You should be grinding the fantasy baseball two-start pitchers to give you an advantage over your competition.
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 that are risky, but viable in deeper formats.
- Desperate Measures: Pitchers you shouldn’t use unless you have no other 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 Trade Analyzer
- Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Assistant
- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
- Rest-of-Season Projections
Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers
Must Start
- Kyle Bradish (SP – BAL) at CWS, vs. NYY
- Carlos Rodon (SP – NYY) at MIN, at BAL
- Cam Schlittler (SP – NYY) at MIN, at BAL
- Casey Mize (SP – DET) vs. CLE, vs ATL
- Kevin Gausman (SP – TOR) at TB, at KC
- Logan Gilbert (SP – SF) at KC, at HOU
- Spencer Strider (SP – ATL) at WSH, at DET
- Cade Horton (SP – CHC) at PIT, at CIN
- Shohei Ohtani (SP – LAD) vs. PHI, vs. SF
- Michael King (SP – SD) at NYM, at CWS
- Andrew Abbott (SP – CIN) at STL, vs. CHC
- Freddy Peralta (SP – MIL) vs. LAA, at STL
- Paul Skenes (SP – PIT) vs. CHC, vs. ATH
Should Start
Ryan Pepiot (SP – TB) vs. TOR, vs. BOS
Ryan Pepiot has been great over his last three starts, throwing 15 scoreless innings and striking out 15 with three wins. However, he was scratched last week, and with the Rays out of playoff contention, there is some fear they could limit him and lower his upside. He has been too good not to play in most formats, but with tough matchups on the docket, there is some risk here.
Jose Berrios (SP – TOR) at TB, at KC
Jose Berrios has been a bit shakier than normal as of late, but he has been solid most of the season, and these are pretty good matchups to take advantage of. The Blue Jays will give him a pretty good win probability as well, so you are using him in most spots.
Jeffrey Springs (SP – ATH) at BOS, at PIT
Jeffrey Springs has been great on the road this season, throwing 84.2 innings with a 3.61 ERA and 66 strikeouts. He has two road matchups, including one against a bad Pirates team, so this is a great time to use him.
Here We Go
Connelly Early (SP – BOS) vs. ATH, at TB
Connelly Early has been fantastic in the Minors this season and was electric in his MLB debut last week. He can get a ton of strikeouts and the Red Sox will give him a chance to win, but he has a history of struggling with command and control, which leaves some level of risk, especially when traveling to a tough park in Tampa.
Michael Wacha (SP- KC) vs. SEA, vs. TOR
Michael Wacha is a steady contributor who has a low ceiling but a high floor. The only concern is that he was dealing with a concussion, and those can be tricky to predict when a player will come back from. Right now, he is scheduled for a two-start week, but he could be pushed back. If that happens, he will have one start against a really good Blue Jays team.
Jason Alexander (SP, RP – HOU) vs. TEX, vs. SEA
Jason Alexander has been solid as of late, throwing 41 innings since the beginning of August with a 2.20 ERA and 35 strikeouts. There isn’t a ton of upside in the arm, and he has been lucky, but he has a good team supporting him and decent matchups this week.
Zac Gallen (SP – ARI) vs. SF, vs. PHI
Zac Gallen seems to be settling in more as the season winds down, but he is just not the same pitcher he used to be. These are two tough matchups versus two hot offenses over the last month, but you will get innings from Gallen and a chance to win if the Diamondbacks can support him.
Feeling Lucky
Ian Seymour (SP, RP – TB) vs. TOR, vs. BOS
Ian Seymour has been pretty good over his last four starts, but he has also had a pretty easy schedule. That ends here, as he has two tough matchups at home where most of the Rays pitchers have struggled this season. There is upside because he strikes out so many, but there is a lot of downside, especially if the Rays limit him.
Jack Leiter (SP, RP – TEX) at HOU, vs. MIA
Jack Leiter has been up and down all season, but he has been pretty solid in the second half. There is a risk that he gets pulled early if he struggles with control. If you need WHIP help, you should go elsewhere, but there is strikeout upside, and the Rangers are playing surprisingly well right now. The tough start at the beginning of the week is offset by the great one at the back end.
Eury Perez (SP – MIA) at CO, at TEX
Eury Perez has been sputtering as of late, but looked better in his last start. There is always risk with Tommy John surgery returnees, but Perez has about as much upside as any pitcher in baseball. A matchup in Colorado is always risky, and the Rangers have played well recently despite missing a few key offensive pieces, so this is a high-risk, high-reward play.
Zack Littell (SP – CIN) at STL, vs. CHC
Since arriving in Cincinnati, Zack Littell has been mediocre, at best. He has been hard to predict and has given up way too many home runs. He does have a great matchup at the beginning of the week, but a tougher one versus the Cubs at the back end. The Cubs have struggled recently. though. The Reds have been hot, so he could luck into a win or two, but there is risk.
Desperate Measures
- Sean Burke (SP – CWS) vs. BAL, vs. SD
- Simeon Woods Richardson (SP – MIN) vs. NYY, vs. CLE
- Mitchell Parker (SP – WSH) vs. ATL, at NYM
- Jake Irvin (SP – WSH) vs. ATL, at NYM
- Matthew Liberatore (SP, RP – STL) vs. CIN, vs. MIL
- Kyle Freeland (SP – COL) vs. MIA, vs. LAA
- Carson Whisenhunt (SP – SF) at ARI, at LAD
- Carson Seymour (SP, RP – SF) at ARI, at LAD
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