Jake Arrieta looks like the league’s most stellar two-start option this week

Daniel Marcus takes us through Week 21’s two-start pitchers. Be sure to review our Two-Start Pitcher Rankings chart.

This week features many useful options ranging from fantasy aces to waiver wire adds. Here is a rundown, of where each two-start pitcher stands this week.

Must Start

• Jake Arrieta (8/25 @SF, 8/30 @LAD)
• Dallas Keuchel (8/24 @CIN, 8/30 @MIN)
• Jacob deGrom (8/24 @PHI, 8/29 BOS)
• Stephen Strasburg (8/25 SD, 8/30 MIA)
• Hisashi Iwakuma (8/24 OAK, 8/29 @CWS)
• Lance Lynn (8/24 @ARI, 8/29 @SF)
• Jaime Garcia (8/25 @ARI, 8/30 @SF)

Arrieta is the most underrated fantasy pitchers in baseball. The story with Keuchel hasn’t changed and by now you are familiar with it. deGrom has proven himself to be a bona fide ace at this point in the season. Strasburg’s form of late is what we were hoping for all season. Iwakuma has looked more like himself since returning from injury, and that is good news for fantasy owners. Lynn has been a great player for ratio stats this year, though the Arizona offense is dangerous. Garcia doesn’t have the skill of the rest of these pitchers, but his results have been there this season.

High-End Options

• Julio Teheran (8/24 COL, 8/30 NYY)
• Jon Lester (8/24 CLE, 8/29 @LAD)
• Corey Kluber (8/24 @CHC, 8/30 LAA)
• Jose Quintana (8/25 BOS, 8/30 SEA)
• Nate Eovaldi (8/24 HOU, 8/30 @ATL)
• James Shields (8/25 @WSH, 8/30 @PHI)
• Nate Karns (8/25 MIN, 8/30 KC)

Teheran has started to turn it around since early July and has been good at home all season. Lester had been quite good of late before getting shellacked by Detroit, and I wouldn’t let that outing deter you from starting him. Kluber has had an up and down season but he still is an elite strikeout producer, and his WHIP won’t hurt you. Quintana is a sturdy option though his strikeouts have seen a downturn in his outings of late. Eovaldi may be a bit inconsistent, but he gets wins and has taken a step forward since late June. Shields faces two struggling lineups and should rack up the Ks this week. Karns is a valuable fantasy piece but cannot be considered elite because he never pitches deep into games.

Low-End Options

• Robbie Ray (8/24 STL, 8/29 OAK)
• Patrick Corbin (8/25 STL, 8/30 OAK)
• Joe Kelly (8/24 @CWS, 8/30 @NYM)
• Jorge De La Rosa (8/24 @ATL, 8/30 @PIT)
• Jeff Samardzija (8/24 BOS, 8/29 SEA)
• Jered Weaver (8/25 @DET, 8/30 @CLE)
• Adam Morgan (8/24 NYM, 8/29 SD)
• Noah Syndergaard (8/25 @PHI, 8/30 BOS)
• Charlie Morton (8/25 @MIA, 8/20 COL)
• Mark Buehrle (8/25 @TEX, 8/30 DET)
• Derek Holland (8/25 TOR, 8/30 BAL)

Ray is a good source of quality starts but doesn’t have the strikeout potential to be more than a low-end fantasy starter. The bumps that I expected from Patrick Corbin have come, and I would avoid him, but there are worse options if you need starts this week. Kelly has begun to work his way to respectability and had matchups he could take advantage of this week. De La Rosa is a better pitcher away from Coors this season, but the Pirates bats are slowly heating up. I have zero interest in starting Samardzija, but it’s hard to sit a guy who you likely invested so much in.

Like many players on this list, Weaver is a decent pitcher but won’t rack up the strikeouts. Don’t look now but Morgan is a Phillies pitcher who may have fringe fantasy value though I wouldn’t place a ton of trust in him. Syndergaard has hit the rookie wall of late, so be cautious when starting him. Morton is inconsistent but has been striking out more batters of late, making him fringe fantasy relevant depending on the depth of your league. Buehrle seemingly always manages to put together a decent game and doesn’t get the fantasy attention he should, but he has tough matchups this week. I’ve never been a big believer in Holland though he has admittedly looked good in his return from injury.

Stay Away

• Ubaldo Jimenez (8/24 @KC, 8/29 @TEX)
• Miguel Gonzalez (8/25 @KC, 8/30 @TEX)
• Keyvius Sampson (8/24 DET, 8/29 @MIL)
• John Lamb (8/25 DET, 8/30 @MIL)
• Jeremy Guthrie (8/24 BAL, 8/29 @TB)
• Danny Duffy (8/25 BAL, 8/30 @TB)
• Alex Wood (8/25 @CIN, 8/30 CHC)
• Tom Koehler (8/24 PIT, 8/29 @WSH)
• Brad Hand (8/25 PIT, 8/30 @WSH)
• Phil Hughes (8/25 @TB, 8/30 HOU)
• Jerome Williams (8/25 NYM, 8/30 SD)
• J.A. Happ (8/24 @MIA, 8/29 COL)
• Matt Cain (8/25 CHC, 8/30 STL)
• Mike Montgomery (8/25 OAK, 8/30 @CWS)
• Felix Doubront (8/24 @SEA, 8/30 @ARI)

Daniel Marcus is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Daniel, check out his archive or follow him @danmarcus3.