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    Justin Mason | Sun, Aug 10th 2025, 6:34am EDT

Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers: Rankings & Waiver Wire Pickups

You should be grinding the fantasy baseball two-start pitchers to give you an advantage over your competition.

Each week, I will be giving you a breakdown of the two-start options for your fantasy leagues, broken up into the following tiers:

  • Must Start: The guys that you have to start because of their talent and/or matchups.
  • Should Start: These are the guys that are rostered in most formats and probably should be in your lineup.
  • Here We Go: Pitchers that you are probably starting in most formats, but have some level of risk to them.
  • Feeling Lucky: Pitchers that are risky, but viable in deeper formats.
  • Desperate Measures: Pitchers you shouldn’t use unless you have no other choice.

Make sure you are aware that when making fantasy baseball start or sit decisions that these projected two-start pitchers are subject to change.

Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers

Must Start

Should Start

Jack Flaherty (SP – DET) at CWS, at MIN

Jack Flaherty has been up and down this season, but the underlying numbers say he has been better than the surface numbers indicate. He has two great matchups versus two teams that sold at the deadline, so you are using him everywhere.

Ryan Pepiot (SP – TB) at ATH, at SF

Ryan Pepiot has been better at home than on the road, but he has still been pretty serviceable away from Tampa. He has two good matchups this week. One is in a bad park, but you are using him in most formats.

Jeffrey Springs (SP – ATH) vs. TB, vs. LAA

Jeffrey Springs struggled to begin the season, but he has rebounded well, especially in a tough home environment. He has a tough matchup to start the week and a decent one to end it, but with how he has pitched, he should be used in most formats.

Cade Horton (SP – CHC) at TOR, vs. PIT

Cade Horton has thrown 79.1 innings with a 3.18 ERA this season and 59 strikeouts. His underlying numbers have not been as pretty, so there is some chance of regression, especially with a tough matchup at Toronto. However, with how good the results have been and the fact that he gets Pittsburgh in the back half, you should use him.

Ryne Nelson (SP, RP – ARI) at TEX, at COL

Ryne Nelson has been fantastic this season, throwing 101.1 innings with a 3.20 ERA and 89 strikeouts. He has two good matchups against a Rangers team that has been up and down and a Rockies team that has just been terrible. He is a great streamer in most formats.

Here We Go

Chris Paddack (SP – DET) at CWS, at MIN

Chris Paddack has been up and down this season, but you don’t get much better matchups than a terrible White Sox team and a decimated Twins roster that sold a ton of players during the trade deadline. This is a very good streaming opportunity.

Zebby Matthews (SP – MIN) at NYY, vs. DET

Zebby Matthews has some of the best arm talent in all of baseball, but he struggles with command and control. You will get a ton of strikeouts, but these are two tough matchups, and the Twins are devoid of talent after the trade deadline. This is a high-risk/high-reward move.

Will Warren (SP – NYY) vs. MIN, at STL

In terms of upside versus downside, Will Warren is diet Zebby Matthews, as the strikeouts won’t be as plentiful. However, the matchups for Warren are better, and he has the Yankees’ offense supporting him, making him a fun gamble.

Clay Holmes (SP, RP – NYM) vs. ATL, vs. SEA

Clay Holmes’ surface numbers are pretty good this season, but it is clear he is starting to slow down as the season goes on. He has a good matchup at the start of the week, but a tougher one at the end. The lack of strikeouts makes him a bit riskier, considering he isn’t much of a WHIP asset either.

Feeling Lucky

Logan Allen (SP – CLE) vs. MIA, vs. ATL

Logan Allen has been hit or miss this season, but he does have two decent matchups against teams that are worse against lefties than righties. That said, the Marlins have been hot, and the Braves are better than they have played this season, so there is a fair amount of risk.

Yu Darvish (SP – SD) at SF, at LAD

Yu Darvish has been really good or really bad in each one of his starts since returning from the injured list (IL). There is no good way of knowing which version of Darvish will show up in any given matchup. He has a great matchup to start the week and a terrible one at the back end, but it is hard to pass up on a pitcher of his talent level.

Bailey Falter (SP – KC) vs. WSH, vs CWS

Bailey Falter has been up and down this season, throwing 117.1 innings with a 4.14 ERA and a putrid 15% strikeout rate. However, he has great matchups at home in a great park, which makes him streamable if you are just looking for wins.

Desperate Measures


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