Week 8 is almost here! 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 two-start pitchers into six categories:
- Don’t Think Twice – These are your aces that 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.
Week 8 is almost here! 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 two-start pitchers into six categories:
- Don’t Think Twice – These are your aces that 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
Widely-Rostered Options
Adam Wainwright (5/31 vs. SD, 6/5 @CHC)
The 40-year-old has been solid overall this year aside from a handful of meh starts against the Brewers and Reds. He gets the Padres, which is an offense that can turn it on, but the Cubs’ lineup should balance it out for a net-positive week.
Kyle Wright (5/31 @ARI, 6/5 @COL)
You know the rules — it’s an automatic tier drop for a pitcher in Colorado. I love that Arizona start enough to roll the dice with him.
Chris Bassitt (5/30 vs. WAS, 6/4 @LAD)
It’s a tale of two starts here for Bassitt. The Nationals start is so good, that it’s tempting to use him despite the Dodgers matchup. I’m rolling the dice with him in 12-teamers.
Lucas Giolito (5/31 @TOR, 6/5 @TB)
The Blue Jays haven’t been the Blue Jays for some time, but the White Sox have been absolutely brutal. The Jays’ offense can get going at the snap of a finger, which has me leaning toward sitting Giolito this week.
Martin Perez (5/31 vs. TB, 6/5 vs. SEA)
There is one qualified pitcher who hasn’t allowed a home run this season. It’s somehow Perez. He’s here because of his rostership rate, but I won’t be starting him.
Luis Castillo (5/31 @BOS, 6/5 vs. WAS)
We saw some increased velocity, which is great. The concern for me here is Boston and how hot they are. I’m leaning toward sitting him in non-points leagues.
Jordan Montgomery (5/31 vs. LAA, 6/5 vs. DET)
Despite having a 3.30 ERA and 1.06 WHIP, Montgomery doesn’t have a win yet. Baseball can be rough sometimes. You’re starting him here.
In the Danger Zone
Pablo Lopez (5/30 @COL, 6/4 vs. SF)
I hate having him in this tier but given the matchup at Colorado and against the Giants, I’m OK sitting him in leagues shallower than 15 teams this week.
Charlie Morton (5/30 @ARI, 6/4 @COL)
Two back-to-back so-so outings are having me leaning toward sitting Morton this week with a date at Coors on the schedule.
Paul Blackburn (5/30 vs. HOU, 6/5 vs. BOS)
Blackburn is still a tough pitcher to figure out, but I’ll try to dive into him and start him in a week where he isn’t facing both the Astros and Boston. He’s an easy fade this time around.
Kyle Gibson (5/30 vs. SF, 6/5 vs. LAA)
No thanks. Unless he has two cake matchups, I’m not using him. These aren’t cake, Betty.
Streamers Rostered in Under 50% of Leagues
Cal Quantrill (5/30 vs. KC, 6/5 @BAL)
I’ve made it known that I’m not a big Quantrill fan. The profile of the type of pitcher he is just doesn’t do it for me. But in the right matchups, he’s a good streaming option. Those matchups are this week against the Royals at home and the Orioles on the road. Both are plus matchups, which makes Quantrill a sneaky option.
George Kirby (5/31 @BAL, 6/5 @TEX)
Kirby has struggled after lighting the baseball world on fire in his debut — including a so-so start against the Athletics — but the two-step this week against the Orioles and Rangers is a perfect spot for Kirby to get back on track as the top rookie hurler.
Aaron Ashby (5/30 @CHC, 6/4 vs. SD)
With Freddy Peralta out for what seems to be an extended time, Ashby should thrive in the rotation. He has a good pitch mix and showed that he can go deeper into games after going five-plus innings in his last outing. He’s our streamer of the week this week.
Streamers Rostered in Under 25% of Leagues
Rich Hill (5/30 vs. BAL, 6/5 @OAK)
We don’t know what we’re getting from Hill on a week-to-week basis, but he’s gone at least five innings in three of his last four outings and he gets to face off against two of the worst offenses in baseball while the offense behind him is playing at a high level. It’s a good spot for two starts.
Glenn Otto (5/30 vs. TB, 6/4 vs. SEA)
Look beyond the surface numbers and you’ll find a lot to like about Otto so far this season. I don’t love the matchups, but he’s 15-team viable this week.
Not Unless You’re Desperate
- German Marquez (5/31 vs. MIA, 6/5 vs. ATL)
- Dylan Bundy (5/30 @DET, 6/4 @TOR)
- Patrick Corbin (5/31 @NYM, 6/5 @CIN)
- Jake Junis (5/31 @PHI, 6/5 @MIA)
- Nick Martinez (5/30 @STL, 6/5 @MIL)
- Erick Fedde (5/30 @NYM, 6/4 @CIN)
- Zach Thompson (5/30 @LAD, 6/4 vs. ARI)
- Ryan Yarbrough (5/31 @TEX, 6/5 vs. CHW)
- Tyler Wells (5/30 @BOS, 6/4 vs. CLE)
- Cody Poteet (5/31 @COL, 6/5 vs. SF)
- Ryan Feltner (5/30 vs. MIA, 6/4 vs. ATL)
- Jonathan Heasley (5/30 @CLE, 6/5 vs. HOU)
- Trevor Williams (5/31 vs. WAS, 6/5 @LAD)
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Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.
