You should be grinding fantasy baseball two-start pitchers to give you an advantage over your competition during the season.
Each week, I will give you a breakdown of the two-start options for your fantasy leagues, broken up into the following tiers:
- Must Start: Pitchers you have to start because of their talent/matchups.
- Should Start: Pitchers rostered in most formats and who should probably be in your lineup.
- Here We Go: Pitchers you are probably starting in most formats, but who come with some level of risk.
- Feeling Lucky: Pitchers available in fewer than 25% of leagues that are risky, but viable in deeper formats.
- Desperate Measures: Pitchers you shouldn’t use unless you have no choice.
Make sure you are aware that when making fantasy baseball start or sit decisions that these projected two-start pitchers are subject to change.
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Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers
Must Start
- Logan Webb (SP – SF) at ARI, at ATH
- Max Fried (SP – NYY) vs. CIN, at NYM
- Drew Rasmussen (SP – TB) vs. ATH, at MIN
- Joe Ryan (SP – MIN) at MIA, vs. TB
- George Kirby (SP – SEA) vs. KC, vs. PIT
- Jacob deGrom (SP – TEX) vs. BAL, at SD
- Matthew Boyd (SP – CHC) vs. CLE, vs. STL
- Zack Wheeler (SP – PHI) vs. SD, vs. CIN
- Clay Holmes (SP – NYM) vs. MIL, vs. NYY
Should Start
Michael Wacha (SP – KC) at SEA, at ARI
Michael Wacha has quietly been fantastic this season, with a 3.33 ERA and 74 strikeouts across 92 innings. His underlying numbers aren’t as good, but he has always outpitched his peripherals. He does have a tougher set of matchups against the Mariners and Diamondbacks, but he should be started in most, if not all, formats.
Grant Holmes (SP – ATL) vs LAA, vs. BAL
Grant Holmes has been up and down this season, but he has been much better recently, with a 2.82 ERA and 35 strikeouts across 22.1 innings over his last four starts. Holmes still struggles with control and command, but the stuff has been fantastic. He has two tougher matchups here, but you are still using him in most formats.
Jacob Lopez (SP – ATH) at TB, vs. SF
Jacob Lopez has been fantastic recently, with a 0.39 ERA and 29 strikeouts across 23 innings over his last four starts. He is moving closer to being a must-start every week. While these offenses aren’t ones you are necessarily scared of, the ballparks these games are in are. That said, you have to play him in most formats.
Here We Go
Jack Flaherty (SP – DET) at WAS, at CLE
Jack Flaherty was having a fantastic season until his last three starts, where he allowed 18 earned runs in 13 innings. Before this bad stretch, he had a 3.41 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 71.1 innings. Flaherty has two good matchups here, and he rebounded some in his last start, so this is a set of matchups he should be used for.
Ryne Nelson (SP, RP – ARI) vs. SF, vs. KC
Ryne Nelson has been great recently, throwing 15.2 innings with a 1.15 ERA and 14 strikeouts. The stuff has been great, and he is doing a good job of controlling and commanding it. He has a good set of matchups here at home, making him a great option in all formats.
Chase Burns (SP – CIN) at BOS, at PHI
Chase Burns made his Major League debut last week and looked amazing. He is a top-tier pitching prospect who has a ton of strikeout potential because of his great stuff. However, he can have issues with command, and that may be a problem for him as he pitches in a bad home park.
However, that is an issue for the future, as both of these matchups are on the road. The Phillies are a tough matchup, but the Red Sox are depleted offensively.
Edward Cabrera (SP – MIA) vs. MIN, vs. MIL
Edward Cabrera has been fantastic over his last six starts, with a 1.80 ERA and 36 strikeouts over his last 30 innings. He struggles with control, and the Marlins are not going to win a lot of games, but the stuff is really good. These are two tough matchups, making him a risky bet, but there is a ton of upside.
Feeling Lucky
Andrew Heaney (SP – PIT) vs. STL, at SEA
Andrew Heaney had been having a fantastic season before his last two starts, where regression hit him hard. He has two tough matchups this week, but both are in great ballparks. He is best used in deeper formats where you don’t have better options.
Max Scherzer (SP – TOR) vs. NYY, vs. LAA
Max Scherzer returned from the injured list (IL) and was mediocre in his matchup versus the Guardians. He has two much tougher matchups this week, making him a very risky play, who is best left on your bench.
Zac Gallen (SP – ARI) vs. SF, vs. KC
It is shocking to see Zac Gallen this low, but he has struggled this season, and things have not gotten better as the season has progressed. You will get innings and strikeouts from him, but the control and command have not been good. Gallen has two good matchups at home, which makes him interesting, but there is a lot of risk here.
Gavin Williams (SP – CLE) at CHC, vs. DET
Gavin Williams has been up and down this season, but the stuff is really good. He struggles with control and is leading the Majors in walks. These are two tough matchups, so there is a lot of blowup potential.
Desperate Measures
- Marcus Stroman (SP – NYY) vs. CIN, at NYM
- Michael Lorenzen (SP, RP – KC) at SEA, at ARI
- Tyler Anderson (SP – LAA) at ATL, at TOR
- Emerson Hancock (SP – SEA) vs. KC, vs. PIT
- Trevor Williams (SP – WSH) vs. DET, vs. BOS
- Chase Dollander (SP – COL) vs. HOU, vs. CWS
- Hayden Birdsong (SP – SF) at ARI, at ATH
- Colton Gordon (SP – HOU) at COL, at LAD
- Erick Fedde (SP – STL) at PIT, at CHC
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