Week 4 is almost here! We are starting to see numbers stabilize across the league, and offenses are scoring fewer runs than ever.
Yay, baseball.
But as pitchers get more and more stretched out, it’s time to hone in on who can help us from a two-start perspective.
We will try to find those gems for you for the upcoming week with some two-start pitching tiers.
Each week, you can find a breakdown of the two-start pitchers for the upcoming week, with who you should start and why.
Like I do every week, I’ll break the pitchers down the two-start pitchers into six categories:
- Don’t Think Twice – These are the aces that you start no matter what.
- Widely-Rostered Options – Players rostered in most leagues who should provide a positive return.
- In the Danger Zone – It’s a dice roll to start them given matchups or other factors.
- Streamers Rostered in Under 50% of Leagues – These guys should live on the waiver wire, but you can start them this week.
- Streamers Rostered in Under 25% of Leagues – Same as above but applied to deeper leagues.
- Not Unless You’re Desperate – I don’t recommend these guys unless you’re swinging for the fences.
Let’s look at those pitchers scheduled to make two starts for the upcoming week, as projected on CBS as of Friday afternoon.
Week 4 is almost here! We are starting to see numbers stabilize across the league, and offenses are scoring fewer runs than ever.
Yay, baseball.
But as pitchers get more and more stretched out, it’s time to hone in on who can help us from a two-start perspective.
We will try to find those gems for you for the upcoming week with some two-start pitching tiers.
Each week, you can find a breakdown of the two-start pitchers for the upcoming week, with who you should start and why.
Like I do every week, I’ll break the pitchers down the two-start pitchers into six categories:
- Don’t Think Twice – These are the aces that you start no matter what.
- Widely-Rostered Options – Players rostered in most leagues who should provide a positive return.
- In the Danger Zone – It’s a dice roll to start them given matchups or other factors.
- Streamers Rostered in Under 50% of Leagues – These guys should live on the waiver wire, but you can start them this week.
- Streamers Rostered in Under 25% of Leagues – Same as above but applied to deeper leagues.
- Not Unless You’re Desperate – I don’t recommend these guys unless you’re swinging for the fences.
Let’s look at those pitchers scheduled to make two starts for the upcoming week, as projected on CBS as of Friday afternoon.
Don’t Think Twice
Widely-Rostered Options
Charlie Morton (5/2 @NYM, 5/7 vs. MIL)
Morton looked fantastic in his season debut, but he’s struggled his last two times out. I moved him down a tier because he could be just working his way back from his broken leg in the World Series. Of course, you’re not dropping him, and I’m starting him in more places than not, but I get it if you want to wait and see with him if you have better options.
Carlos Carrasco (5/3 vs. ATL, 5/8 @PHI)
Carrasco also struggled his last time out, but I’m just not sure why Buck Showalter left him out to dry as long as he did. What should have been three earned runs turned into seven pretty quickly. I’m fine writing it off like Morton, but he does have two tough matchups this week. If you have better options, it’s OK to sit him.
Trevor Rogers (5/3 vs. ARI, 5/8 @SD)
OK, it looks like we are back on track with Rogers. Granted, he took advantage of a lousy lineup in Washington, but it’s his second straight solid start. The strikeouts and whiffs aren’t there, but we’ll take incremental gains. He gets a juicy matchup against Arizona to kick off his two-start week.
Patrick Sandoval (5/2 @CHW, 5/8 vs. WAS)
Sandoval had his big strikeout game finally come his last time out against the Guardians. He threw the changeup – his best pitch – 32.2 percent of the time and registered seven of his nine strikeouts on the pitch. It’s an easy recipe for Sandoval, and I expect him to continue to follow it moving forward.
MacKenzie Gore (5/3 @CLE, 5/8 vs. MIA)
Speaking of whiffs, man, does Gore look good. Future ace? Unlikely. Really good, dependable fantasy option? Absolutely. He has two plus-matchups here, but the big question is what the Padres will do once Blake Snell is healthy. Is Gore or Nick Martinez the odd-man-out?
Zack Greinke (5/2 @STL, 5/8 @BAL)
I just kind of didn’t know where to put Greinke? He isn’t missing bats, but he isn’t getting knocked around, either. With offenses down, he’s an acceptable two-start option, especially if your league rewards innings in any form or fashion.
In the Danger Zone
Steven Matz (5/2 vs. KC, 5/7 @SF)
It looks like someone is missing Pete Walker in Toronto. Matz was an easy fade this year, and until – if – he gets right, he’s an easy fade most weeks unless the matchups are super juicy.
Ranger Suarez (5/3 vs. TEX, 5/8 vs. NYM)
Suarez was … fine his last time out. He got the quality start, but it wasn’t a pretty line. He’s stretched out, which could help, but he’s a low-floor, low-ceiling arm right now.
Jordan Montgomery (5/2 @TOR, 5/8 vs. TEX)
I like Montgomery as a pitcher, and I really like what we’ve seen from him. The only reason he is here is that he faces Toronto. They haven’t been the vaunted offense that we saw on Night 1 all season, but it’s a scary matchup.
German Marquez (5/3 vs. WAS, 5/8 @ARI)
You know the drill by now. Even against a lousy offense, Marquez lives in this tier with a home matchup. It’s a shame, too, because that Arizona matchup is juicy on the road, and I’m starting him there in a daily league.
Streamers Rostered in Under 50% of Leagues
Bailey Ober (5/3 @BAL, 5/8 vs. OAK)
Streamer of the week? Streamer of the week. Look no further than Ober, who has two fantastic matchups on the schedule with the Orioles and the A’s. The matchups don’t get much better for Ober, who’s been a solid option his last two times out. He has a 33.9% chase rate, while the Orioles (13th-worst) and A’s (third-worst) are two teams that tend to chase pitches out of the zone.
Streamers Rostered in Under 25% of Leagues
Drew Rasmussen (5/2 @OAK, 5/7 @SEA)
Rasmussen threw six innings his last time out, recording nine strikeouts. He won’t go three times through the lineup, which limits his value, but seeing him go this deep is a positive sign in a week with two solid matchups awaiting him.
Bruce Zimmermann (5/3 vs. MIN, 5/8 vs. KC)
Zimmermann could blow up in our faces, but we must keep riding the wave. Zimmermann ran into some bad luck against the Yankees, but it was still an encouraging outing. His changeup has a 39.2 CSW% on it, which is the fifth-best mark in baseball – fourth among starters.
Not Unless You’re Desperate
- Zach Plesac (5/3 vs. SDP, 5/8 vs. TOR)
- Jeffrey Springs (5/3 @OAK, 5/8 @SEA)
- Bryse Wilson (5/3 @DET, 5/8 @CIN)
- Tyler Wells (5/2 vs. MIN, 5/7 vs. KC)
- Sam Long (5/3 @LAD, 5/7 vs. STL)
- Erick Fedde (5/3 @COL, 5/8 @LAA)
- Vladimir Gutierrez (5/3 @MIL, 5/8 vs. PIT)
- Jake Odorizzi (5/2 vs. SEA, 5/8 vs. DET)
- Marco Gonzales (5/2 @HOU, 5/7 vs. TB)
- Dakota Hudson (5/3 @KC, 5/8 @SF)
- Chris Flexen (5/3 @HOU, 5/8 vs. TB)
- Michael Wacha (5/3 vs. LAA, 5/8 vs. CHW)
- Michael Pineda (5/3 vs. PIT, 5/8 @HOU)
- Daulton Jefferies (5/2 vs. TB, 5/8 @MIN)
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Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.
