You should be grinding fantasy baseball two-start pitchers to give you an advantage over your competition.
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Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers: Week 5
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.
Must Start
- Max Fried at TEX, vs BAL
- Joe Ryan vs SEA, vs TOR
- Parker Messick vs TB, at ATH
- Jesus Luzardo vs SF, at MIA
- Chase Burns vs COL, at PIT
- Randy Vasquez vs CHC, vs CHW
Should Start
Steven Matz at CLE, vs SF – Matz has been up and so far this season, but these are two very good matchups, including a start against the Giants, who have been the worst team in baseball versus left-handed pitching.
Matthew Boyd at SD, vs ARI – Boyd looked good in his first start off of the IL in spite of not going five innings. He has an easy matchup to start the week and a tougher one at the end, but you are using him in most leagues.
Casey Mize at ATL, vs TEX – Mize has been fantastic so far this season, mixing and matching well. He has a tough matchup at the beginning of the week, but a much easier one at the end to wrap up the week.
Here We Go
Peter Lambert at BAL, at BOS – Lambert has quietly been very good and he is facing a mediocre offense in Baltimore and a reeling team in the Red Sox.
Chad Patrick vs ARI, at WAS – Patrick has been pretty good in spite of lackluster strikeout numbers this season. He has tougher matchups versus teams that can hit well, but until he falters, you should be using him in most formats.
Luis Castillo at MIN, vs KC – Castillo has struggled some this year, but the underlying numbers suggest he is who he always has been, which is a reliable, safe starter that should be used in good matchups and you do not get much better than the Royals and Twins.
Ranger Suarez at TOR, vs HOU – Suarez has struggled some this season, throwing 27 innings over five starts with a 4.00 ERA. He has even gotten lucky with a .260 BABIP but has had a low strand rate. This is a risky set of matchups here too and it’s hard to know how the Red Sox will rebound after their manager was fired.
Connor Prielipp vs SEA, vs TOR – Prielipp is a top prospect that debuted last week and looked very good in his debut. He has great stuff but can struggle with control. He has a good matchup to start the week and a mediocre one to end it so he is a decent gamble with upside.
Feeling Lucky
Shane Baz vs HOU, at NYY – Baz has struggled this season and while I still believe in the talent, his inconsistency and tough matchups this week means you shouldn’t be starting him here.
Jack Leiter vs NYY, at DET – Leiter has been up and down this season and twisted his knee in his last start. He has two tough matchups here and while there is upside, he probably is best served on your bench.
Kris Bubic at ATH, at SEA – Bubic has struggled as of late and while he has one decent matchup in a good park in Seattle, Sacramento is arguably the most difficult park to pitch in.
Desperate Measure
- Eric Lauer vs BOS, at MIN
- Anthony Kay vs LAA, at SD
- Jacob Lopez vs KC, vs CLE
- Jack Kochanowicz at CHW, vs NYM
- Chris Paddack at LAD, vs PHI
- David Peterson vs WAS, at LAA
- Zack Littell at NYM, vs MIL
- Dustin May at PIT, vs LAD
- Merrill Kelly at MIL, at CHC
- Tomoyuki Sugano at CIN, vs ATL
- Tyler Mahle at PHI, at TB
