Now that the season has really gotten going, it is time to start grinding the two-start pitchers to give you an advantage over your competition.

• Weekly Trade Value Chart
• Weekly Waiver Wire Advice
• MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
• Weekly Fantasy Baseball Content

Each week, I will be giving you a breakdown of the two-start options for your fantasy leagues broken up into the following tiers:

• Must Start: The guys that you have to start because of their talent and/or matchups.
• Should Start: These are the guys that are rostered in most formats and probably should be in your lineup.
• Here We Go: Pitchers that you are probably starting in most formats but have some level of risk to them.
• Feeling Lucky: Pitchers available in less than 25% of leagues that are risky, but viable in deeper formats.
• Desperate Measures: Pitchers you shouldn’t use unless you have no other choice.

Check out our two-start pitcher rankings to identify two-start options available in your leagues

These are projected two-start pitchers and are subject to change.

Must Start

Shohei Ohtani (SP – LAA) (at BOS, vs vs KC)

Corbin Burnes (SP – MIL) (at SEA, vs BOS)

Kevin Gausman (SP – TOR) (at HOU, at NYY)

Zack Wheeler (SP – PHI) (at CHW, vs COL)

Jacob deGrom (SP – TEX) (at KC, vs OAK)

Cristian Javier (SP – HOU) (vs TOR, at ATL)

Nick Lodolo (SP – CIN) (vs TB, at PIT)

Jesus Luzardo (SP – MIA) (vs SF, at CLE)

Dustin May (SP – LAD) (vs NYM, at CLE)

Sonny Gray (SP – MIN) (at BOS, vs WAS)

Clayton Kershaw (SP – LAD) (vs NYM, at CHC)

Should Start

Marcus Stroman (SP – CHC) (at OAK, vs LAD)

Stroman has looked really good out of the gate and you pretty much have to start him with Oakland being one of the two teams he is facing. On the flip side of the equation, the Dodgers have been very good offensively this season and Wrigley has had the wind blowing out a lot already this season. There is some risk to the backend of this two-step, but the front half is so good, it is hard to pass up.

Lance Lynn (SP- CHW) (vs PHI, at TB)

Why is Lance Lynn in the probably start tier when he has a 7.31 ERA through his first three starts? In spite of giving up two home runs in his last start, he looked much better and registered 10 strikeouts in the six innings. I still believe that he is the guy we saw at the last half of last season when he was a top-25 pitcher in the second half. These aren’t easy matchups so I understand wanting to skip them, but I am rolling with him.

Hunter Greene (SP – CIN) (vs TB, at PIT)

Here We Go

Jack Flaherty (SP – STL) (vs ARI, at SEA)

Flaherty surprisingly put up a really nice start in Colorado this last week and most importantly, he only walked one guy in the outing after walking 13 in his first two starts. There is risk, especially with the Seattle start and his own volatility, but Flaherty has a lot of talent, a great defense behind him, and a very good offense supporting his win potential.

Alex Wood (SP – SFG) and Alex Cobb (SP – SFG) (at MIA, vs NYM)

Both Cobb and Wood are really good pitchers that rely upon their defenses to help their high-contact profiles. Both have pitched well to start the season, but also have the mistake-prone Giants defense behind them. These are pretty good matchups with both the Mets and Marlins struggling offensively, so I am inclined to use either, but they have been better against lefties than righties so if I am choosing, I would rather use Cobb this week.

David Peterson (SP – NYM) and Tylor Megill (SP – NYM) (at LAD, at SF)

Megill has looked good so far this season while Peterson has been up and down. These are tough matchups and while that would usually dissuade me from using Peterson especially, the Giants have been atrocious versus left-handed pitching thus far. I think of the options in this tier, these are my least favorite, but playable in deeper formats.

Eduardo Rodriguez (SP – DET) (vs CLE, at BAL)

E-Rod started a bit slow but was really good in his last start and has had a pretty rough schedule with three away starts at Tampa Bay, Houston, and Toronto. Things get much easier with a home start versus the struggling Guardians and an away start at Baltimore. This is an underrated option, but one I am rolling within a lot of formats.

Feeling Lucky

Drey Jameson (SP – ARI) and Merrill Kelly (SP – ARI) (at STL, vs SD)

These are both talented pitchers with different profiles. Jameson has boom or bust potential and Kelly is more of a safer but less enticing option. However, these are really scary matchups with the Cardinals having arguably the best lineup in baseball and the Padres having a ton of heavy hitters. I am staying away, but if you need the starts, then I get rolling with them.

Kyle Freeland (SP – COL) (vs PIT, at PHI)

Freeland has pitched really well over his first few starts which makes him worth discussing, but he still pitches in Colorado and the away start is a tough matchup and is a hitter’s park. That being said, I cannot ignore how he has looked so far and while it is risky, it could be a risk worth doing.

Hayden Wesneski (SP – CHC) (at OAK, vs LAD)

Wesneski was the talk of the industry as a high-upside sleeper in spring training, but he has struggled since. The Oakland matchup is about as good as you can ask for and the Dodger one is the opposite. However, if you can’t use him on a two-start week with Oakland being one of the starts, will you ever really feel comfortable starting him?

Bailey Falter (SP – PHI) (at CHW, vs COL)

Falter is a low-upside play, but this is a really good stretch of starts and he has been pretty good thus far and in the second half of last season. The White Sox are missing key parts of their offense and the Rockies are horrible on the road traditionally. I like this gamble.

Hunter Gaddis (SP – CLE) (at DET, vs MIA)

Gaddis is not a very good pitcher, but the matchups here are about as good as you can get. In deeper formats, you are often not going to have a lot of options, but Gaddis should be available in most formats.

Desperate Measures

Corey Kluber (SP – BOS) (vs MIN, at MIL)

Ken Waldichuk (SP – OAK) (vs CHC, at TEX)

Chris Flexen (SP – SEA) (vs MIL, at STL)

Jordan Lyles (SP – KC) (vs TEX, at LAA)

Griffin Canning (SP – LAA) (at NYY, vs KC)

Ryan Weathers (SP – SD) (vs ATL, at ARI)

Rich Hill (SP – PIT) (at COL, vs CIN)

Vince Velasquez (SP – PIT) (at COL, vs CIN)

Jose Urena (SP – COL) (vs PIT, at PHI)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio