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.
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- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers: Week 16
Let’s explore this week’s fantasy baseball two-start pitchers, ranging from must-start options to those you should probably avoid.
Must Start
- Joe Ryan (SP – MIN) at KCR, at MIL
- Cam Schlittler (SP – NYY) vs. STL, vs. ATL
- Chris Sale (SP – ATL) vs. MIA, at NYY
- Jesus Luzardo (SP – PHI) vs. WSH, vs. TOR
Should Start
Ian Seymour (SP, RP – TBR) at COL, at SEA
Ian Seymour has been up and down since entering the rotation, but the underlying skills have been fantastic. He has great stuff and is developing with each start.
Seymour has two great matchups, but one is in a tough park in Colorado. You are using him in most formats despite the Coors Field outing.
Casey Mize (SP – DET) at SEA, at SFG
Casey Mize would be a must-start, but he likely won’t make either of these starts and will more than likely end up as a one-start pitcher on a new team.
You are still starting him no matter where he ends up, but if for some reason he stays in Detroit, you are definitely using him in two fantastic matchups in great pitching parks.
Logan Henderson (SP – MIL) vs. PIT, vs. MIN
Logan Henderson has been fantastic since coming up from the minors, throwing 44 innings over nine starts with a 2.66 ERA and 54 strikeouts.
Henderson has two really tough matchups versus a Pirates team that crushes righties and a Twins team that is sneaky and powerful. You are still using him in most formats until he struggles, but there is risk here.
Christian Scott (SP – NYM) at CLE, at PIT
Christian Scott has been great this season despite inconsistent control, throwing 63.1 innings with a 2.99 ERA and 85 strikeouts.
Scott has a fantastic matchup to start the week, but a rougher one at the end; until the control issues catch up with him, you are using him in most spots.
Jared Jones (SP – PIT) at MIL, vs. NYM
After some early struggles returning from Tommy John surgery, Jared Jones has been better as of late and is starting to look like the stud he was pre-injury.
Jones has a great matchup at the end of the week versus a selling Mets team, but a tougher one to start the week. You should still be using him in most formats, but there is risk here.
Here We Go
Patrick Sandoval (SP – BOS) vs. CWS vs. ATH
Patrick Sandoval has been good since returning from the injured list (IL), but pitchers coming back from Tommy John surgery are often inconsistent.
Sandoval has a tough matchup to start the week, but he gets the A’s away from Sacramento, and they tend to struggle when they aren’t at home. This is a riskier deeper league bet, but one worth taking.
Matthew Boyd (SP – CHC) vs. LAD, at KCR
Matthew Boyd has been great since returning from the IL. He has a tough matchup to lead off the week, but a solid one in a good park to end it. You should be starting him in most formats this week.
Brandon Pfaadt (SP, RP – ARI) vs. SDP, vs. LAD
Brandon Pfaadt has been fantastic since returning from the minors after a release point change. The Padres start isn’t scary, but he has to face the Dodgers at the end of the week.
Eduardo Rodriguez (SP – ARI) vs. SDP, vs. LAD
Despite ugly underlying numbers, Eduardo Rodriguez continues to put up great numbers this season. He will regress at some point, and this could be the week with the Dodgers on the docket.
However, until he does, you are using Rodriguez in most formats, especially with the Padres leading off the week.
Feeling Lucky
Trey Yesavage (SP – TOR) at HOU, at PHI
Trey Yesavage has been up and down this season, throwing 91.2 innings with a 3.73 ERA and 91 strikeouts. The problem for Yesavage has been his control.
The Blue Jays hurler has walked 45 batters, including four games with five or more walks. The instability makes him tough to use, especially against good teams like the Astros and Phillies.
Tatsuya Imai (SP – HOU) vs. TOR, at SDP
Tatsuya Imai is the epitome of a high-risk/high-reward play. There are going to be starts where he mows everyone in the opposing lineup down and ones where he gets absolutely destroyed along with your fantasy team’s ratios.
Is it easy to predict? No.
Is it tempting to risk? Yes.
J.T. Ginn (SP, RP – ATH) at CIN, at BOS
J.T. Ginn has been pretty good on the road this season, throwing 55 innings with a 3.60 ERA and 60 strikeouts. However, these are in tough locations, and Boston has been a hot offense as of late. Still, Ginn should be in most deep leagues.
Brandon Sproat (SP – MIL) vs. PIT, vs. MIN
Brandon Sproat has been much better as of late and has a ton of strikeout upside. However, these are two really tough matchups versus two good offenses that can knock a pitcher around. He’s a high-risk, high-reward play.
Desperate Measures
- Dean Kremer (SP – BAL) vs. LAA, at TEX
- Shane Bieber (SP – TOR) at HOU, at PHI
- Davis Martin (SP – CWS) at BOS, vs. CLE
- Slade Cecconi (SP – CLE) vs. NYM, at CWS
- Randy Dobnak (SP, RP – KCR) vs. MIN, vs. CHC
- Ryan Gusto (SP, RP – MIA) at ATL, vs LAA
- Aaron Nola (SP – PHI) vs. WSH, vs. TOR
- Zack Littell (SP, RP – WSH) at PHI, vs. CIN
- Jake Irvin (SP – WSH) at PHI, vs. CIN
- Javier Assad (SP, RP – CHC) vs. LAD, at KCR
- Bubba Chandler (SP – PIT) at MIL, vs. NYM
- Michael Lorenzen (SP, RP – COL) vs. TB, at STL
- Griffin Canning (SP, RP – SDP) at ARI, vs. HOU
- Randy Vasquez (SP – SDP) at ARI, vs. HOU
- *Brady Singer (SP – CIN) vs. ATH, at WSH
- *Reid Detmers (SP, RP – LAA) at BAL, at MIA
*Likely to be traded at the deadline.
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