Week 7 is almost here! Again, we are seeing numbers stabilize across the league, and offenses are actually starting to look, well, offensive.
But in a good way!
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’re going to 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 your aces who you start no matter what.
- Widely-Rostered Options – Players rostered in the majority of 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 take a 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
- Gerrit Cole (5/23 vs. BAL, 5/28 @TBR)
- Walker Buehler (5/24 @WAS, 5/29 @ARI)
- Corbin Burnes (5/24 @SDP, 5/29 @STL)
- Max Fried (5/23 vs. PHI, 5/28 vs. MIA)
- Zack Wheeler (5/24 vs. MIA, 5/29 vs. NYY)
- Shane McClanahan (5/24 vs. MIA, 5/29 vs. NYY)
- Pablo Lopez (5/24 @TBR, 5/29 @ATL)
- Luis Garcia (5/23 vs. CLE, 5/29 @SEA)
Widely-Rostered Options
Jose Berrios (5/23 @STL, 5/29 @LAA)
Are you disappointed by what you’ve gotten from Berrios so far? Well, you really shouldn’t be. Granted, he had that terrible start on Opening Day that has skewed his numbers, but being inconsistent is the only consistency that Berrios has ever had. Was he overdrafted this year? Yes. Is he still a must-start pitcher? Yes. Those aren’t mutually exclusive.
Jordan Montgomery (5/24 vs. BAL, 5/29 @TBR)
Seven no decisions for Montgomery in eight starts. Tell me again why we should judge a pitcher by the number of wins he has? I don’t love the Tampa Bay start, but you’re firing him up in this spot for the double-dip.
Sonny Gray (5/24 vs. DET, 5/29 vs. KCR)
Forget going six innings — Gray went more than five innings for the first time all season his last time out against Oakland. Granted, we have to be patient, given the IL stint Gray had in April. But, it was a sign of things to come, as Gray was one of the best values during draft season. He gets what is hopefully a layup with Detroit and Kansas City on the schedule. I’m starting him in all leagues.
Alex Cobb (5/23 vs. NYM, 5/29 @CIN)
Bad start? Yup. Was it in Colorado? It was! We forgive you, Alex. Cobb gets a double-dip against the Mets and the Reds this week. He struggled in his first start against the Mets this year, but the under-the-hood numbers suggest starting him in 12-teamers this week.
Blake Snell (5/23 vs. MIL, 5/29 vs. PIT)
We have to be patient with Snell, who just made his season debut this past week. I absolutely don’t love the Milwaukee matchup, but it’s better with Willy Adames on the shelf. We hope that Snell can hit five innings in at least one of his outings as he gets built back up.
In the Danger Zone
Cal Quantrill (5/24 @HOU, 5/29 @DET)
I know he got back on track against the Reds — but it was the Reds. I’m sorry, there is so much smoke and mirrors with Quantrill. I’m OK rolling him out against the Tigers in a daily league, but the Astros? Yeah, not so much.
Steven Matz (5/23 vs. TOR, 5/29 vs. MIL)
Robbie Ray misses Pete Walker in Toronto. Matz does, too, as his St. Louis career hasn’t been great so far. Granted, he’s been better in his last two outings, fanning 14 hitters over 11.2 innings. But I’m not too fond of either of these matchups for Matz, so be careful rolling him out there.
Tyler Mahle (5/24 vs. CHC, 5/29 vs. SFG)
After a treacherous start to the season, Mahle has settled down of late, posting back-to-back quality starts and having three straight solid outings. I’m leaning toward starting him this week, but we’ve seen when it goes wrong, it goes wrong, and the Giants matchup is less than desirable.
Kyle Gibson (5/24 @ATL, 5/29 @NYM)
Unless he had two-plus matchups, I’m not comfy starting Gibson. I’d only roll him out in points leagues with Atlanta and New York scheduled.
Streamers Rostered in Under 50% of Leagues
Tyler Anderson (5/23 @WAS, 5/28 @ARI)
He’s been mostly good but mostly uninspiring, too. But that’s OK! Boring is good — especially when it comes to pitchers. He has two plus matchups on the schedule, which makes him our streamer of the week.
Zack Greinke (5/23 @ARI, 5/29 @MIN)
I don’t know the upside with Greinke anymore with his lack of strikeouts, but I’m OK using him if you need to protect ratios in May for some reason and aren’t concerned about strikeouts.
Zach Plesac (5/23 @HOU, 5/28 @DET)
I’m starting him with trepidation this week, as his name gives him more value than he actually has. Like Quantrill above, I’d be fine starting him against the Tigers, but I’m covering my eyes if I have to use him in the Astros spot to get the Tigers spot, too.
Streamers Rostered in Under 25% of Leagues
Marco Gonzales (5/23 vs. OAK, 5/29 vs. HOU)
Gonzales looked to be in a rough spot this past week against the Blue Jays, but he limited the damage and is having another typical boring season. I’m willing to risk the start against Houston in deeper leagues, especially with the game in Seattle, in 12-team leagues, and deeper.
Nick Pivetta (5/24 @CHW, 5/29 vs. BAL)
Pivetta can turn back into a terrible pitcher at any point, but he’s coming off a complete-game, two-hit, one-run, eight-k performance against the Astros. While the preseason White Sox looked like they’d be a tough matchup, they and the Orioles present a nice double-dip for Pivetta for Week 7. Fire him up.
Dane Dunning (5/24 @LAA, 5/29 @OAK)
In Dunning’s last five starts, he has a 3.19 ERA, and 29 strikeouts in 31 innings pitched. His first few starts cloud his overall numbers, but Dunning, a former top prospect, is showing signs of legitimately breaking out. The Angels matchup is less than ideal, but Oakland on the backend of the week is the key matchup we are targeting here.
Kyle Freeland (5/24 @PIT, 5/29 @WAS)
It’s tough recommending Freeland, but he’s been an acceptable starting option in the past away from Coors. It just so happens that he’s not only out of Coors this week, but he gets two of the worst teams in baseball in the Pirates and the Nationals. So he’s a sneaky — albeit desperate — streaming option this week.
Not Unless You’re Desperate
- Josiah Gray (5/24 vs. LAD, 5/29 vs. COL)
- Bruce Zimmermann (5/24 @NYY, 5/29 @BOS)
- Adrian Houser (5/23 @SDP, 5/28 @STL)
- Dylan Bundy (5/23 vs. DET, 5/28 vs. KCR)
- Drew Smyly (5/23 @CIN, 5/29 @CHW)
- Zach Davies (5/23 vs. KCR, 5/29 vs. LAD)
- Daulton Jefferies (5/23 @SEA, 5/28 vs. TEX)
- Jordan Lyles (5/23 @NYY, 5/28 @BOS)
- Antonio Senzatela (5/23 @PIT, 5/28 @WAS)
- J.T. Brubaker (5/23 vs. COL, 5/28 @SDP)
- Joan Adon (5/23 vs. LAD, 5/28 vs. COL)
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio
If you want to dive deeper into fantasy baseball, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Baseball Tools as you navigate your season. From our Lineup Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant – which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team, and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy baseball season.
Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.