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, these projected two-start pitchers are subject to change.
Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers: Week 12
Let’s explore this week’s fantasy baseball two-start pitchers, ranging from must-start options to those you should probably avoid.
Must Start
Should Start
MacKenzie Gore (SP – TEX) vs. MIN, vs. SDP
MacKenzie Gore has been up and down this season, but he has been fantastic at home. He has two very good matchups, so you are using him in most formats.
Shota Imanaga (SP – CHC) vs. COL, vs. TOR
Shota Imanaga has been struggling lately, but he was fantastic in his last start. He has two great matchups, including one against a Rockies team that is terrible on the road.
Dustin May (SP – STL) vs. SD, at KCR
Dustin May has been great as of late and really ratcheted up the strikeouts. He has two good matchups in favorable pitching parks, so he should be fired up in most formats.
Here We Go
Brandon Young (SP – BAL) at SEA, at LAD
Brandon Young has pitched really well as of late and looks to be taking a step forward. However, his two-step this week ends with the Dodgers, which is a scary matchup for any starter.
Nick Martinez (SP, RP – TBR) at LAD, vs. WSH
Nick Martinez has been fantastic this season, recording a 2.43 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP across 77.2 innings. He doesn’t get a lot of strikeouts, and he’s been lucky with his strand rate and HR/FB rate. Martinez has a tough set of matchups, which makes him somewhat risky for the regression monster coming for him.
J.T. Ginn (SP – ATH) vs. PIT, vs. LAA
J.T. Ginn has pitched well this season, recording a 3.15 ERA and 65 strikeouts over 71.1 innings. The matchups aren’t terrible, but his home park is. Both starts are in Sacramento, which makes him a risky play.
Jared Jones (SP – PIT) at ATH, at COL
Jared Jones has been up and down since returning from Tommy John surgery. The talent is pretty evident, but pitchers often struggle with command and control when they first return from surgery. Jones has scary matchups because of the ballparks he is pitching in and how good an offense the A’s have.
Feeling Lucky
Walbert Urena (SP – LAA) at ARI, at ATH
Walbert Urena has been great this season, recording a 2.44 ERA and 55 strikeouts over 55.1 innings. The issue with Urena has been his control.
Urena has a 13.6% walk rate, and that has led to a 1.36 WHIP. He has tough matchups this week, too, making him a pretty good-sized risk.
Ryne Nelson (SP, RP – ARI) vs. LAA, vs. MIN
Ryne Nelson has a ton of talent, but he has struggled with blowup outings this season. He has two good matchups versus offenses that have struggled over the last 30 days.
Andrew Alvarez (SP, RP – WSH) vs. KCR, vs. TBR
Andrew Alvarez has looked good since joining the Nationals’ rotation this season, but has yet to go five innings in a start. However, he has a decent set of matchups versus struggling offenses, so this could be the week he begins to qualify for wins.
Desperate Measures
- Kyle Bradish (SP – BAL) at SEA, at LAD
- Slade Cecconi (SP – CLE) at MIL, at HOU
- Mike Paredes (SP, RP – MIN) at TEX, at ARI
- Grant Holmes (SP – ATL) vs. SF, vs. MIL
- Ryan Gusto (SP, RP – MIA) at PHI, vs. SFG
- Michael Lorenzen (SP – COL) at CHC, vs PIT
- Lucas Giolito (SP – SDP) at STL, at TEX
- Adrian Houser (SP – SFG) at ATL, at MIA
- Reid Detmers (SP, RP – LAA) at ARI, at ATH
- Jack Perkins (SP, RP – ATH) vs. PIT, vs LAA
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