20 Things to Watch This Week in Fantasy Baseball (2025)

It is vital to look at important storylines and aspects this week to be ahead of the curve and gain an edge on your league mates. We have 20 such storylines for you to monitor. This guide will help you navigate the waiver wire, pinpoint potential streamers and more.

20 Fantasy Baseball Things to Watch

1. Schedule Notes

Zero teams play five games this week.
The following teams play seven games this week:
- New York Yankees vs. KC, at TB
- Tampa Bay Rays vs. BOS, vs NYY
- Detroit Tigers at MIL, vs. KC
- Kansas City Royals at NYY, at DET
- New York Mets at MIN, vs. STL
- Philadelphia Phillies vs. SF, vs. MIA
- Washington Nationals at PIT, at COL
- Pittsburgh Pirates vs. WAS, vs. CLE
- St. Louis Cardinals vs. HOU, at NYM
- San Francisco Giants at PHI, at LAA

2. Nick Kurtz (1B – ATH)

The Athletics’ top prospect has been raking in AAA, slashing .386/.417/.860 with seven home runs in 13 games. Nick Kurtz was the fourth overall pick in last year’s draft, but it is clear he is Major League ready. However, he is blocked by Brent Rooker at designated hitter and Tyler Soderstrom is starting the season hot as well at first base.

3. Sacramento A’s

On top of the Nick Kurtz dilemma, the A’s have other problems. The Sacramento experiment has not gone well, as they have been allowing a ton of runs scored when playing at home. There have also been player complaints because teams can’t access the batting cages from the dugout. There was a video of Starling Marte having to go across the field to get swings in before his at-bats when the Mets were in town.

On a recent podcast, I spoke with James Schiano of Rotoworld, and he pointed out that A’s pitchers have yet to even attempt a pick-off attempt, which has led to teams trying to run on them more. It’s a mess in Sacramento.

4. Chase Dollander (SP – COL)

The Rockies’ top pitching prospect has arrived. The results have been uneven, but also great. Chase Dollander looked amazing on the road, but he is at home this week, and we need to monitor to see how the stuff plays up in the thin Colorado air.

5. Bobby Miller (SP – LAD)

Bobby Miller was a top prospect and a highly regarded young pitcher when it all fell apart last season. With the Dodgers dealing with some injuries, he is going to be back in the Majors this week for a start against the Rockies at home.

The Rockies on the road are always a good team to stream against, but I want to see how Miller looks, especially considering that while his AAA ERA is good, he has walked a ton of batters in his first three appearances in the Minors this season.

6. Ben Brown (SP, RP – CHC)

Ben Brown is coming off the best start of his career, throwing six scoreless innings and striking out five versus the Dodgers. He has another tough matchup this week against the Diamondbacks, but if he looks good again, he will be a top priority waiver wire pickup.

7. Chase Meidroth (2B, 3B, SS – CWS)

Chase Meidroth has been called up by the White Sox and is already creating waves. He was part of the Garrett Crochet trade and is known as a top-tier on-base player. Meidroth doesn’t have a ton of power or speed, but he has a great eye and hit tool. He could become a valuable accumulator.

8. David Festa (SP – MIN)

David Festa was recalled to replace Pablo Lopez in the rotation and pitched well in his first MLB start of the season. Festa is a former top prospect who has really good stuff and command. He could be up for good if he can pitch well, but we need to see him pitch deeper into games, which the Twins have been reluctant to allow him to do.

9. Pete Crow-Armstrong (OF – CHC)

Pete Crow-Armstrong started the year terribly, hitting .197/.264/.258 with zero home runs and six stolen bases. However, he had a breakout game on Sunday Night, hitting two home runs versus the Dodgers.

Crow-Armstrong’s underlying skills have been much better than the results have shown, so improvement should be on the horizon, but he has struggled with in-zone contact throughout the Minors and last season. We need to see if the early-season underlying numbers can show a real change.

10. Brewers Closer Chaos

Trevor Megill has struggled and is now set to get a second opinion on his ailing knee, which doesn’t sound good. Abner Uribe is likely the next man up if Megill hits the injured list (IL), but this could turn into a committee.

11-14. Streaming Options

Clarke Schmidt (SP – NYY) vs. KC

Clarke Schmidt is going to make his season debut this week versus the Royals. It seems a bit unlikely he will be able to go super deep into the game, but he has a ton of talent and a great offense supporting him in a pretty decent matchup.

Eduardo Rodriguez (SP – ARI) at MIA

Eduardo Rodriguez has been up and down this season, but he has a great matchup in a great pitcher’s park.

Mitchell Parker (SP – WSH) at PIT

Mitchell Parker has pitched pretty well this season despite lower strikeout numbers. He has a great matchup in a good pitcher’s park to keep it going.

Ben Lively (SP – CLE) at PIT

Ben Lively is a boring pitcher, but he has a nice matchup in a very good pitcher’s park.

15-20. Two-Start Options

Jeffrey Springs (SP – ATH) at CWS, at MIL

Jeffrey Springs has been up and down, and his home park has some blame in that. However, facing one of the worst teams in baseball in the White Sox makes him as close to a must-start pitcher. Both of his starts are on the road away from the Minor League park the A’s play in.

Grant Holmes (SP, RP – ATL) at TOR, vs. MIN

Grant Holmes has been a little shaky, but he has two nice matchups this week. The Atlanta offense has struggled to support their pitchers so far, but they are a much more potent offense than they have shown thus far.

Max Meyer (SP – MIA) vs. ARI, at PHI

Max Meyer has been fantastic this season, throwing 18 innings with a 2.00 ERA and 19 strikeouts. The only reason he is not higher is that he is facing two really strong offenses, and the Marlins’ terrible offense won’t support him, so the win potential is pretty low.

Taijuan Walker (SP – PHI) vs. SF, vs. MIA

Taijuan Walker is off to a great start this season, not allowing an earned run in his first two starts. These are also pretty good matchups at home, but there is a risk that Walker regresses to what we have seen from him in the last couple of seasons.

Landen Roupp (SP, RP – SF) at PHI, at LAA

Landen Roupp has been great so far this season despite momentary command and control issues. He is facing a tough Phillies team and a hot Angels one. Both of these games are on the road, so there is a bit of risk, but he is striking out a lot of batters and could be an interesting stream.

Easton Lucas (RP – TOR) vs. ATL, vs. SEA

Easton Lucas has come out of nowhere to put up some really good numbers thus far in two starts. He has two really good matchups this week versus a struggling Braves team and a mediocre Mariners offense at home.

Articles MLB Two-Start Pitchers Weekly Advice Nick Kurtz Brent Rooker Tyler Soderstrom Starling Marte Chase Dollander Bobby Miller Ben Brown Chase Meidroth Garrett Crochet David Festa Pablo Lopez Pete Crow-Armstrong Trevor Megill Abner Uribe Clarke Schmidt Eduardo Rodriguez Mitchell Parker Ben Lively Jeffrey Springs Grant Holmes Max Meyer Taijuan Walker Landen Roupp Easton Lucas

About Author

Justin Mason

@JustinMasonFWFB

Justin Mason is the lead fantasy writer and analyst for Friendswithfantasybenefits.com. He is a writer at Fangraphs and Fantasy Pros. You can hear him on the Radio on the FWFB, TGFBI and the Sleeper and the Bust Podcasts. He also runs The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational and the Bay Area Roto Fantasy (BARF) league.