You should be grinding 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: Pitchers you have to start because of their talent and/or matchups.
- Should Start: Pitchers 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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- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers: Week 6
Let’s explore this week’s fantasy baseball two-start pitchers, ranging from must-start options to those you should probably avoid.
Must Start
- Cam Schlittler (SP – NYY) vs. BAL, at MIL
- Gavin Williams (SP – CLE) at KCR, vs. MIN
- Tarik Skubal (SP – DET) vs. BOS, at KCR
- Jose Soriano (SP – LAA) vs. CWS, at TOR
- Logan Gilbert (SP – SEA) vs. ATL, at CWS
- Jacob deGrom (SP – TEX) at NYY, vs. CHC
- Sandy Alcantara (SP – MIA) vs. PHI, vs. WSH
- Cristopher Sanchez (SP – PHI) at MIL, vs. COL
Should Start
Taj Bradley (SP – MIN) at WSH, at CLE
Taj Bradley has thrown 41 innings over seven starts with a 2.85 ERA and 44 strikeouts. The underlying numbers aren’t as glowing, but he has two decent starts this upcoming week, and his stuff has been fantastic. You are rolling with him in most formats until he stumbles.
Edward Cabrera (SP – CHC) vs. CIN, at TEX
Edward Cabrera has thrown 35.1 innings over six starts with a 3.06 ERA and 29 strikeouts this season. There will be some regression coming his way as his stuff has not been as sharp, and he has a history of injury issues. However, until he does regress, use him in good matchups.
Cade Cavalli (SP – WSH) vs. MIN, at MIA
Cade Cavalli struggled out of the gate, but has looked fantastic over his last two starts on the back of better stuff numbers — particularly on his fastballs. He has two good matchups versus a Twins team that has come back down to Earth and a Marlins team that has overperformed.
Nick Martinez (SP, RP – TB) vs. TOR, at BOS
Nick Martinez has thrown 37 innings over seven starts with a 1.70 ERA and 24 strikeouts. He is overperforming, but while regression will hit at some point, it shouldn’t be that hurtful to his overall line.
Martinez has a start against a mediocre-performing Blue Jays offense and a struggling Red Sox team, so you should be starting him in most formats.
Here We Go
Tanner Bibee (SP – CLE) at KCR, vs. MIN
Tanner Bibee hasn’t been the same pitcher this season with the contracted strike zone. His stuff and command are fine, but not elite, and he doesn’t have the type of stuff to overpower people. However, Bibee has two great matchups versus bad divisional opponents, so you should be using him in most spots.
Janson Junk (SP, RP – MIA) vs. PHI, vs. WSH
Janson Junk has been better this season, throwing 33 innings over six starts with a 3.00 ERA and 21 strikeouts. He doesn’t overwhelm people with his stuff, but his stuff has been better, and his command and control have been fantastic.
Junk’s starts are against powerful lineups, but the Phillies have really struggled to this point, so you can roll with him in a lot of formats.
Aaron Nola (SP – PHI) at MIA, vs. COL
Aaron Nola has been up and down this season and is very frustrating to roster, but if you can’t use him here, he shouldn’t be on your roster. The Rockies have one of the worst offenses in baseball, and the Marlins are super scary when playing at home.
Michael Wacha (SP- KCR) vs. CLE, vs. DET
Michael Wacha is doing Wacha-type things this season — overperforming his peripherals and putting up solid numbers for fantasy managers. He has two pretty decent matchups in Week 6, so he should be rolled out in a lot of leagues.
Feeling Lucky
Davis Martin (SP – CWS) at LAA, vs. SEA
Davis Martin has been fantastic on the surface so far, and most managers will keep starting him until he stumbles, but the underlying numbers do not support what he has done.
Martin has a high strand rate, his stuff numbers are the worst of his career and his xERA is 4.55. He is just getting lucky. Most teams where he is rostered will try to see if the hot streak keeps going, but there is a lot of risk here.
JR Ritchie (SP – ATL) at SEA, at LAD
JR Ritchie is a top-100 prospect who made his debut recently and has looked good so far, throwing 12.1 innings over two starts with a 2.92 ERA and 11 strikeouts.
Ritchie isn’t an overpowering pitcher, but he has good command and control with a full arsenal of pitches. The problem is he has a really tough matchup at the end of the week in Los Angeles, and that is enough to be scared to use him outside of deeper formats.
Eduardo Rodriguez (SP – ARI) vs. PIT, vs. NYM
Eduardo Rodriguez has been pretty good so far, throwing 32.2 innings over six starts with a 3.03 ERA and 22 strikeouts. However, it is largely propped up on shaky skills.
Rodriguez’s batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is way too low, and his strand rate is too high. He is walking 11% of the hitters he is facing, and his stuff is the worst of his career.
The Pirates have struggled a little lately, and the Mets are a mess right now, so there is some reason to gamble with Rodriguez in the streaming streets, but regression will come for him at some point.
Bubba Chandler (SP – PIT) at ARI, at SFG
Bubba Chandler has struggled so far this season, but if you can’t use him here versus the Giants, who have been the worst team in baseball, then you probably should drop him to the waiver wire.
There is a lot of risk because the command and control issues with Chandler have been evident, but neither the Diamondbacks nor the Giants take a ton of walks. He is a high-risk/high-reward play.
Desperate Measures
- Chris Bassitt (SP – BAL) at MIA, vs. ATH
- Brayan Bello (SP – BOS) at DET, vs. TBR
- Noah Cameron (SP – KCR) vs. CLE, vs. DET
- Luis Severino (SP – ATH) at PHI, at BAL
- David Peterson (SP – NYM) at COL, at ARI
- Jameson Taillon (SP – CHC) vs. CIN, at TEX
- Brandon Sproat (SP – MIL) at STL, vs. NYY
- Kyle Leahy (SP, RP – STL) vs. MIL, at SDP
- Andre Pallante (SP – STL) vs. MIL, at SDP
- Tomoyuki Sugano (SP – COL) vs. NYM, at PHI
- Walker Buehler (SP – SDP) at SFG, vs. STL
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