Justin Mason | Sat, Mar 28th 2026, 3:42pm EDT

Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers: Rankings & Pickups (Week 1)

Now that the season is beginning, 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.

These are projected two-start pitchers and are subject to change, and they will with the season just getting going.

Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers: Week 1

Let’s explore this week’s fantasy baseball two-start pitchers, ranging from must-start options to those you should probably avoid.

Must Start

Max Fried (NYY) at SEA, at MIA
Edward Cabrera (CHC) vs LAA, at CLE
Chase Burns (CIN) vs PIT, at TEX

Should Start

Ranger Suarez (BOS) at HOU, vs SD
If you drafted Suarez, you are most likely using him here in spite of tough matchups. I have some reservations with him this year because Boston’s infield defense is not nearly as strong as it was in Philadelphia, but he should still give you good ratios and plenty of win potential.

Ryan Weathers (NYY) at SEA, vs MIA
I have reservations about Ryan Weathers this year, but that has everything to do with health. He has never had a season in the Majors where he reached 100 innings, and I just don’t trust that he will this season. However, that is a problem for later, as Weathers is extremely talented and healthy right now.

Cody Ponce (TOR) vs COL, at CHW

Kris Bubic (KC) vs MIN, vs MIL
Similar to Weathers, I do not have much faith that Bubic can stay healthy for an entire season, but he is healthy right now, and he showed last year that when Bubic is on the mound and healthy, he is a fantastic starting pitcher.

Luis Castillo (SEA) vs NYY, at LAA
Castillo has been a top 50 pitcher or better every year of his career. Sure, the skills are beginning to decline, but he puts up great volume with good ratios and is protected at home. He has a difficult start to begin the week and an easier one to wrap it up, so you are starting him in most formats.

Here We Go

Jack Leiter (TEX) at BAL, vs CIN
Leiter has amazing stuff, but can struggle with command and control. He looked pretty good this spring and could be primed for a breakout this season. These are scary matchups versus two offenses that should be pretty good this season. I would probably roll with him in deeper leagues, but in shallower formats, you should have better options.

Mick Abel (MIN) at KC, vs TB
Abel is coming off a fantastic spring training where he showed amazing stuff and very good command and control. He has decent matchups here and should be in most lineups outside of the very shallow leagues.

Kyle Harrison (MIL) vs TB, at KC
Harrison was traded to Milwaukee in the offseason and looks like a new pitcher. He added a new pitch, and the results were impressive, posting a 24% K-BB%. He has two good matchups this week and, like Abel, should be in most lineups outside of shallow formats.

Braxton Ashcraft (PIT) at CIN, vs BAL
Ashcraft has great stuff and looked good in spring, but he has two tough matchups. Going to Cincy can be very scary, while the Orioles game is at home

Feeling Lucky

Nick Martinez (TB) at MIL, at MIN
Martinez will be making his Rays debut this week, and while you usually want to target the Twins and their terrible looking team, it’s hard to know how the Rays will employ Martinez. He has experience being a starter and reliever, and the Rays have a history of using these guys as openers or followers.

Brandon Pfaadt (ARI) vs DET, vs ATL
I have been a Pfaadt believer for years, and just when that seemed like it might finally be coming to an end, he started to draw me back in with a fantastic spring training. That being said, these are two tough matchups, and while he is at home, it is pretty risky to use him here.

Justin Verlander (DET) at ARI, vs STL
Verlander is returning to the Tigers for one last run with them, and it is a fun story to watch. He was great down the stretch last season as well, but there is a bunch of risk to this one. He will get a lot of run support, but the Diamondbacks are a legitimately good team, and the Cardinals are more dangerous than they get credit for.

Desperate Measures

Chris Bassitt (BAL) vs TEX, at PIT
David Martin (CWS) at MIA, vs TOR
Parker Messick (CLE) at LAD, vs CHC
Aaron Civale (CHC) at ATL, vs HOU
Lance McCullers Jr. (HOU) vs BOS, at ATH
Bryce Elder (ATL) vs ATH, at ARI
Jose Suarez (ATL) vs ATH, at ARI
Chris Paddack (MIN) vs CHW, at NYY
Taijuan Walker (PHI) vs WAS, at COL
Foster Griffin (WAS) at PHI, vs LAD
Kyle Leahy (STL) vs NYM, at DET
Michael Soroka (CWS) vs DET, vs ATL
Tomoyuki Sugano (NYM) at TOR, vs PHI
Roki Sasaki (LAD) vs CLE, at WAS
German Marquez (COL) vs SF, at BOS
Adrian Houser (CWS) at SD, vs NYM
Landen Roupp (SF) at SD, vs NYM

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