There are fiving pitching categories for a reason. Ok, maybe we can whittle it down to four, as we can exclude saves since we are talking about starting pitching, and balance is key. While you need as many strikeouts and wins as possible, they cannot come at the expense of your ERA and WHIP. A balancing act is very much necessary here, and targeting two-start pitchers is one way to help in managing a pitching staff. This strategy entails targeting two-start pitchers to help you maximize the aforementioned counting stats while preserving your ERA and WHIP as much as possible.
I won’t be listing all two-start pitchers for the upcoming week as that could be too cumbersome. With this being said, we will only detail the viable options that will be taking the mound twice.
For those trolling the waiver wire, especially in deeper leagues, it is hard to find comfort with the options that are likely available, so caution must be exercised.
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Fantasy Baseball Two Start Pitchers
No Doubters
There are simply some pitchers who are going to be weekly occupants of your starting lineup regardless of any other variables.
Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees, vs. Seattle, vs. Texas
While the strikeouts are down by almost two per nine innings compared to last season (which was his worst performance since 2017), Cole is still over one per inning. Cole has actually done a better job of keeping the ball in the park this year as he continues to have another strong season even if he is only averaging just over six innings per start.
Corbin Burnes, Milwaukee Brewers, vs. Arizona, at Cleveland
Burnes has gotten progressively better this season and through three starts in June, opposing hitters are batting just .155 against him. While he is still striking out a batter an inning, Burnes has taken a dip in this department, but one positive sign is that his barrel rate of 6.2% remains relatively unchanged and shows that opposing hitters are not really squaring him up.
Framber Valdez, Houston Astros, vs. NY Mets, at LA Dodgers
The Mets have been struggling on offense and while facing the Dodgers on Sunday Night Baseball will be a test, Valdez should be up to the task. While Valdez’s ground ball rate is substantially down compared to last season, 57.7%, it is still elite, and based on his 2.27 ERA, it is not impacting the left-hander’s performance. At the same time, Valdez is throwing his fastball an average of two miles per hour harder (96) while striking out more than a batter an inning and bringing his walks down to 1.98 per nine innings.
Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves, at Philadelphia, at Cincinnati
While Strider is coming off two rough outings, there is still no chance that the bench should even be a consideration. Strider’s ERA is actually close to a full run better on the road so that is a plus, and in case you were unaware, he is striking out 14.53 batters per nine innings. While walks and home runs have been an issue and he only has a 30.1% ground ball rate, Strider’s 4.12 ERA is not scaring me away from those strikeouts and that is especially the case considering his 2.86 xERA.
Max Scherzer, New York Mets, at Houston, at Philadelphia
It shouldn’t even be a thought or a question of what category Scherzer should find himself in, but based on how he has pitched this year, it is a reasonable concern. Despite a 6.75 ERA over his last three starts, the right-hander does have 21 strikeouts against just one walk in 16 innings of work. While the veteran might not be passing the eye test, especially compared to what we have been accustomed to from him, Scherzer is still striking out more than a batter per inning while walking just 2.22 and his 3.60 xERA offers some optimism. Either way, benching him is not an option.
Tyler Glasnow, Tampa Bay Rays, vs. Baltimore, vs. Kansas City
Glasnow has picked up victories in each of his last two starts and the right-hander has yet to allow more than three runs in the four starts since his return from injury. While we don’t want to truly judge Glasnow over 21 innings of work, things are seemingly going well for the right-hander after coming back to action.
Solid Options
These two-start pitchers are likely going to be rostered in the majority, if not all leagues, and started in most of them as well.
Pablo Lopez, Minnesota Twins, vs. Boston, at Detroit
The trade to Minnesota seemingly has benefited Lopez as he is averaging a career-high 95 miles per hour on his fastball. His 3.57 FIP helps illustrate that he is pitching better than his 4.27 ERA. Lopez has boosted his strikeout rate to 10.78 as the introduction of a slider that he is throwing 22.2% of the time has proven to be successful.
George Kirby, Seattle Mariners, at NY Yankees, at Baltimore
After a rough start against San Diego in which Kirby allowed five runs on 11 hits in 3.2 innings, the right-hander bounced back by striking out 10 batters over six innings while allowing just one unearned run. It has been a second straight strong season for Kirby. He’s posted a 3.24 ERA while limiting opposing hitters to a barrel rate of just 6.6%.
Jose Berrios, Toronto Blue Jays, at Miami, vs. Oakland
Berrios has had a resurgent season, pitching to a 3.28 ERA while posting a career-high ground ball rate of 47.5%. After allowing 1.52 home runs per nine innings last year, Berrios has chopped that down to 0.85 so far this year and his second full year in Toronto has looked a lot better than his first. In facing the Marlins and A’s this week, Berrios also has two solid matchups.
Merrill Kelly, Arizona Diamondbacks, at Milwaukee, at San Francisco
Despite an average fastball velocity of 92.7 miles per hour, Kelly is still striking out more than a batter an inning. The reliable right-hander has a 49% ground ball rate while cutting his average launch angle from 14 degrees to 7.7 degrees.
Alex Cobb, San Francisco Giants, vs. San Diego, vs. Arizona
Both of Cobb’s starts come at home this week and it’s hard not to get excited based on his 1.43 ERA in San Francisco this season. In 37.2 innings at home this season, Cobb has allowed just six runs. Through 78.2 total innings this season, Cobb has 3.09 ERA thanks in part to a 58.9% ground ball rate.
Ranger Suarez, Philadelphia Phillies, vs. Atlanta, vs. New York Mets
After a delayed start to the season, Suarez has allowed just four earned runs over his last four starts totalling 26.2 innings. Suarez previously had success with Philadelphia and he appears to be finding his groove once again in 2023.
