The season is weird, we know that, but how great has it been to see teams be aggressive with their prospects? This past week, we saw Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, and Dane Dunning all make their debuts, and they were just the latest grouping of pitching prospects to throw for their teams this year, and by the time this is published, we’ll be looking ahead to Sixto Sánchez and Triston McKenzie making their respective debuts this weekend for their teams, too.
Things don’t always go smoothly, though. Nate Pearson, who is now on the IL with tightness in his elbow, has been roughed up despite his electric debut and blow-you-away stuff. It’s worth grabbing the young guys off the waiver wire, but there are always growing pains.
Things change quickly, so it’s important to stay ahead of the curve for this season and maximize your outings.
Like I do every week, I’ll break the pitchers down the two-start pitchers into six categories:
- Don’t Think Twice – These are your aces that you start no matter what.
- Widely-Rostered Options – Players rostered in the majority of leagues who should provide a positive return.
- In the Danger Zone – It’s a dice roll to start them given matchups or other factors.
- Streamers Rostered in Under 50% of Leagues – These guys should live on the waiver wire, but you can start them this week.
- Streamers Rostered in Under 25% of Leagues – Same as above, but applied to deeper leagues.
- Not Unless You’re Desperate – I don’t recommend these guys unless you’re swinging for the fences.
Let’s take a look at those pitchers scheduled to make two starts for the upcoming week, as projected on CBS as of Friday morning.
*We’ll be leaving the Mets off of this since they had a recent outbreak that postponed their games in Miami and against the Yankees Friday.
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Don’t Think Twice
Shane Bieber (CLE) (8/25 vs. MIN, 8/30 @STL)
Patrick Corbin (WAS) (8/25 vs. PHI, 8/30 @BOS)
Lucas Giolito (CWS) (8/25 vs. PIT, 8/30 vs. KC)
Trevor Bauer (CIN) (8/25 vs. MIL, 8/30 vs. CHC)
Jose Berrios (MIN) (8/25 @CLE, 8/30 @DET)
Jack Flaherty (STL) (8/24 vs. KC, 8/28 vs. CLE)
Luis Castillo (CIN) (8/24 @MIL, 8/29 vs. CHC)
Lance Lynn (TEX) (8/24 vs. OAK, 8/29 vs. LAD)
Brandon Woodruff (MIL) (8/25 vs. CIN, 8/30 vs. PIT)
Julio Urias (LAD) (8/25 @SF, 8/30 @TEX)
Jesus Luzardo (OAK) (8/24 @TEX, 8/29 @HOU)
Widely-Rostered Options
Aaron Civale (CLE) (8/24 vs. MIN, 8/29 @STL)
Civale is coming off a complete game, which is awesome to see, but it was also against the Pirates. Does it really count? He’s been awesome this year, and if he can keep the ball in the yard against the Twins, he should survive the two-start week with positive value.
Merrill Kelly (ARI) (8/24 vs. COL, 8/29 vs. SF)
Kelly has 14 strikeouts over his last 11.2 innings pitched and has allowed more than three earned runs just once this year. He’s a solid streaming option this week with the Giants and the Rockies both coming to Arizona.
Tyler Glasnow (TB) (8/24 vs. TOR, 8/29 @MIA)
It feels weird to have Glasnow here instead of the top tier, but he’s struggled mightily with his control this year, walking 13 batters in 21 innings. He at least gets the Blue Jays at home, but they’ve been on fire offensively of late. The Marlins matchup is juicy, though, as they’ve cooled off.
Framber Valdez (HOU) (8/24 vs. LAA, 8/29 vs. OAK)
Framber has been outstanding this week, and he actually survived Colorado, allowing just the one earned run in 7.1 innings pitched. He isn’t quite set-and-forget yet, but he’s essentially a must-start option in a two-start week.
In the Danger Zone
Chris Paddack (SD) (8/25 vs. SEA, 8/30 @COL)
You know the rules. When there’s one start at Colorado, you automatically move down to this tier. You should still start Paddack, as the start against Seattle should more than offset the potential awaiting damage in Colorado.
German Marquez (COL) (8/25 @ARI, 8/30 vs. SD)
On the wishlist of every fantasy manager should be a trade that sends Marquez out of Colorado. He was rocked to the tune of 10 runs in his last home start against the Astros, and the Slam Diego Padres can do the same type of damage on the backend of his two-start week. If faced with the decision, he’d ride the bench, unless you absolutely are chasing strikeouts.
