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.
Two Start Pitchers for June 19 – 25
These are projected two-start pitchers and are subject to change.
Must Start
- Jose Berrios at MIA, vs OAK
- Tyler Glasnow vs BAL, vs KC
- Pablo Lopez vs BOS, at DET
- George Kirby at NYY, at BAL
- Spencer Strider PHI, at CIN
- Max Scherzer at HOU, at PHI
- Justin Verlander at HOU, at PHI
- Corbin Burnes vs ARI, at CLE
- Merrill Kelly at MIL, at SF
- Clayton Kershaw at LAA, vs HOU
- Michael Wacha at SF, vs WAS
Should Start
Bailey Ober vs BOS, at DET
Ober has been fantastic this season, throwing 57.2 innings of a 2.65 ERA with 54 strikeouts. He is limiting the walks and homers right now, but I do think the homers will leave the park at some point because he allows so many fly balls. That being said, you ride with him until those homers start happening.
Hunter Brown vs NYM, at LAD
Brown has looked the part of a top tier pitching prospect as of late throwing 75.1 innings of a 3.35 ERA with 83 strikeouts this season. The Dodgers start is a bit scary, but he has been so good that there really isn’t a set of matchups I am sitting him for right now.
Eury Perez vs TOR, vs PIT
Perez has been really good but also really lucky. The Toronto matchup is a scary one, but he has limited hard contact and gotten out of jams well and the Pirates are a nice matchup to offset the scary one.
Here We Go
Johan Oviedo vs CHC, at MIA
Oviedo has been up and dow this season, throwing 75.2 innings of a 4.40 ERA with 71 strikeouts. He got beat up a bit in his last start, but he got really unlucky with a .615 BABIP and was doing a fantastic job of attacking the zone to get eight strikeouts. I think he has been on the cusp of a breakout all year and I am not afraid to roll him out here.
MacKenzie Gore STL, at SD
Gore has been fantastic this season, throwing 74.2 innings of a 3.74 ERA with 87 strikeouts. He does tend to walk too many guys at times, but his strikeout upside is immense. The Padres portion of this two-step is a bit risky, but he has been good enough to make it through without too much damage.
Alex Cobb vs SD, vs ARI
Cobb has been great this season, throwing 78.2 innings of a 3.09 ERA with 76 strikeouts. When healthy he is a good pitcher, but he is healthy right now and I am rolling with him until his arm falls off.
Aaron Civale vs OAK, vs MIL
Civale doesn’t have a ton of upside because of the lack of strikeouts, but he is a good ratio stabilizer. He has a nice set of matchups versus a terrible Oakland team and an up and down Brewers offense.
Garrett Whitlock at MIN, vs SEA
Whitlock has been fantastic over his last two starts, utilizing his elite slider to generate a ton of whiffs. He is on his way to being a must start, but we need to see him stay healthy for a bit first.
Feeling Lucky
Ranger Suarez vs ATL, vs NYM
Suarez has been fantastic over his last four starts, so it may be surprising that he is this low, but I am really worried about the Braves matchup. The Braves lead every team in Major League Baseball in OPS against left handed pitching by over 30 points. It is scary enough where I would consider benching Suarez in shallow leagues.
Andrew Heaney at CWS, at NYY
I think I have come to the realization that I think I love Heaney because he reminds me of one my favorite books: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He can either be amazing or a complete monster to your ratios. Don’t forget that in the book, the monster wins.
Josiah Gray vs STL. at SD
Gray has been really good this season, throwing 79 innings of a 3.19 ERA with 66 strikeouts. So, why is he so low? He has a 1.35 WHIP and while I am not worried about the Cardinals right now, the Padres are a team that could knock him around.
Edward Cabrera vs TOR, vs PIT
Cabrera actually should be in the tier below this one, but I think people would question it because of his raw talent. The issue is he can’t stop walking guys. He has issued 41 walks this year in 67 innings and only Jack Flaherty has more than him in the Majors. The Blue Jays will make you pay for that and the Pirates actually walk the sixth most in baseball versus righties.
Yusei Kikuchi at MIA, vs OAK
Kikuchi lines up for a pretty nice two-step on the surface except the Marlins have been really good against lefties this season. The A’s are trash, so you can take this gamble even with Kikuchi’s instability.
Desperate Measure
- Ryne Nelson at MIL, at SF
- Austin Gomber at CIN, vs LAA
- Brandon Williamson vs COL, vs ATL
- Michael Lorenzen vs KC, MIN
- Tarik Skubal vs KC, vs MIN
- Daniel Lynch at DET, vs TB
- Jordan Lyles at DET, vs TB
- Jesse Scholtens vs TEX, vs BOS
- Luis Medina at CLE, at TOR
- Kutter Crawford at MIN, vs SEA
- Osvaldo Bido vs CHC, at MIA
- Anthony DeSclafani vs SD, vs ARI
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