Great starts against Miami and Washington could push Shelby Miller into must-start status
Daniel Marcus takes us through Week 22’s two-start pitchers. Be sure to review our Two-Start Pitcher Rankings chart.
There are a few surprises on this week’s list, with some pitchers being surprisingly effective and others who are large disappointments.
Must-Start
- Johnny Cueto (9/1 DET, 9/6 CWS)
- Chris Sale (9/1 @MIN, 9/6 @KC)
- Madison Bumgarner (9/1 @LAD, 9/6 @COL)
- David Price (8/31 CLE, 9/6 BAL)
- Chris Archer (8/31 @BAL, 9/6 @NYY)
- Zack Greinke (9/1 SF, 9/6 @SD)
Cueto is the guy closest to falling off this list, but two poor starts aren’t enough for me to sit one of the best pitchers of this season. All of these guys are no brain starts every time they take the ball.
High-End Options
- Felix Hernandez (8/31 @HOU, 9/6 @OAK)
- Shelby Miller (9/1 MIA, 9/6 @WSH)
- Tyson Ross (8/31 TEX, 9/5 LAD)
- Justin Verlander (9/1 @KC, 9/6 CLE)
- John Lackey (8/31 WSH, 9/6 PIT)
- Joe Ross (9/1 @STL, 9/6 ATL)
Hernandez is in a new position here as he has nearly always been an elite option, but the numbers at this point tell a different story given a 6.60 ERA in August and a 4.57 ERA on the road this season. Miller is close to a must-start option but given the relatively poor performance in his past two starts his status has been slightly downgraded. Tyson Ross has been up and down in his performance this season but his strikeouts are consistently strong, making him a good fantasy play. Verlander seems to be turning back the clock, and while I can’t buy-in completely, it is hard to ignore what he has done in his past four starts. Lackey has been a real fantasy asset this season and should be trusted. Joe Ross is approaching an innings limit, but in the meantime has shown that he has the stuff to be a fantasy asset.
Low-End Options
- Patrick Corbin (8/31 @COL, 9/6 @CHC)
- Wei-Yin Chen (8/31 TB, 9/6 @TOR)
- Scott Feldman (8/31 SEA, 9/6 MIN)
- Hector Santiago (8/31 @OAK, 9/6 TEX)
- Brett Anderson (8/31 SF, 9/5 @SD)
- Jimmy Nelson (9/1 PIT, 9/6 @CIN)
- Chris Bassitt (8/31 LAA, 9/6 SEA)
- Andrew Cashner (9/1 TEX, 9/6 LAD)
- Gio Gonzalez (8/31 @STL, 9/5 ATL)
Corbin has pitched pretty well of late but the start at Coors Field makes me weary of him this week unless you are in desperate need of pitching. You know exactly what you’re getting from Chen and that would be a high-end option if not for a matchup against the lefty-mashing Blue Jays lineup. Feldman isn’t an exciting option but won’t hurt you, so if you are in need of pitching he is an option. The other shoe has dropped on Santiago but he has had useful outings sprinkled into his miserable August. Anderson doesn’t get the attention he deserves and is a consistent fantasy option, though a lack of strikeouts limits his upside. Nelson seemed like he was delivering on his potential with a strong stretch since mid-July, however that has changed of late. Bassitt looks like the Atheltics’ next gimmick, meaning I can’t buy-in, but his results haven’t been terrible. This season has been a roller coaster for Cashner and it doesn’t seem like that will be changing so you will be holding your breath his entire two starts. After looking as if he had regained his near ace stuff, Gonzalez has been crushed in his past three starts, none of them coming against prolific offensive teams.
Stay Away
- Mike Foltynewicz (8/31 MIA, 9/5 @WSH)
- Rick Porcello (8/31 NYY, 9/6 PHI)
- Kyle Hendricks (8/31 CIN, 9/6 ARI)
- David Holmberg (8/31 @CHC, 9/6 MIL)
- Josh Tomlin (8/31 @TOR, 9/6 @DET)
- Chad Bettis (8/31 ARI, 9/5 SF)
- Chris Narveson (8/31 @ATL, 9/6 NYM)
- Tyler Duffey (9/1 CWS, 9/6 @HOU)
- Bartolo Colon (8/31 PHI, 9/6 @MIA)
- Ivan Nova (8/31 @BOS, 9/6 TB)
- Jerad Eickhoff (8/31@NYM, 9/6 @BOS)
- Jeff Locke (9/1 @MIL, 9/6 @STL)
- Jake Peavy (8/31 @LAD, 9/5 @COL)
- Colby Lewis (8/31 @SD, 9/6 @LAA)
Daniel Marcus is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Daniel, check out his archive or follow him @danmarcus3.
