Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers: Bryce Elder, Bryan Woo, MacKenzie Gore

Now that the season is halfway done, 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.

Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers

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

Must Start

Shane McClanahan at TEX, vs BAL

Taj Bradley at TEX, vs BAL

Alek Manoah vs SD, at SEA

Lucas Giolito at NYM, at MIN

Sonny Gray at SEA, vs CHW

Bailey Ober at SEA, vs CHW

Hunter Brown at COL, at OAK

Logan Gilbert vs MIN, vs TOR

Jesus Luzardo at STL, vs COL

Aaron Nola vs MIL, at CLE

Mitch Keller vs CLE, at LAA

Jordan Montgomery vs MIA, at CHC

Joe Musgrove at TOR, at DET

Logan Webb at CIN, at WAS

Should Start

Bryce Elder (SP – ATL) vs ARI, at MIL

Elder has a 2.97 ERA in 106 innings so far this year so it might seem surprising to have him not in the must-start tier. However, He has been extremely lucky this season and his last start is an indication that the luck is beginning to run out. You probably can’t sit him but there is a risk here and he is an easy sell-high if it is not too late.

Nick Pivetta (SP – BOS) at OAK, vs NYM

Pivetta has been much better since his demotion out of the rotation, throwing 29 innings with a 2.79 ERA and getting 39 strikeouts. He jumps back into the rotation against the worst team in baseball in the A’s and one I am not afraid of in the Mets.

Bryan Woo (SP – CLE) vs MIN, vs TOR

If you wipe away his first start of the season where he got beat up, Woo has been fantastic in every other start. He has a 2.20 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 32.2 innings since then and while Toronto is a scary matchup, the Twins aren’t and he has been too good to sit.

Here We Go

Tyler Wells (SP – BAL) vs LAD, at TB

Wells has been fantastic, especially at home, but these are really tough matchups versus a hot Dodgers offense and the best team in baseball in the Rays. I know it is hard to sit a guy who has a 3.18 ERA, but he is homer prone and the back half of this matchup is especially scary.

MacKenzie Gore (SP – WAS) at CHC, vs SF

Gore has struggled recently, but I am not super worried about him. He has been really good most of the season and I expect him to rebound coming out of the break. He faces a mediocre Cubs team and a Giants team that struggles against lefties.

Feeling Lucky

Grayson Rodriguez (SP – BAL) vs LAD, at TB

Rodrguez struggled in his first go around at the Majors, but went back down to the minors and dominated. I think he will be fine as a pitcher the rest of the way, but this is a tremendously bad draw against two of the best teams in baseball this season. I totally understand sitting him here.

Logan Allen (SP – CLE) at PIT, vs PHI

Allen is back after a brief demotion to the minors. I think there is some risk here, but he is facing two bad teams versus left-handed pitching which is the only reason I put him higher than a desperate measure.

Matt Manning (SP – DET) at KC, vs SD

Manning is coming off of the best start of his Major League career which is usually a selling point, but I am intrigued by what he can do and the fact the Tigers were willing to pull him from a no-hitter tells me they will protect him. This is an easy start followed by a tough one, but it is one I am willing to risk in deeper formats.

Tarik Skubal (SP – DET) at KC, vs SD

Skubal has looked really good since returning from the IL, but the Tigers are being really conservative with him. He has yet to go more than four innings in an outing since returning to the team, so if you are looking for a win or quality start, look elsewhere. However, he is a pretty good bet for ratio help and strikeouts.

Dane Dunning (SP – TEX) vs TB, vs LAD

Dunning has pitched fantastically this season, but it is mostly a mirage. He has a 4.72 xERA which is almost two full runs under his actual ERA. I worry he will get smashed in either, if not both of these matchups.

Desperate Measure

Emmet Sheehan at BAL, at TEX

Julio Teheran at PHI, vs ATL

Carlos Carrasco vs CHW, at BOS

Zach Davies at ATL, at CIN

Brandon Williamson vs SF, vs ARI

Luke Weaver vs SF, vs ARI

Quinn Priester vs CLE, at LAA

Trevor Williams at CHC, vs SF

Drew Smyly vs WAS, vs STL

Jordan Lyles vs DET, at NYY

Luis Severino at LAA, vs KC

Xzavion Curry at PIT, vs PHI

Jameson Taillon v WAS, vs STL

Miles Mikolas vs MIA, at CHC

Edward Cabrera at STL, vs COL

Daniel Lynch vs DET, at NYY

MLB Two-Start Pitchers Shane McClanahan Taj Bradley Alek Manoah Lucas Giolito Sonny Gray Bailey Ober Hunter Brown Logan Gilbert Jesus Luzardo Aaron Nola Mitch Keller Jordan Montgomery Joe Musgrove Logan Webb Bryce Elder (SP – ATL) Nick Pivetta (SP – BOS) Bryan Woo (SP – CLE) Tyler Wells MacKenzie Gore (SP – WAS) Grayson Rodriguez Logan Allen Matt Manning (SP – DET) Tarik Skubal (SP – DET) Dane Dunning (SP – TEX) Emmet Sheehan Julio Teheran Carlos Carrasco Zach Davies Brandon Williamson Luke Weaver Quinn Priester Trevor Williams Drew Smyly Jordan Lyles Luis Severino Xzavion Curry Jameson Taillon Miles Mikolas Edward Cabrera Daniel Lynch

About Author

Justin Mason

@JustinMasonFWFB

Justin Mason is the lead fantasy writer and analyst for Friendswithfantasybenefits.com. He is a writer at Fangraphs and Fantasy Pros. You can hear him on the Radio on the FWFB, TGFBI and the Sleeper and the Bust Podcasts. He also runs The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational and the Bay Area Roto Fantasy (BARF) league.