Fantasy Baseball 2025 Two-Start Pitchers & Streaming Starters - Week 5

The tides have turned, and after four weeks of a relative scarcity of middle-tier Fantasy Baseball 2025Two-Start Pitchers. There is an absolute wealth of dual start pitchers to choose from in the second group this week. Still a fair number of aces to plug into your Fantasy Baseball lineups, to be certain, but not a lot of two-start hurlers to avoid this scoring period. 

As far as this week’s selection of Fantasy Baseball 2025 Streaming Starters, not much to choose from early in the scoring period or right at the conclusion of Week 5, but the other days and nights of action are chock full of potential arms for a single start…or if things work out well in that appearance, less owned pitchers to consider rostering for a bit longer.

This baker’s dozen of pitchers are as close to sure things to rely upon when it comes to pitchers in fantasy baseball. The advice is to plop them into your rotation(s) and let them do their thing, reaping the benefits for the most part. Naturally, there is the possibility of the occasional misstep by any hurler, but these arms offer the best return on your usage.

Heaney picked up his first victory of the season, tossing 7.1 IP while scattering five hits and two walks against the visiting National hitters. He was only able to strikeout four hitters, but he did lower his impressive ratios to a 2.13 ERA and 0.91 WHIP, stellar numbers indeed. Week 5 finds him climbing the hill at home for two starts, playing into his strength over the past few seasons.

Canning is on a three consecutive game win streak, and has been striking out a batter per frame over his five starts this season. His season walk rate is inflated, but he has been demonstrating better command and control over the past three games, with the free passes dropping in each effort, a promising trend. He is also showing a large increase in the number of grounders he is coaxing from opposing batters (53.4% over 26.0 IP), while his swinging K% is also on an upward trajectory, good tendencies that if continued, will potentially serve him well in these upcoming pair of road starts.

Sears, the 29-year-old southpaw, has delivered three quality starts (QS) in his four times atop the bump this season. All three QS have been on the road, and his scheduled starts this upcoming scoring period are away from Sacramento. While he is a below-average strikeout producer, he exhibits excellent control as evidenced by his 2.0 BB/9 rate over his 23.0 IP.

Olson tossed an absolute gem of a game, holding the visiting Padres to just two hits and one walk, while going 7.1 IP of shutout pitching. He collected five strikeouts during this outing, a recurring feat that he has repeated in three of his four starts in 2025. The concern with the third-year righthander is that his success has come at home, while he has struggled somewhat when toeing the rubber away from Comerica Park, and both the Week 5 matchups are road games.

Francis was tagged with the loss in Houston in his most recent time on the hill, and managed to collect a season-low pair of Ks. He is still sporting a useful 3.58 ERA and 1.19 WHIP and has a pair of home games on the slate in Week 5, where he has been extra effective to open the season. The Red Sox, his first opponent in the scoring period, have been amassing a ton of Ks, so that is another factor in his favor.

Sugano, despite not offering much in the way of strikeout production (3.4 K/9 through 21.0 IP), did collect his first QS this season by limiting the visiting Guardians to two earned runs, both on solo homers in the third inning. He gets to climb the hill at home for his two scheduled appearances in upcoming Week 5. If you can handle the lack of Ks, his fantasy production is useful, with a 3.43 ERA.

The 25-year-old righty, Warren, has been working to push his ERA down to a more palatable level, which currently sits at 4.79. He is racking up the Ks while toiling on the bump, with 21 to his credit over his 20.2 IP thus far in 2025. He has a couple of games against division rivals, opening the week in Baltimore. The home contest against the visiting Rays may be a better time to use the youngster. 

Newcomb is another SP who is limited for fantasy usage due to his inability to pitch deeper into contests, as he has yet to reach the end of the fifth frame in any of his four starts to date. While his ERA is a functional 3.63, the inflated 1.90 WHIP (24 hits, nine walks over 17.1 IP) is off-putting, at best. As with the Yankee hurler profiled immediately above, using the veteran southpaw when he toes the rubber at home in his second start in Week 5 portends to be a wiser decision rather than relying on him as a two-start option.

