Now that the season has finally begun, it is time to start grinding the 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: The guys that you have to start because of their talent and/or matchups.
- Should Start: These are the guys 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 available in less than 25% of leagues that are risky but viable in deeper formats.
- Desperate Measures: Pitchers you shouldn’t use unless you have no other choice.
These are projected two-start pitchers and are subject to change.
- Weekly Waiver Wire Advice
- Weekly Fantasy Baseball Content
- Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Trade Value Chart
- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
Week 2 Two-Start Pitcher Rankings
Must Start
- Gerrit Cole (NYY) (at CLE, vs MIN)
- Dylan Cease (CWS) (at MIN, vs BAL)
- Shane Bieber (CLE) (vs. NYY, at WAS)
- Luis Castillo (SEA) (at CHC, vs COL)
- Sandy Alcantara (MIA) (at PHI, vs ARI)
- Max Scherzer (NYM) (vs. SD, at OAK)
- Julio Urias (LAD) (at SF, vs CHC)
- Aaron Nola (PHI) (vs. MIA, at CIN)
Should Start
Zac Gallen (ARI) (vs. MIL, at MIA)
Gallen would normally be in the must-start tier, but he has been struggling with some reduced velocity which has me worried. These aren’t bad matchups, so I am rolling with him, but it is a bit scary.
Framber Valdez (HOU) (at PIT, vs. TEX)
Valdez is an absolute horse of a pitcher, with 27 quality starts in his last 33 starts. He has a dream matchup versus the Pirates in Pittsburgh and a tough one at home versus the Rangers, but there aren’t many reasons not to play him.
Yu Darvish (SD) (at NYM, vs. MIL)
Darvish is another one that is close to being a must-start, but his four walks in his first start and lack of strikeouts have me a bit concerned, considering his injury history. These aren’t cakewalk matchups either, with both the Mets and Brewers being good lineups, but Darvish has a track record you usually roll with.
Corbin Burnes (MIL) (at ARI, at SD)
Burnes was the first pitcher taken in most drafts, but he has looked really rough in his first two starts. His swinging strike rate is down below 10% for the first time in his career, and he is allowing a ton of contact. I think he will be fine, but there is a risk here that we didn’t expect when we were drafting him.
Here We Go
Jose Suarez (LAA) (vs. WAS, at BOS)
Suarez got lit up in his first start, but he also got a bit unlucky with his defense letting him down before giving up a couple of home runs. On the bright side, he didn’t walk anyone, and he got strikeouts. This is a nice two-step that I am willing to gamble on, especially in deeper formats.
Joe Musgrove (SD) (at NYM, vs. MIL)
Musgrove is looking like he will come off the IL for a two-start after fracturing his toe in spring training. Normally, he would fall into the above tiers, but with the fact he is coming off of injury, it adds a bit more risk.
Grayson Rodriguez (BAL) (vs. OAK, at CHW)
Rodriguez was impressive in his first start against a tough opponent in the Rangers, throwing five innings and allowing two earned runs. The Orioles will be careful with him, but these are two nice matchups that should make him worth using.
Feeling Lucky
Andrew Heaney (TEX) (vs. KC, at HOU)
Heaney is always a risk because of his propensity to give up home runs, but he also has the ability to completely shut down any offense because his stuff is amazing. If you are willing to gamble that he can survive against a tough Astros lineup, you might be able to make a massive profit on the Royals one to start off the week.
Mitch Keller (PIT) (vs. HOU, at STL)
Keller was really impressive in his last start at Boston, and even in his Opening Day start, where he struggled, he still got the strikeouts. This is a tough set of matchups, but he is beginning to look like the pitcher many thought he would be when he was ranked as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball.
Desperate Measure
- German Marquez (COL) (vs. STL, at MIA)
- Steven Matz (STL) (at COL, at SEA)
- Roansy Contreras (PIT) (vs. HOU, at STL)
- Nick Pivetta (BOS) (at TB, vs LAA)
- Kenta Maeda (MIN) (vs CHW, at NYY)
- Kyle Gibson (BAL) (vs OAK, at CHW)
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