Starting Pitcher Chart – August 15th, 2025
by Paul Sporer
August 15, 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 15, 2025
| RK | PITCHER | GAME | 10 | 12 | 15+ | IP | ERA | WHIP | K-BB | 2025 wOBA RK | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack Wheeler | PHI at WSN | x | x | x | 139 | 2.64 | 0.92 | 28% | 24th | Is his own teammate gonna yoink the CY this time?! That implies he’s even leading rn when it’s gotta be Skenes, but what if Sanchez stormed the castle to take it? |
| 2 | Framber Valdez | HOU v BAL | x | x | x | 145 | 2.97 | 1.16 | 16% | 22nd | |
| 3 | Jacob deGrom | TEX at TOR | x | x | x | 135 | 2.86 | 0.95 | 22% | 3rd | Can’t wait to see how he does with the white-hot Jays |
| 4 | MacKenzie Gore | WSN v PHI | x | x | x | 126 | 4.29 | 1.37 | 19% | 10th | I’m such a sucker… let’s dive back in after the 10-K gem in SF |
| 5 | Lucas Giolito | BOS v MIA | x | x | x | 100 | 3.77 | 1.25 | 12% | 12th | SDP interrupted a brilliant 10-start run (2.03 ERA, 0.95 WHIP in 62 IP), but I’m back in the saddle despite a difficult matchup |
| 6 | Luis Castillo | SEA at NYM | x | x | x | 138 | 3.19 | 1.19 | 14% | 6th | Catching NYM at the right time and SEA surging could offfer a W even if he’s not at his best |
| 7 | Sean Manaea | NYM v SEA | x | x | x | 23 | 3.52 | 0.96 | 22% | 12th | |
| 8 | Noah Cameron | KCR v CHW | x | x | x | 93 | 2.52 | 1.03 | 13% | 15th | Kurtz is lapping the ROY field, but in a lot of years Cameron would be getting a lot of attention for the award… he’s been excellent! |
| 9 | Chris Bassitt | TOR v TEX | x | x | x | 133 | 4.17 | 1.32 | 16% | 26th | His 16% K-BB is 7th-best on the board but a 2.4 HR9 has kept him from popping off (4.39 ERA) |
| 10 | Colin Rea | CHC v PIT | W | x | x | 116 | 4.09 | 1.29 | 11% | 29th | Schedule stays friendly and gives him a chance to get hot (3 ER in 10.7 IP w/10 Ks in L2) |
| 11 | Charlie Morton | DET at MIN | W | W | x | 111 | 5.48 | 1.53 | 13% | 21st | Weird outing that came unglued late: 5 ER in 4th-5th after 1 ER on 2 H w/8 Ks in 1st-3rd |
| 12 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD v SDP | x | x | 71 | 3.14 | 1.26 | 9% | 17th | Relentless schedule: MIL/at MIL/at BOS/at TBR/TOR and now SDP… if you’re chasing ratios and Ws, he’s worth running | |
| 13 | Yusei Kikuchi | LAA at ATH | x | x | 139 | 3.37 | 1.42 | 15% | 8th | This is the kind of start where he gives up 7 ER… 1 HR in his L3 is great, but he’s still a heavy-flyball guy w/a career 1.5 HR9… this is skippable in spots | |
| 14 | Joey Cantillo | CLE v ATL | x | 61 | 4.11 | 1.40 | 16% | 14th | The walks, man, the waaaaaalkssss… 15 in his L6 (29.7 IP), but the 34 Ks keep me coming back | ||
| 15 | Aaron Civale | CHW at KCR | x | 73 | 4.91 | 1.34 | 11% | 25th | Mannnn, after reeling off 3 starts of 1 ER at PIT/CHC/at LAA, he gets bombed out for 9 ER v. CLE… at least he had 6 Ks; his 26% K-BB over the L30 is 2nd to only Wheeler on today’s board and I’m inclined to give him another shot | ||
| 16 | Nick Martinez | CIN v MIL | x | 136 | 4.49 | 1.19 | 11% | 11th | VERY tough matchup, but he’s been rolling w/a 3.28 ERA/1.13 WHIP since that 10 ER dud (very Civalesque) including starts at NYM and v. LAD | ||
| 17 | Luis Gil | NYY at STL | x | 8 | 7.27 | 1.85 | 12% | 23rd | Beautiful gem v. HOU (5.3 IP/2 ER/7 Ks/91 pitches) and frankly I’m not sure NYY can afford to baby him, they need 5+ outta him! | ||
| 18 | Jack Perkins | ATH v LAA | x | 28 | 4.08 | 1.05 | 15% | 19th | Reached 6 IP last time out in 84 pitches so while he’s at risk for a short start, we’ve at least seen a strong 6er | ||
| 19 | Joe Boyle | TBR at SFG | x | 30 | 3.82 | 1.08 | 12% | 22nd | Showed his downside last time out w/5 BB & 3 HR so that’s now 2 duds in his L3 | ||
| 20 | Jacob Misiorowski | MIL at CIN | x | 33 | 2.70 | 0.96 | 26% | 14th | Returning from the IL, but likely in a shortened start… he could be frustrating to roster down the stretch so buckle up | ||
| 21 | Landen Roupp | SFG v TBR | 101 | 3.11 | 1.43 | 12% | 10th | Also returning from the IL and could be looking at an abbreivated start to get back in the groove (3 IP, 50 pitches in rehab outing) | |||
| 22 | Braxton Ashcraft | PIT at CHC | 36 | 3.19 | 1.36 | 13% | 5th | Bringing up the rear of the Short Start Brigade having maxed at 56 pitches plus it’s a tough spot in Wrigley (despite CHC sitting 26th vR in L30) | |||
| 23 | Brandon Pfaadt | ARI at COL | 122 | 5.02 | 1.31 | 14% | 28th | No, I just can’t run him in Coors | |||
| 24 | Brandon Young | BAL at HOU | 44 | 6.70 | 1.74 | 10% | 18th | ||||
| 25 | Sandy Alcantara | MIA at BOS | 121 | 6.55 | 1.45 | 8% | 9th | We’ll just revisit next yr… felt like we were overhyping the 2 solid starts before the deadline and he followed up w/11 ER | |||
| 26 | Erick Fedde 페디 | ATL at CLE | 116 | 5.40 | 1.49 | 3% | 27th | ||||
| 27 | Andre Pallante | STL v NYY | 123 | 4.95 | 1.37 | 7% | 4th | ||||
| 28 | Randy Vásquez | SDP at LAD | 107 | 3.93 | 1.39 | 1% | 2nd | ||||
| 29 | José Ureña | MIN v DET | 22 | 5.24 | 1.52 | 7% | 15th | ||||
| 30 | Tanner Gordon | COL v ARI | 28 | 6.59 | 1.78 | 6% | 1st |
Recommendations for Roto 5×5 Leagues
KEY x: Standard Recommendation | W: Chasing the Win