ||||
| 23 | Brad Lord | WSN v NYM | 91 | 3.26 | 1.22 | 12% | 5th | ||||
| 24 | Brandon Pfaadt | ARI v CLE | 133 | 5.08 | 1.36 | 13% | 28th | ||||
| 25 | Parker Messick | CLE at ARI | #N/A | #N/A | #N/A | #N/A | 11th | ||||
| 26 | Andre Pallante | STL at MIA | 128 | 5.04 | 1.38 | 8% | 11th | ||||
| 27 | Kumar Rocker | TEX at KCR | 64 | 5.74 | 1.46 | 11% | 25th | deGrom being skipped, Rocker hasn’t pitched since 8/7 so he’s available | |||
| 28 | Tanner Gordon | COL v LAD | 38 | 7.98 | 1.80 | 8% | 2nd |
Recommendations for Roto 5×5 Leagues
KEY x: Standard Recommendation | W: Chasing the Win
