Two Start Pitchers for Week 7: Cueto, Harvey & More

Week 7 is not a great week for two start pitchers, fueled by certain teams only having five games this week. To help you prepare your rotations, I present the Two Start Pitchers as scheduled for the next week in MLB action. One caveat is that these charts assume that your fantasy week begins on Monday. I made that decision because I have no leagues that do not provide for a Monday start, and it seems to be the standard scoring system. Of course, if you have questions about starting pitchers who are going on Sunday and thus will presumably have another start during the week being profiled, do not be hesitant to drop me an e-mail (see my address at the bottom of the article) and I will attempt to get back with you in a timely fashion. Of course, you could also look to my Streaming Pitcher articles for additional SP suggestions.

The pitchers below are tiered, the first being no-brainers (in my opinion), the second tier being those I would consider adding to my roster and the final tier comprised of pitchers I do not trust at all. Of course, opinions differ and you can let us know if you disagree in the comments.

Let us move on to see who can provide those helpful two starts in next week's fantasy contests.

Once more, these are the pitchers you want to own. If you are lucky enough to have one or more on your roster, then you should just insert them into your lineup, sit back, and fiddle with the rest of your rotation. I was thinking about removing Sale from the top tier, but after his last three hit, 11 K start, he gets a reprieve. Of course, if he has another bad week, things will be reexamined when he is next scheduled for two starts in a scoring period, so stay tuned.

This week, the middle tier is divided into three sub-tiers. The first begins with Sanchez and runs down through Karns. Sanchez has been up and down, but looked masterful against the Twins in his last start. So long as he does not face the Royals, he is a good source for strikeouts, and with his pitch arsenal, can be a dominant force when backed up by the Detroit offense. Frias has a lot going for him: high ground ball rate (3.50 GB/FB rate), good strikeout and walk rate (7.71 and 1.93 respectively) and a 96 MPH fastball. I like him especially in his first start this week, but the second start at home against San Diego is not that bad. Hammel is on a four game QS streak, and the strikeout numbers are good as well. He is also exhibiting great control. The second start at Chase Field may be dicey, but be sure to use him when he takes on the Padres on the road. Harang has been great this season so far, but things may get less rosy this week when he has to pitch in Colorado and Washington. His team scares me, but so long as he can continue with his great control and limit the long balls, he is still worth starting. Lackey needs to work on his control, but he has been surprisingly strong this season early on. He has been much better at home, but at least he gets to pitch on the road in two parks that favor pitchers this week. Wilson, on the other hand, has been exhibiting excellent control over his last three starts, yielding only two walks over his last 22 innings pitched. His strikeout rate is down from his career average, but then again, so is his home run rate. Plus he has been remarkably good on the road, where he gets to pitch both games this week. Quintana gets two home starts this week, where he has been much better than on the road in 2015. He also has been putting up nearly a K per inning pitched, with decent control this season. Karns is the final entry in the top sub-tier, and while he does not pitch deep into games (just two QS in eight starts) he does provide good strikeout numbers.

 The second tier opens with Santiago and ends with De La Rosa. Santiago has an occasional tendency to give up a bunch of hits and walks, and that hurts his WHIP. He is effective at stranding the runners he allows, and has a nice strikeout rate, so he is useful in the right situation. He has not been as good on the road as at home, so with two away games, he is worthy of consideration in both his starts in Week 7. Niese has long been a favorite of mine, and has been slowly working to get his WHIP down. Never a great strikeout performer, you have to hope he limits the runs scored, which he has been able to do for the most part this season. His match ups are not superb, but at least he gets St. Louis at home before heading to Pittsburgh to wrap up the week. Hutchison is beginning to repay the faith drafters had in him back in March. He is coming off a couple good outings, where he racked up 15 Ks in 11 innings, while only allowing two walks. His ratios are trending in the right direction finally and both the starts this week are at home, where he has thrown much better in 2015. Gallardo has been a solid pitcher who was hampered by his offense's inability to score while he is on the mound. I am not happy that he pitches on the road in Boston or New York this week, so use him with some caution. Nelson has the tools to be a strong SP, but has been on a homer-allowing bender lately, giving up five in hs last two home starts. The road has been a problem for him, and facing Detroit is not a favorable match up, but perhaps the game in Atlanta will be a decent option. De La Rosa wraps up this sub-tier, and he is a good source for Ks. He is also a better pitcher at home, so consider him a for the weekend game against the Cubs, and pitching in Miami is not necessarily a bad place for  him to peddle his wares, either.

The final sub-tier starts out with Bauer and wraps up with Lobstein. Bauer has looked exceptional on the road this season, so I do like him going against the White Sox in his first start. His second start is against Cincy at home, and he takes on Cueto in that game, so you might want to consider sitting him on the weekend. Haren is a useful starter, especially in Miami where he gets to pitch both games he is scheduled to start this week. He has good control, and that offsets his mediocre strikeout potential. Fiers has been a good source for Ks, and has been much more effective on the road, so this is a good week to plug him in, if you can forgive his occasional blow up game. Foltynewicz was a hot prospect and is going through his growing pains in Atlanta now. He could be a decent source of strikeouts, but beware of what his innings will do to your ratios. Cosart is questionable this week, as he is currently day-to-day with a hamstring issue. Keep an eye on his status, as he has been superb at home where both his scheduled games are set to be played this week. Lobstein winds up this sub-tier, and while he has been a solid rotation replacement for Justin Verlander this season, his last outing against the Twins was a disaster. He will look to bounce back at home in two starts, but he has been a better road warrior than a homeboy this season. The first outing against the Brewers looks good, but Houston could be dicey, depending on who takes the mound for the Astros. As a low strikeout pitcher, he could suffer against the Astros if he cannot miss their bats frequently enough.

These are the pitchers I just have no real confidence in at this point in the season. None of them are consistent enough to trust, even in decent matchup situations. Any one of them at the top of the tier could toss a decent to great game at any time, but if you want to maximize your lineup potential, go with someone in the middle tier and let these SPs sit on the sidelines.

Should you have questions regarding fantasy baseball, especially starting pitching, you can reach me at ia@fantasyalarm.com to continue the discussion.