Now that the season is winding down, you should be 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.
Two-Start Pitchers
Must Start
Joe Ryan at CIN, vs LAA
Justin Verlander vs BAL, vs KC
Zack Wheeler at ATL, vs NYM
Freddy Peralta at STL, at MIA
Should Start
Michael Wacha (SP – SD) vs COL, vs STL
I know that Wacha is coming off his worst start of the season, but he has been fantastic all year, posting a 3.43 ERA in 115.1 innings of work. He also has a great set of matchups here and probably should be in the Must Start tier.
Javier Assad (RP,SP – CHC) vs PIT, vs COL
Assad is coming off of two straight shaky starts, but I am not worried about it continuing especially against two of the worst offenses in baseball in the Pirates and Rockies. He is a full-go here.
Bryan Woo (SP – SEA) at OAK, at TEX
Woo has been really good in his rookie season, posting a 4.16 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 75.2 innings. He is coming off his best start of the year, where he struck out eight and didn’t walk anyone in 5.2 innings. The Rangers’ start is a little scary, but the Oakland start more than makes up for it, as they are the worst team in baseball.
Jordan Montgomery (SP – TEX) vs BOS, vs SEA
After a bit of a rough stretch, Montgomery got back on track in his most recent outing, throwing seven scoreless innings versus a good Blue Jays lineup. He has decent matchups versus the Mariners and Red Sox, who have been in the middle of the league in terms of OPS versus left-handed pitching this year.
Yusei Kikuchi (SP,RP – TOR) at NYY, at TB
After a stretch of elite work, Kikuchi has been a bit more human in his last few starts, including his most recent game, where he really struggled. That being said, he has been pretty reliable all season long, and both the Yankees and Rays are beat up, so I am not avoiding him at all.
Here We Go
Ryan Pepiot (SP – LAD) vs DET, vs SF
Pepiot has been fantastic since returning to the Dodgers rotation, throwing 27 innings with a 2.00 ERA and getting 22 strikeouts. He has two really nice matchups versus bad offenses, so he is among the best streamers of the week.
Paul Blackburn (SP – OAK) and JP Sears (SP,RP – OAK) vs SEA, vs DET
Both Blackburn and Sears have had up-and-down seasons but are really intriguing arms. However, their win potential is pretty low since they both pitch for the Athletics. They get the Tigers at the end of the week, so that is helpful, but I can understand wanting to skip them.
Feeling Lucky
Lance Lynn (SP – LAD) vs DET, vs SF
Lynn may be the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of pitching right now. It is almost impossible to determine whether he is going to go out and pitch a gem or blow up. These are two good matchups, but you will not know what you will get. That being said, I probably would roll with him in deeper formats.
Edward Cabrera (SP – MIA) vs NYM, vs MIL
Cabrera is very similar to Lynn in his ability to dominate or actively hurt you. He has been decent since returning from the IL but has yet to throw five innings in a start. However, he has two great matchups and was pretty close to qualifying for a win in his last start, so I think this is another situation I would roll with.
Clarke Schmidt (SP,RP – NYY) vs TOR, vs ARI
After a stretch of great work, Schmidt has been more mediocre over his last three outings and not against great competition. These are two tough matchups versus a scary Blue Jays offense and a hot Diamondbacks team. I think this is one that is really best if you are in a deeper format.
Cal Quantrill (SP – CLE) at KC, vs BAL
After how well Qunatrill has pitched since returning from the IL, he probably deserves to be in the higher tier, but his lack of strikeouts really limits his upside. If you are win-chasing, then the first half of this two-step is really enticing, and I am not overly worried about the second half.
Desperate Measure
Adrian Houser at STL, at MIA
Taj Bradley vs LAA, vs TOR
Mike Clevinger at WAS, at BOS
Kyle Wright vs PHI, at WAS
Cristopher Sanchez at ATL, vs NYM
John Means at HOU, at CLE
Kutter Crawford at TEX, vs CLE
Kyle Harrison at ARI, at LAD
Adam Wainwright vs MIL, at SD
Drew Rom vs MIL, at SD
Ben Lively vs MIN, vs PIT
Jose Butto at MIA, at PHI
Joan Adon vs CHW, vs ATL
Alex Faedo at LAD, at OAK
Brady Singer vs CLE, at HOU
Kenny Rosenberg at TB, at MIN
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