Ginn demonstrated his strikeout upside potential, whiffing seven Brewers in a 4.2 IP loss, building on the six K effort in his first trip to the mound this season, where he beat the visiting Mets. He has a pair of road starts on his plate, but his team has been better away from their new home in Sacramento early on in 2025, so use him for the K potential and hope for the win or two.

Paddack is another SP who will be climbing the hill in foreign parks for both his starts in Week 5. In each of his last two starts, he has gone 5.0 IP and allowed just a single earned tally in each game. His K/BB ratio over those two contests is a useful 11:3, and allowing a mere three total runs over those outings is appealing in an SP who is widely available on the wire. 

This group contains the SPs that it is strongly suggested you avoid inserting into your lineups, unless you wish to damage your ratios without receiving any great return in the counting stat portion of your fantasy baseball team results. If you must employ one of these arms due to innings requirements, look for a matchup that provides some potentially favorable results, such as Blanco toeing the rubber in Chicago against the host White Sox, or Martinez at home against the Cardinals. Other than selected streaming starts, though, you are better off not being tempted by these SPs and their dual start eligibility in Week 5.

Potential Streaming Options for Week 5

There is no promise that each game day will provide a streaming option. First of all, the pitcher must be available in at least 50% of leagues to be a viable candidate to snag off the wire. Then, the pitchers discussed above are not included as they have a different sort of value, even though some might be available as free agents in your league. Plus, some days the matchups and/or venues just do not figure as positive enough factors to favor plugging the arm into your rotation, even for one start. That all being said, here are this week’s best streaming candidates…

Ryan Gusto, Houston Astros vs. Detroit Tigers

The rookie righty has been pitching deeper into his starts, going 5.2 IP in his latest outing against the visiting Blue Jays. He picked up his second consecutive victory by limiting Toronto to just three hits and one walk, while also collecting six Ks. He has a home start in this contest, and will look to continue to improve his ratios, which are looking quite attractive currently: 2.78 ERA, 1.10 WHIP through 22.2 total innings.

Matthew Liberatore, St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds

The 25-year-old southpaw took a loss in New York against the host Mets, despite spinning a QS over 6.2 IP. He collected six Ks against a single walk, and has allowed three or fewer earned runs in three of his four starts on the season, showing off a useful 3.60 ERA and 1.00 WHIP through 25.0 IP. Pitching on the road, especially in Cincinnati, is the potential downside in this streaming matchup.

Tyler Anderson Los Angeles Angels at Seattle Mariners

The veteran lefty shut out the visiting Giant offense, holding them to just three hits and two free passes, while whiffing six and collecting both a QS and a victory, his second in a row. Climbing the bump on the road has not daunted him in recent history, so a tempting streaming start here for the southpaw.

Jake Irvin, Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies

Despite allowing a pair of dingers to the Rockies, he was dominant in picking up his second consecutive road win, racking up nine strikeouts and allowing just three safeties and zero walks. It is a small sample size but he has been exceptionally effective on the road this year, making for a tempting streaming start in Philly against a division rival.

Shane Smith, Chicago White Sox vs.. Milwaukee Brewers

The rookie righty picked up his first win on 2025, in a game shortened by rain in Minnesota, and also struck out a season-high seven Twins. He now features a 2.30 ERA and 0.95 WHIP, which will likely generate some interest among those perusing the waiver wire, so grabbing him now is a wise investment. As a Rule 5 selection by the Pale Hose, he figures to stick with the team all season, especially if he can continue this type of performance on the bump going forward.

Taijuan Walker, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Washington Nationals

Keep an eye on the veteran’s status, as he was lifted from his most recent start with shoulder stiffness and is listed currently as day-to-day. He is posting some tasty ratios, with a 2.29 ERA and 1.17 WHIP over his 19.2 IP thus far in 2025. If he makes his next scheduled start against the Cubs on the road, and does not suffer any setbacks with the shoulder, then a home matchup against a Nationals team that has not exactly acted like road warriors is a nice streaming start.

