Two Start Pitchers for Week 17: Price, Gray & More

Week 17 arrives and brings with it the end of the non-waiver trading deadline at the end of July. Be aware that any of these two-start designations may change with one or more of the above-noted starting pitchers possibly moving to a new team, and thus, having his rotation slot altered in the process. We have already seen Scott Kazmir move to the Astros, and there is talk about Cole Hamels going to the Cubs. Exciting times, as always, as the trade deadline looms.

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.

These pitchers in the top tier, as per usual, are those recommended   for you to plug in and ride out their two starts in Week 17. No real shockers included here, and it is nice that the two Cardinal pitchers, Lackey and Lynn, get to pitch against Colorado not in Coors Field, but at home. Tanaka is on the road for his two starts, but has been better away from Yankee Stadium in his 13 starts this season, so there is reason for optimism despite him heading to two hitter favoring parks. Do not overthink this, just start them if you are lucky enough to own any of these SPs.

The middle tier is divided into sub-tiers and I see three groups. The first opens with Miley and runs down through Hendricks. Miley is coming off back-to-back quality starts on the road, and gets to face a pair of underwhelming offenses at home. His team does not win for him, but I like his chances to put up nice peripherals, if you do not need a lot of Ks. Sanchez is riding a hot eight game streak, where he has accumulated seven wins and has posted a superb 46:18 K/BB ratio with a nice 3.16 ERA over those 58 innings. His second start in Baltimore is somewhat concerning, as he has been allowing too many balls to leave the field, but he does seem dialed in right now. Iwakuma has bounced back from his earlier DL stay, and is exhibiting excellent control and posting decent strikeout numbers (21:4 K/BB over his last four starts). His two starts this upcoming period, at home and in Minnesota, are in a couple of good pitcher parks, too. Zimmermann faces off against a couple of tough opposing pitchers, but so long as his control holds up (two walks in his last six starts), he is an excellent option, although the Ks are a bit below league average. Teheran’s control is at the opposite end of the spectrum from Zimmermann’s, but he also provides a whole lot more in terms of whiffs, racking up 38 in his last 38.2 innings. He has been slowly but steadily pushing down his ERA, but that may be in jeopardy this week as he heads to Baltimore and Philadelphia, where the ball can easily leave the park. Despite the two-start status and the K potential, this may not be his best chance to provide an overall strong pitching line. His teammate Wood has fared much better away from home this season, and despite somewhat shakier control, he does keep the ball on the ground and in the park better than Teheran, so he may be a better option this week as a two-start pitcher. Hendricks was lit up by the Reds for five earned runs in his last start, but had held opponents to just a single earned run in his prior four starts. I like his chances against the Rockies at Wrigley and the Brewers on the road.

