Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers: Rankings & Pickups (Week 14)

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, these projected two-start pitchers are subject to change.

Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers: Week 14

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

Must Start

Ranger Suarez (SP – BOS) vs. WSH, at LAA
Parker Messick (SP – CLE) vs. TEX, vs. CWS
George Kirby (SP – SEA) vs. LAA, vs. TOR
Jacob deGrom (SP – TEX) at CLE, vs. DET
Nolan McLean (SP – NYM) at TOR, at ATL
Braxton Ashcraft (SP, RP – PIT) at PHI, at WSH
Trey Yesavage (SP – TOR) vs. NYM, at SEA

Should Start

Shane Drohan (SP, RP – MIL) vs. CIN, at ARI

Shane Drohan has been fantastic since getting called up, throwing 52 innings over six starts with a 3.12 ERA and 52 strikeouts. He has a good matchup against a struggling Reds offense to start the week, but the Diamondbacks are lefty killers, which is a bit riskier for the back half.

Droham should be started in most leagues, though, until we see him actually struggle on the mound. He can be benched against the Diamondbacks in leagues where you can make daily lineup moves.

Ryan Weathers (SP – NYY) vs. DET, vs. MIN

Ryan Weathers has been up and down this season, but he has been great over his last two starts, throwing 12.1 innings and only allowing two earned runs while striking out 14.

Weathers has two very good matchups, so you should be using him in all formats and hope that the speed bumps he faced in the earlier part of the month have passed him.

Tanner Bibee (SP – CLE) vs. TEX, vs. CWS

Tanner Bibee has been pretty good this season, outside of two blow-up starts that have elevated his ERA this season. He has a fantastic matchup to start the week and a mediocre one at the end, but it is against a team he just threw six shutout innings against in his last start. Bibee should be used in most formats this week.

Sandy Alcantara (SP – MIA) at COL, at ATH

After a rough stretch, Sandy Alcantara looks to be back on track with five straight quality starts, and the Marlins have been the hottest team in baseball this month.

The only reason Alcantara isn’t a must-start is where he is pitching this week. Colorado and Sacramento are two of the toughest parks to pitch in, but you are still using him in most formats.

Here We Go

Shota Imanaga (SP – CHC) vs. SDP, vs. STL

Shota Imanaga went through a terrible stretch of starts in May, but he has been better in two of his last three starts. There is a fair amount of risk to his profile as he gives up a lot of home runs.

However, the Padres have hit the second-fewest home runs in baseball against left-handed pitchers, and the Cardinals are 18th in that department. Imanaga is a risk worth taking.

Griffin Jax (SP, RP – TBR) at KCR, at HOU

Griffin Jax has been great since transitioning to a starting role, throwing 45 innings over 11 starts with a 2.40 ERA and 43 strikeouts.

However, the skills under the hood haven’t been as stellar. Jax’s stuff+ has dropped considerably, and his xERA is 5.03. There will be regression at some point, but until it hits, you should be using him in most formats.

Brandon Sproat (SP – MIL) vs. CIN, at ARI

Brandon Sproat has been pretty bad this season despite some amazing stuff, but he is coming off his best start as a Major Leaguer against the same Reds team he starts this two-start week against.

A lot comes down to his ability to command and control pitches, but he was able to rein both in in that last start. The Reds have been a struggling offense, and the Diamondbacks have been terrible against righties, so he is a high-risk/high-reward starter this week.

Eduardo Rodriguez (SP – ARI) vs. SFG, vs MIL

Eduardo Rodriguez has been fantastic this season — 2.27 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 95 innings. There is risk here as his xERA is 4.80, but the Giants and Brewers have been terrible versus lefties this year. There is no reason not to start Rodriguez until he stumbles.

Eric Lauer (SP – LAD) at ATH, vs. SDP

Eric Lauer has been fantastic since joining the Dodgers, but the underlying skills are not very good. He has a really tough matchup at the start of the week in Sacramento versus the A’s, but a good one versus a bad Padres offense that struggles against lefties. If he can survive the front half of the week, he should have a good chance at a win in the second start.

Sean Burke (SP, RP – CWS) at BAL, at CLE

Sean Burke has been up and down this season, but he has been on a good stretch recently. The back end of this two-step is against a struggling Cleveland offense that he just dominated in his last start.

Nick Lodolo (SP – CIN) at MIL, vs. BAL

Nick Lodolo is a very talented pitcher with great stuff, but he has struggled a ton with command and control this season, resulting in a 5.59 ERA over 46.2 innings.

Lodolo is coming off a good start against the Brewers and should be back to going deeper in games, but there is risk when he can’t find the plate or command a pitch. These are two good matchups for lefties, so he is worth the risk this week.

Feeling Lucky

Gage Jump (SP – ATH) vs. LAD, vs. MIA

Gage Jump has been fantastic since his call-up, throwing 35.1 innings over six starts with a 2.04 ERA and 35 strikeouts. However, his worst starts have come at home, which is the most difficult park to pitch in.

Gage also has two tough matchups against a great Dodgers lineup and the hottest offense in baseball in June, in the Marlins. You are probably still using him, but there is a ton of risk.

Bubba Chandler (SP – PIT) at PHI, at WSH

Bubba Chandler has amazing stuff and talent, but he often has no idea where the ball is going to go. He has been better as of late, throwing 22.1 innings over his last four starts with a 2.82 ERA and 18 strikeouts.

However, Chandler is still struggling with walks, and there is a risk with these two matchups because they are against powerful teams that play in hitter-friendly parks.

Eury Perez (SP – MIA) at COL, at ATH

Eury Perez has struggled a ton this season, but the talent is still evident when he is on the mound. He probably should be in the desperate measures section this week with trips to Colorado and Sacramento, but the ceiling is just so high. It’s hard not to keep him in a higher tier.

Desperate Measures

Zebby Matthews (SP – MIN) at HOU, at NYY
Aaron Nola (SP – PHI) vs. PIT, at KCR
Miles Mikolas (SP, RP – WSH) at BOS, vs. PIT
Matthew Liberatore (SP – STL) at ATL, at CHC
Griffin Canning (SP – SDP) at CHC, at LAD
Tyler Mahle (SP – SFG) at ARI, at COL
Grant Holmes (SP – ATL) vs. STL, vs. NYM

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About Author

Justin Mason

@JustinMasonFWFB

Justin Mason is the lead fantasy writer and analyst for Friendswithfantasybenefits.com. He is a writer at Fangraphs and Fantasy Pros. You can hear him on the Radio on the FWFB, TGFBI and the Sleeper and the Bust Podcasts. He also runs The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational and the Bay Area Roto Fantasy (BARF) league.