Ben Lively, Cleveland Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins

The Cleveland right-hander has been handing out hits with tremendous generosity, at a rate of nearly one per inning. Even so, his ratios are not horrible: 3.86 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. His peripheral metrics do not scream negative regression from his current results, and getting the Twins away from their home park has positive aspects, too.

Chad Patrick, Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago White Sox

The rookie righty was handed a tough loss when he collected his first QS of the season, holding the visiting Athletics to just a pair of earned tallies. His offense managed only one score, and thus the loss charged to the youngster. He does feature some tantalizing stats: 2.11 ERA (1.33 ERA over his four starts), 20 Ks through 21.1 IP. In this contest, he gets to take on the White Sox, an appealing matchup over last season and the early going in 2025.

Colin Rea, Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates

The converted reliever tossed his longest stint on the bump against the visiting Diamondbacks, holding Arizona to a single earned run on five hits and no walks, while racking up a strikeout per frame. The effort allowed him to continue to feature a miniscule 1.32 ERA over his 13.2 IP, along with an alluring 1.10 WHIP. Small sample size, to be sure, but he has been equally effective on the road and at home, so heading to Pittsburgh has appeal for him to continue his effective ways on the mound and be a useful streaming option.

Ben Brown, Chicago Cubs at Quinn Priester, Milwaukee Brewers

Our only matchup of competing SPs in this week’s edition of the Fantasy Baseball Streaming Report, it features a pair of division rivals. Brown victimized himself in his last outing, running up his pitch count over four innings, partially due to his four walks issued to the visiting Diamondbacks. His last two outings have seen him yield just one earned tally, and put up an 11:4 K/BB ratio. His efforts on the road away from the friendly confines of Wrigley Field have been strong, so that is not a concern here.

The Milwaukee right-hander Priester is also coming off a start where he exhibited questionable control, handing out four free passes to the host Giant hitters, and was pulled after 4.0 IP. His ERA looks inviting at 1.93, but his lack of control has inflated his WHIP: 1.43 over 14.0 IP, nine walks. He has yet to yield a run while toeing the rubber at home, but then again, the sample size is tiny (5.0 IP). 

Patrick Corbin, Texas Rangers vs. Seattle Mariners

The veteran southpaw picked up his second win out of three starts this season, the second consecutive victory for the 35-year-old. Not all is rosy for the lefty, though, as his WHIP sits at an unattractive 1.53, and a 10:5 K/BB ratio hints at future struggles to maintain his slot in the rotation as the injured SPs on the IL return to action. He does get a home start here, which should be a positive aspect if you are willing to take a chance that resurgence on the bump continues for the short term.

Logan Allen, Cleveland Guardians at Toronto Blue Jays

In his last two outings, he had come within one out of notching a QS. In those two trips to the hill, he has put up a stellar 0.79 ERA and 0.88 WHIP, with a 8.7 K/9 ratio. His control has seen improvement of recent vintage as well. He has shown no problems pitching away from his home park, so facing the Blue Jays in Toronto is not a daunting task, especially given the opponent’s difficulty in plating runners thus far this season.

Brayan Bello, Boston Red Sox vs. Minnesota Twins

Bello returned from the IL, where he was relegated due to a shoulder strain, and promptly picked up his first victory in a five inning start against the Mariners at Fenway Park. He struck out three Seattle hitters but also walked three over the course of his time on the hill. He continued to generate loads of ground balls from the opposition, building on his previous three MLB season results. The Twins are an enticing matchup playing on the road, it should be noted.

Davis Martin, Chicago White Sox vs. Houston Astros

The point in the second-year righty’s favor is that he is pitching at home in the contest, a location where he has had success to open the season. The opponent is currently under .500 while playing away from Daikin Park. If you are willing to take the chance on a White Sox starter, do not expect much in the way of Ks, given Martin’s season performance and the relatively low strikeout tendencies of the opponent.