Sean Manaea (OAK) (8/25 @TEX, 8/30 @HOU)
There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors with Manaea, as he’s getting the strikeouts despite throwing in the high 80s. The Astros are literally hurting, but it’s a dice roll to put him out there in non-points leagues.
Cristian Javier (HOU) (8/25 vs. LAA, 8/30 vs. OAK)
While Javier is still getting the strikeouts that excited everyone in his start against the Dodgers, the control issues are starting to pop up, as he’s walked seven batters in his last 12.2 innings pitched.
Casey Mize (DET) (8/24 vs. CHC, 8/29 vs. MIN)
Mize’s splitter is straight-up filthy. He held his own in his first start in the big leagues against the Southsiders, but he faces two more tough offenses in the Cubs and Twins. The latter, of course, when they hit homers, that is. Both games are in Detroit, which is a plus for Mize, and gives him the green light as a starter this week.
Streamers Rostered in Under 50% of Leagues
Adam Wainwright (STL) (8/25 vs. KC, 8/30 vs. CLE)
As weird as it seems, Wainwright is still a solid pitcher at home. This is the perfect week to stream him, as he has two home matchups against the Royals and Cleveland.
Spencer Turnbull (DET) (8/25 vs. CHC, 8/30 vs. MIN)
Well, his last outing against Chicago wasn’t the best outcome, but he’s been solid all around this year. The last outing bumped him below the 50 percent rostered threshold. He has two scary matchups on deck. If he bombs in these, you’ll see him dip around 35 percent rostered next week.
Pablo Lopez (MIA) (8/24 @WAS, 8/29 vs. TB)
Put some respect on López’ name! He’s allowed just six earned runs this year in 22.1 innings pitched, and he has 24 strikeouts to five walks on the season. He should be rostered in far more than 38 percent of leagues.
Brad Keller (KC) (8/24 @STL, 8/30 @CHW)
Keller has yet to allow an earned run in his three starts this year. He’s also ramped up his strikeouts, as he’s struck out 16 hitters in 17.2 innings pitched this year. He was a groundball specialist last year, but he’s worth monitoring to see if the strikeouts stick.
Johnny Cueto (SF) (8/25 vs. LAD, 8/30 @ARI)
Cueto has been mostly good this year, but it’s tough to recommend him against the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, even though he’s held his own in two starts against Los Angeles so far this year. He’s better left on your bench unless you need the extra innings.
Alec Mills (CHC) (8/24 @DET, 8/29 @CIN)
Mills was really good thus far in the season, but man, did he get smoked his last time out against St. Louis. Pitching in Cincy should give you pause, but the matchup in Detroit is good for Mills. He’s a dice roll if you really need that extra start this week.
Streamers Rostered in Under 25% of Leagues
Tanner Roark (TOR) (8/24 @TB, 8/29 vs. BAL)
Roark has two solid starts this year, mixed in with two pretty bad starts. The Rays are humming as an offense, and Baltimore has shown that they can hit, too, especially in a small field like Buffalo. You’re better looking elsewhere unless you’re in a points league.
Trevor Williams (PIT) (8/26 @CHW, 8/30 @MIL)
Poor Williams. He’s pitching on the worst team in baseball, and he has zero chances of winning games this year. He’ll help you in points leagues, but he doesn’t miss enough bats to justify starting him, especially with the lack of run support.
Alex Young (ARI) (8/25 vs. COL, 8/30 vs. SF)
Young hasn’t been too bad so far in his rotation stint, but this will be a big week for him with his two starts against the Rockies and Giants at home.
Brett Anderson (MIL) (8/24 vs. CIN, 8/29 vs. PIT)
With Corbin Burnes in the rotation, it looks like Anderson will be used as more of a traditional starter instead of an opener. With the Pirates on the schedule, he’s an interesting streamer.
Not Unless You’re Desperate
Jake Arrieta (PHI) (8/25 @WAS, 8/30 vs. ATL)
Kyle Gibson (TEX) (8/25 vs. OAK, 8/30 vs. LAD)
Tommy Milone (BAL) (8/25 @TB, 8/30 @TOR)
Patrick Sandoval (LAA) (8/24 @HOU, 8/29 vs. SEA)
Chase Anderson (TOR) (8/25 vs. BOS, 8/30 vs. BAL)
Ryan Castellani (COL) (8/24 @ARI, 8/29 vs. SD)
Erick Fedde (WAS) (8/24 vs. MIA, 8/29 @BOS)
Steven Brault (PIT) (8/25 @CHW, 8/29 @MIL)
Kyle Hart (BOS) (8/25 @TOR, 8/30 vs. WAS)
Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.
