Justin Mason | Fri, Apr 28th 2023, 3:37am EDT

Two-Start SP Rankings, Tiers & Targets: Week 5 (2023 Fantasy Baseball)

Now that the season has really gotten going, 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.

Check out our two-start pitcher rankings to identify two-start options available in your leagues

Two-Start SP Rankings, Tiers & Targets

These are projected two-start pitchers and are subject to change.

Must Start

Zac Gallen (ARI): at TEX, vs WAS

Logan Gilbert (SEA): at OAK, vs HOU

Sandy Alcantara (MIA): vs ATL, at CHC

Luis Garcia (HOU): vs SF, at SEA

Kyle Wright (ATL): at MIA, vs BAL

Should Start

Jose Berrios (TOR): at BOS, at PIT

Don’t look at the full line. Berrios has been fantastic lately and looking more and more like the pitcher he was prior to last season. This isn’t a great set of matchups, but with the Toronto offense behind him, he should get at least one if not two wins.

Hayden Wesneski (CHC): at WAS, vs MIA

After the rough start to the season, Wesneski has pitched really well and gets two of the worst offenses in baseball to stream against. This was close to being a must start for me.

Drew Smyly (CHC): at WAS, vs MIA

Smyly was a bonehead play away from a no-hitter recently and has been fantastic otherwise. Talent has never been in question for Smyly, it has always been health. He has been healthy so far this year and thrown four straight really good starts. He gets the same two starts as Wesneski against two really bad offenses and is really close to being a must start as well.

Here We Go

Yusei Kikuchi (TOR): at BOS, at PIT

I have been burned too many times to be really confident in Kikuchi not crushing my hopes and dreams again, but he has pitched really well in his last three starts against really tough competition in the Rays, Yankees, and White Sox. This isn’t the best of matchups, but they are also not ones I am necessarily running from.

Bryce Elder (ATL): at NYM, vs BAL

Elder has pitched really well this season, posting a 2.17 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched. He is doing a great job of getting ground balls and allowing his defense to get him out of innings quickly. These aren’t great matchups which is why he is not in the above tier, but the results are good enough that I am willing to roll the dice on him.

MacKenzie Gore (WSH): vs CHC, at ARI

Gore has pitched really well from surface stat perspective, throwing 27 innings with a 3.00 ERA and 35 strikeouts this season. There are some scary parts of the profile though as he has been walking batters at a 14.4% clip, but he has made it work. He has tough matchups against a Cubs team that is seventh in wRC+ against lefties and the Diamondbacks who are 18th, but are improving. High risk/high road.

Mason Miller (OAK): vs SEA, at KC

Miller has amazing stuff, but there are real concerns about his workload and how the Athletics will manage him. He will struggle to get through five innings because of the pitch counts he will be on. However, the strikeouts are so nice he is worth gambling on this week, especially with the Royals on the docket.

Joey Lucchesi (NYM): at DET, vs COL

I am not a Lucchesi guy as I think he is better as a long reliever, but I cannot deny that he has looked better so far this season. He has a dream set of matchups here versus the worst team in baseball against lefties in the Rockies away from Coors Field and another one of the worst teams in baseball against lefties in the Tigers. The matchups are so good I actually moved him up a tier.

Feeling Lucky

Blake Snell (SD): vs CIN, vs LAD

Snell should probably be in the unusable tier, but I cannot pretend like he doesn’t have a ton of talent. He has been truly terrible, walking too many batters and allowing too many home runs. He gets a good matchup with the Reds and a bad one against the Dodgers, but I would probably skip this one until he shows signs of life.

Tyler Wells (BAL): at KC, at ATL

Wells has quietly been really good so far this season, throwing 29 innings with a 2.79 ERA and 23 strikeouts. He has a fantastic matchup at Kansas City and then a more difficult one versus the Braves. The Royals have been the worst team in baseball against righties, so I will probably roll with this one.

Kodai Senga (NYM): vs ATL, vs COL

Senga has been up and down this season which is to be expected. He has struggled with the walks this year which was one of the main concerns when he came over from Japan. However, there is really nice upside and if he can not get crushed by the Braves, getting the Rockies in Atlanta is a gift worth gambling on.

Desperate Measure

Domingo German (NYY): vs CLE, at TB

Michael Kopech (CWS): vs MIN, at CIN

Trevor Williams (WSH): vs CHC, at ARI

Tony Gonsolin (LAD): vs PHI, at SD

Eric Lauer (MIL): at COL, at SF

Cal Quantrill (CLE): at NYY, vs MIN

Roansy Contreras (PIT): at TB, vs TOR

Tanner Houck (BOS): vs TOR, at PHI

Steven Matz (STL): vs LAA, vs DET

Corey Kluber (BOS): vs TOR, at PHI

Ross Stripling (SF): at HOU, vs MIL

Michael Lorenzen (DET): vs NYM, at STL

Luke Weaver (CIN): at SD, vs CHW

Ryan Feltner (COL): vs MIL, at NYM

Josh Fleming (TB): vs PIT, vs NYY

Ryan Yarbrough (KC): vs BAL, vs OAK

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