Two-Start Pitchers for the Week of May 8

I love all the call-ups for top pitching prospects. I do, however, have to admit that their mixed results make this job of evaluating two-start pitchers much more difficult.

On top of just trying to project those pitchers going forward, we have no idea how teams are going to handle these pitchers. How long are the leashes for Brandon Pfaadt and Gavin Stone? Is there room for both Tanner Bibee and Logan Allen once the other Cleveland starters get healthy? Is Bryce Miller up for good? How often do the A’s let Mason Miller throw more than five innings?

The uncertainty on these pitchers makes the probable starters list for the coming week even more fluid than it usually is.

We’ve done our best to identify the likely starting pitchers for next week. We’ve compared lists from various sites and made our best guesses in some cases. We hope we’re accurate but as always, it’s on you to keep your eye on all the latest news that may change things. A good place to start is Dave Funnell’s Daily MLB Injury Report. He’s been yeoman’s work on the injury front and we know pitchers aren’t exactly immune to injuries.

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Two-Start Pitchers for the Week of May 8

Start in All League Sizes

Zac Gallen and Shane McClanahan are performing as well as any pitchers in baseball thus far in the season. You are starting them in all formats and all league sizes.

Dylan Cease and Max Scherzer haven’t been quite as good but you’re not going to sit that kind of strikeout upside.

Hunter Brown is listed as a Sunday start on some sites and a Monday start on others. We’ll obviously know more at the latest by Sunday morning. As good as he’s been you’re not sitting him anyway.

I’m pretty liberal on the two-start pitchers I’m willing to start. If you’re streaming pitchers, then you’re probably making decisions largely on volume so I figure you can handle a little risk to your ratios in exchange for the extra counting stats. Your league context may dictate you sit some of these pitchers. If you’re near the top of the standings in ERA and WHIP maybe you’re a bit more selective.

Start in 15-Team Mixed Leagues

Yeah, it’s a small list but of course, the two-start pitchers from the category above also apply here. I’m not a huge fan of Gray or Heaney but they get starts in Oakland and Seattle this coming week. The Oakland offense hasn’t been as bad as some people think but it still makes a pretty good streaming target. The Mariners have a little more offensive upside but that ballpark is a nice place to pitch.

Start in AL- and NL-Only Leagues

This is where your league context really comes into play. Many analysts seem to think that you can start almost all pitchers in AL- or NL-only leagues. That’s not always so. I find that ERA and WHIP are two categories that are more easily exploited in mono-leagues, so tread lightly with these pitchers. Don’t damage a top-three WHIP or ERA for the very low upside of most of these pitchers. If however, you’re just trying to pile up as many wins and strikeouts as you can, then fire away and damn the carnage.

I’d Rather Have a Thousand Paper Cuts

Rank this group of two-start pitchers however you want. Just don’t put them in your active roster for the week ahead. The chances of a huge 10-ER start just aren’t worth it