The middle sub-tier begins with Heston and concludes with Jiminez. Heston’s ERA and WHIP are big points in his favor this season, sitting at 3.18 and 1.15 respectively over his 19 starts in 2015. His ground ball inducing ways should continue to make him a useful SP, even as he heads to Texas for his second start this week. Bauer lacks consistency that is prized with starting pitchers, and much of that can be traced to his inability to avoid giving up home runs. The strikeout totals are nice, however, and pitching in Oakland to wrap up the week should limit the long ball potential in his second start. Anderson had a hamstring issue, forcing him to miss a scheduled start and being pushed back a few days in the rotation, but he has been healthy for most of the season, a nice change for him. So long as he is healthy, he is well worth starting against any opponent. Samardzija has gone 3-1 in his last six starts, pitching into the seventh inning or later in each of those appearances. He is showing excellent control, which makes him effective despite the average K numbers. McHugh has been on a nice streak, tossing six QS in his last seven starts. He has gone 37:13 K/9 over those 47.1 innings, making him a useful SP again, as he continues to push his ERA and WHIP down to respectable levels. Fiers is a great source of strikeouts, but continues to struggle with his control this season: 9.32 K/9, 3.38 BB/9. He has won two of his last four starts, but if you are targeting him, it is for the Ks. Ray has adapted to starting in Arizona well this season, posting an excellent 2.72 ERA and 1.12 WHIP over his 59,2 innings pitched. The 50:15 K/BB ratio speaks to his general effectiveness, although he did get roughed up by the Marlins in his last outing. He faces a couple of strikeout prone offenses in Week 17 in Seattle and Houston (No. 7 and No. 1 in the MLB this season), so look for him to rack up some nice K numbers over his two trips to the mound this upcoming scoring period. Gausman’s name has come up in trade rumors, and the Orioles may have reinserted him in the rotation as a showcase move. He did not shine against the Yankees in his most recent start, allowing four earned runs over six innings, although he did settle down after allowing early damage. His 96 MPH fastball will surely intrigue other teams, looking for young starting pitching, so he may not get to pitch both his starts at home this week should a trade materialize. If he sticks with Baltimore, however, he has been excellent at home this year and is worth a shot as a SP5/6 while he adjusts to pitching at the major league level. Jiminez wraps up the middle sub-tier, and is coming off two horrible starts, where he allowed seven earned runs in each appearance and only lasted a total of seven innings combined. He is going through a rough patch, to be sure, but has been dependable at home where his next two starts are scheduled to take place.

The final sub-tier runs down from Leake to Shoemaker. Leake has tossed three consecutive quality starts, holding opponents to just two earned runs in those 22 innings with a 18:3 K/BB ratio. He gets to face two middle of the pack offenses this week, so he has a good opportunity to continue his recent success. De La Rosa has been a road warrior this season, so facing a pair of opponents away from Coors Field is promising. He is striking out nearly a batter per inning (8,83 K/9) and is getting more than his fair share of ground balls from opposing hitters (2.16 GB/FB). Karns has been a nice addition to the Rays rotation, racking up 103 strikeouts over his 109 innings in 19 starts and putting up a useful 3.47 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. Neither Detroit nor Boston is terribly scary on offense on a regular basis, so go ahead and plug him in if you own him for these two starts. Morton is still pitching deep enough into games to be useful, but has not been fooling hitters as he did when he joined the rotation back in May. Low strike out numbers and growing peripherals make him a risky starter, especially against the Twins and Reds on the road, where he has struggled this season. Iglesias pitched into the sixth inning against the Cubs in his last start, holding Chicago to just two earned runs. It looks like he is sticking in the Cincinnati rotation for the foreseeable future, and he does have good strikeout potential. If he can avoid giving up runs in bunches, he could be useful as a back of the rotation fantasy starter if you are looking for Ks. Nova is relying on his ability to induce ground balls these days, as his 4.55 K/9 rate is abysmal, and his 3.03 BB/9 rate is not helping his efforts. The long ball has victimized him on the road, where he has given up three in just 12 innings, and going to Arlington and Chicago is not an ideal situation to use him this week. The regression we were expecting for Anderson arrived he faced the Brewers in his last start, pushing his ERA to 1.91 from an unsustainable 0.89. I would not be surprised to see some additional regression, as he is not striking out many batters (3.27 K/9) although his control will help out, as he has only walked three in 33 innings in 2015. He has potential but there is no way his BABIP and strand rate (.228 and 85.6% respectively) do not adjust further to something resembling league averages. You might want to avoid him despite the two-start week. Shoemaker is the final entrant in the middle tier, and while he has  been pitching much better in his recent appearances, I do not like his opponents this week, especially with both his starts coming away from his home ballpark. He is not a terrible option, just one I would prefer if he were pitching at Anaheim instead of in Houston and LA.

The bottom tier, as always, is filled with pitchers that I cannot in good conscience recommend this week, even with two starts. None of these guys have great potential to provide you with useful stat lines. The two Texas pitchers, Harrison and Perez, do have potential as the season progresses, but coming off injury makes them risky for now. Just stay away from these SPs in Week 17, and you will improve your chances to post good pitching numbers.

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