Michael Wacha, San Diego Padres, at San Francisco, vs. Washington
In the interest of full disclosure, I did not have Wacha making 13 starts and having an ERA of 2.89 on my bingo card heading into this point of the MLB season. For the second straight year, Wacha has been a solid rotation piece. But with an average launch angle of 20.4 degrees, I am operating with some sense of caution even if the right-hander has a secure spot in my lineup this week.
Edward Cabrera, Miami Marlins, vs. Toronto, vs. Pittsburgh
Control. Quite simply, Cabrera does not have it, so watch your WHIP closely. The rest of the package is worthy of your attention though as the right-hander is striking out 11.28 batters per nine innings to go along with a 53.7% ground ball rate.
Cabrera is walking 5.51 batters per nine innings but he is pitching well enough otherwise to record a 4.70 ERA (4.00 xERA). It should be noted too that after walking 25 batters over 27 innings in March and April, things have gotten a lot better for Cabrera.
Worthy of a Start in Most Leagues
In 10-team leagues, these two-start pitchers might be not worth the trouble, but in anything deeper, these Fantasy Baseball Two Start Pitchers are worth strong consideration at a minimum, and likely deserving of a starting spot this week.
Garrett Whitlock, Boston Red Sox, at Minnesota, at Chicago White Sox
Whitlock has discovered a sweeper and is putting it to good use with 18 strikeouts over his last 18 innings. Whitlock has also picked up four victories in seven starts this season and he is certainly worth keeping an eye on moving forward.
Andrew Heaney, Texas Rangers, at Chicago White Sox, at NY Yankees
Heaney has been much better on the road this season than at home, so he has that working in his favor while making two starts this week. What is holding him back for me though are the 4.19 batters per nine innings that he is walking. Strikeouts should not be a problem here and the Rangers’ strong season should help him improve on his four victories so far this season against two underperforming offenses.
Eury Perez, Miami Marlins, vs. Toronto, vs. Pittsburgh
While both of Perez’s starts come at home this week, the top prospect has had success wherever he has pitched in his seven big league starts. Facing Toronto will not be easy, but the larger concern here is the 26.4% ground ball rate and the fact that he is benefitting from a .227 BABIP and 92.6% strand rate. Perez is talented, but it is not always going to be as easy as his 1.80 ERA suggests.
Aaron Civale, Cleveland Guardians, vs. Oakland, vs. Milwaukee
Civale is not going to wow you in any category, but he is a solid option who gives you two chances at a victory this week. While the A’s have been better as of late, it is still a good matchup for Civale, who is better than the 4.92 ERA he posted last season.
MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals, vs. St. Louis, at San Diego
Gore is coming off 5.2 shutout innings against the Astros in which he scattered four hits and three walks. The left-hander has the talent, but it has just been the issue of putting things together for Gore. Through 14 starts, Gore has a 3.74 ERA while striking out 10.49 batters per nine innings but we still have control issues to worry about here.
Bailey Ober, Minnesota Twins, vs. Boston, at Detroit
Ober has been solid through 10 starts for the Twins this year with a 2.65 ERA (3.54 FIP) while striking out 8.4 batters per innings against just 2.18 walks. The problem though is that Ober is working through a 20.7-degree average launch angle and 11% barrel rate which are both in line with what we have seen from him to this point in his young career so we have to exercise some level of caution.
Digging Deeper
This is where we really need to limit ourselves to leagues of 15-plus teams as we need all the innings we can get; but at what cost? This is the last bastion of two-start pitchers who are rostered in more than 50% of leagues.
Johan Oviedo, Pittsburgh Pirates, vs. Chicago Cubs, at Miami
Oviedo continues to be a strong rotation piece for a surprising Pittsburgh team. Despite all of the Pirates’ success though, Oviedo still has just three wins over 14 starts while striking out close to a batter per inning. The right-hander has been able to pitch around 4.16 walks per nine innings and part of that is due to an opposing barrel rate of just 6.4%.
Anthony DeSclafani, San Francisco Giants, vs. San Diego, vs. Arizona
The veteran has had a solid campaign but with just 79.1 innings through 14 starts, he is not exactly pitching deep into games. Thanks to the fact that he has walked less than two batters per nine innings, DeSclafani has a manageable WHIP of 1.18 to go along with his 4.31 ERA. Another issue though is that DeSclafani is only striking out 6.81 batters per nine innings.
Josiah Gray, Washington Nationals, vs. St. Louis, at San Diego
Gray gets to start his week by facing a struggling Cardinals team before traveling to San Diego. The right-hander does not pitch deep into games but he has managed to find his way to a 3.19 ERA despite having a 4.77 FIP. Control is an issue for Gray and he is not going to overwhelm you with strikeouts either.
Michael Lorenzen, Detroit Tigers, vs. Kansas City, vs. Minnesota
With a 4.23 ERA, Lorenzen has been a solid option so far this season and the fact that he is walking just 2.05 batters per innings is a good thing. Where we get into problems though is the fact that Lorenzen is striking out 6.41 batters per nine innings while allowing 1.36 home runs per nine innings which helps to take away a large amount of the reward here.
Two-Start Pitchers from the Waiver Wire
These are pitchers who are rostered in less than 50% of leagues who could provide value both for this week and the remainder of the season. This is especially the case in deeper leagues, but these options have potential across most formats if you are looking to maximize your innings.
Matthew Boyd, Detroit Tigers, vs. Kansas City, vs. Minnesota
A 5.63 ERA in his last three starts is not exactly going to be appealing, and neither is his 5.60 ERA, but we can certainly get behind a 4.20 xERA and about a strikeout per inning. What is troubling though is Boyd’s 8.46 ERA over 27.2 innings at home this season, but he does have two reasonable matchups this week while providing strong strikeout output.