Fantasy Baseball Forecaster for Week 25: Playoffs Week 3, Sept. 15-21

Welcome to the fantasy baseball championships!

Fantasy baseball's Week 25, the penultimate week of the MLB season, represents the first of two-week championship matchups in ESPN standard head-to-head leagues. It's the busier of the two weeks, as Week 25 has 96 total games and 12 teams scheduled to play seven times. Week 26, by comparison, has just 90 total games with all 30 teams scheduled for exactly six games apiece. This is the week in which to aim for a big head start in your matchups, especially considering that both playoff-bound and mathematically eliminated MLB teams often rest their regulars during the season's final week.

Speaking of clinching playoff spots, the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies have already secured places in the October tournament. Expect to see more playoff spots, home-field advantages for early series and perhaps even specific seeds clinched throughout the week. The Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays are also in position to secure playoff spots. In the case of the Phillies, they could clinch the National League East as early as Monday. The Tigers could lock up the American League Central title, as the Brewers could the National League Central, before Week 25 concludes. That's significant in that teams often consider resting regulars the day after a clinching scenario.

A pair of doubleheaders fuel the greater number of seven-game weeks. The Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals play a Tuesday doubleheader at Washington's Nationals Park, with one of the games making up for their May 21 postponement, while the Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins play a Saturday doubleheader at Minnesota's Target Field, with one of the games making up for their May 20 postponement. All four teams joined the seven-game crowd with the extra contest.

The AL West race will be under the microscope during Week 25. The Houston Astros host the Texas Rangers (two games back of the Astros in the standings, and three out of first place) for three games from Monday through Wednesday, and the Seattle Mariners (who lead the Astros by one game) from Friday through Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers, leaders of their respective divisions, play head-to-head at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium from Monday through Wednesday. This could be a Division Series preview and it will likely have a big say as to which team has home-field advantage for that potential October matchup.

Lineup lock times

Scheduling quirks for Week 25

Starting pitchers for Week 25

Hitting charts for Week 25