You should be grinding fantasy baseball 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: Pitchers you have to start because of their talent and/or matchups.
- Should Start: Pitchers 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 that are risky, but viable in deeper formats.
- Desperate Measures: Pitchers you shouldn’t use unless you have no other choice.
Make sure you are aware that when making fantasy baseball start or sit decisions that these projected two-start pitchers are subject to change.
Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers: Week 8
Let’s explore this week’s fantasy baseball two-start pitchers, ranging from must-start options to those you should probably avoid.
Must Start
- Sonny Gray (SP – BOS) at KCR, vs. MIN
- Will Warren (SP – NYY) vs. TOR, vs. TBR
- Shane McClanahan (SP – TBR) vs. BAL, at NYY
- Parker Messick (SP – CLE) at DET, at PHI
- Framber Valdez (SP – DET) vs. CLE, at BAL
- Dylan Cease (SP – TOR) at NYY, vs. PIT
- Bryan Woo (SP – SEA) vs. CWS, at KCR
- Michael King (SP – SDP) vs. LAD, vs. ATH
- Robbie Ray (SP – SFG) at ARI, vs. CWS
- Shota Imanaga (SP – CHC) vs. MIL, vs. HOU
- Nick Lodolo (SP – CIN) at PHI, vs. STL
- Nolan McLean (SP – NYM) at WSH, at MIA
Should Start
Max Meyer (SP – MIA) vs. ATL, vs. NYM
Max Meyer has been fantastic this season, throwing 47.2 innings with a 3.21 ERA and 54 strikeouts. He has a tough matchup at the beginning of the week, but a great one at the end, so you are using him in most leagues.
Keider Montero (SP, RP – DET) vs. CLE, at BAL
Keider Montero has been good so far this season, throwing 44.1 innings over eight starts with a 3.65 ERA and 31 strikeouts. He has two good matchups versus a Guardians team ranked 24th in xOBA against righties and an Orioles team ranked 19th.
Christian Scott (SP – NYM) at WSH, at MIA
Christian Scott has been very good since his call-up, throwing 15.2 innings over four starts with a 3.45 ERA and 20 strikeouts.
Scott does struggle with control at times, though, but these are two pretty good matchups, so you are using him in most spots.
Here We Go
Reid Detmers (SP, RP – LAA) vs. ATH, vs. TEX
Reid Detmers’ overall line doesn’t look amazing, but his underlying numbers paint a much rosier picture. He has the best walk rate and home run rates of his career.
Detmers has good matchups against an Athletics team that is mediocre against lefties and the Rangers, who are the worst team in baseball against southpaws.
Seth Lugo (SP – KCR) vs. BOS, vs. SEA
Seth Lugo has been up and down this season, throwing 52.2 innings with a 3.76 ERA and 46 strikeouts. Lugo is usually good for a fair amount of innings, but he gives up a lot of contact, which can lead to a bad batting average on balls in play (BABIP).
Lugo has a good matchup at the beginning of the week and a bad one at the end, so this is a riskier setup.
Foster Griffin (SP, RP – WSH) vs. NYM, at ATL
Foster Griffin had been amazing this season before getting beaten up in his last start. He still has a 3.53 ERA and 49 strikeouts over his nine starts. He has a good matchup to start the week, but a tough one at the end, so there is some risk here.
Feeling Lucky
Noah Schultz (SP – CWS) at SEA, at SFG
Noah Schultz has great stuff, but has struggled mightily with control. There are two good matchups that make him very interesting as a streamer, but he’s a high-risk/high-reward option this week.
J.T. Ginn (SP – ATH) at LAA, at SDP
J.T. Ginn has quietly been very good, throwing 43.1 innings this season with a 3.12 ERA and 34 strikeouts. He has been exceptional on the road, throwing 24.1 innings with a 1.48 ERA.
Both of these matchups are on the road, so Ginn is a sneaky streamer this week.
MacKenzie Gore (SP – TEX) at COL, at LAA
MacKenze Gore has struggled a bit this season, but his underlying numbers are better than the surface ones. He tends to struggle with consistency, especially with his control.
Gore has a tough matchup against the Angels and an easier one against the Rockies, but it is in Coors Field, which makes him a tough play this week.
JR Ritchie (SP – ATL) at MIA, vs. WSH
JR Ritchie has been good on the surface with a 3.32 ERA, but he has struggled with command and control, and his stuff has not been overwhelming. These are not terrible numbers, but he has regression coming, and this could be the week it hits.
Desperate Measures
- Trevor Rogers (SP – BAL) at TBR vs. DET
- Mitch Keller (SP – PIT) at STL, at TOR
- Patrick Corbin (SP – TOR) at NYY, vs. PIT
- Slade Cecconi (SP – CLE) at DET, at PHI
- Simeon Woods Richardson (SP – MIN) vs. HOU, at BOS
- Andrew Painter (SP – PHI) vs. CIN, vs. CLE
- Jake Irvin (SP – WSH) vs. NYM, at ATL
- Matthew Liberatore (SP – STL) vs. PIT, at CIN
- Zac Gallen (SP – ARI) vs. SFG, vs. COL
- Jose Quintana (SP – COL) vs. TEX, at ARI
- Walbert Urena (SP – LAA) vs. ATH, vs. TEX
- Braxton Garrett (SP – MIA) vs. ATL, vs. NYM
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