MLB Two Start Pitchers: Week 15

This is the last week prior to the All-Star Game, which by nature of off days means no two-start options in Week 16. Unfortunately, this week we only have a handful of no-doubt dual start options heading into this scoring period, and a mere true dozen to consider in the middle tier. The bottom level is chock full of SPs to avoid slotting into your lineups, so divvy well, my droogs and populate your starting lineups wisely.

Please realize that these articles feature most recent rotation information available when the article is written, but that circumstances do change due to weather conditions, injuries and general craziness with managers. If a pitcher listed here as having two starts ends up with one (or perhaps none) in the upcoming week, apologies but this article is meant to provide analysis, it is up to the manager to set the lineups or rotations.

Without further ado, here are this week’s two start pitchers:

A mere five starting pitchers to wind up and let go for both their trips to toe the rubber in Week 15 appear in the upper tier.  Of these SP's, only Morton and Minor have any hiccups in both of their second starts against the Yankees and Twins respectively, but heading into the break is no time for timidity. All five of these pitchers have proven their effectiveness through the first half of the season and deserve your trust. 

Stripling is our leadoff pitcher, if such a thing actually can be said to exist, for this scoring period. The Dodger righthander has two home contests, and has been superb when taking the mound at Dodger Stadium this season, posting an excellent 1.78 ERA and 0.99 WHIP over his 25.1 innings pitched (IP) in LA. He is back in the starting rotation now that Rich Hill has returned to the injured list, and will slowly be working on going deeper into contests, so the victories and quality starts (QS) may take a bit of time to show up in the stat line, but he is a fine arm to snag if he is sitting on your waiver wire.

Allen, a 22-year old southpaw, does not have much MLB experience, but he has been effective in his two starts in June, allowing just a pair of earned runs to the host Orioles after shutting out the Brewers at home through seven frames in his first start for the Padres. He has missed plenty of bats in the minors, so expect his K numbers to improve, but he shows the same good control with the big-league team as he has in the minors. He gets the Giants at home to open the week, which is nice, but then heads to LA to take on the formidable Dodgers, where some caution in employing his rookie-services may be warranted.

Vargas struck out 10 Phillies in his 6.1 IP QS on June 26^th in the City of Brotherly Love, after not lasting long enough to even sniff at a victory or quality start in his previous two outings. He now has a couple of home starts on the schedule, where he has been significantly more effective this season. Over the course of the season to date, he has been just an average source of Ks (7.7 K/9 through 66.1 IP) and needs to improve his control to be a better pitching option in real life or fantasy (3.8 BB/9 in 2019).

Canning has held opposing offenses to just two earned tallies over his most recent pair of starts, after enduring a stretch of stretch of three games that saw his ERA rise from 3.06 to 3.93. His dominance and command did not suffer, as he still is striking out hitters at a better than one per inning (9.2 K/9) and is stingy with the free passes (2.0 BB/9 through 11 starts). He does have a pair of road games on the slate, against the division leaders, the Rangers and Astros, so his recent success aside, temper your expectations to a certain extent.

Mengden was reinserted into the Oakland rotation with the suspension of Frankie Montas , and dominated the Cardinals, pitching six scoreless innings on four hits, and dropping his ERA over a run down to a more palatable 4.03 with that effort. He gets the AL Central leading Twins at home, then takes on the struggling Mariners on the road to wind up the week. It is that second start where he looks most attractive as a member of a fantasy rotation.

Musgrove continues to rely on his control to be effective (2.2 BB/9 through 90.2 IP), as his strikeout production is below average at 7.3 K/9 in 2019. His coming week sees him pitching at PNC Park for both his appearance on the bump, and that is not exactly a checkmark in the asset side of his ledger this season, as he has been much more productive while sleeping outside of his own bed. On the plus side, both the Cubs and Brewers are less menacing away from their own home parks.

Odorizzi has come back to earth somewhat, after a surprisingly effective nine game stretch that began in mid-April, having yielded 11 earned runs over his most recent 15.1 IP. A big part of his struggles is reflected in the inflated 2.3 HR/9 rate over those three games, as he let four balls travel over the fences, a distinct aberration over his season. His matchups in Week Fifteen are not ideal, but at least he gets the Rangers at home to wind up the scoring period, and they have proven fallible on the road this season so far.

Price has tallied four QS out of his last six starts, and thus is for the most part a dependable arm to employ in your fantasy rotation, giving you great K numbers (10.2 K/9 through his 14 starts), while also demonstrating excellent control (1.9 BB/9 over 72.1 IP). He is pitching away from Fenway for both his starts this coming week, which is a minor concern given his home/road splits, but nothing to overly fear, as the matchups are favorable (Toronto and Detroit).

Gallen did not pitch poorly in his first major league loss, seeming to just run out of gas in the sixth inning. Neither of his Week Fifteen starts allows him to take advantage of his home park, so that limits his value, together with his backing offense, but he should be a good source of Ks in his time on the hill.

Williams sees his value buoyed by a pair of home starts this upcoming scoring period, with division rivals Chicago and Milwaukee visiting PNC prior to ASB week. He will not provide great whiff numbers with his 7.3 K/9 rate over his 11 starts in 2019, although he will not hurt himself with free passes or the crash-bombs off opponents’ bats (1.4 BB/9, 1.1 HR/9 through 65.2 IP).

Paxton is coming off a disappointing no-decision where he gave up six earned runs to the Blue Jays on eight safe knocks and four walks, and where he managed to strike out only three opposing hitters. He has been inconsistent, as witnessed by his unimpressive 4.34 ERA and 1.43 WHIP over 64.1 IP this year. He has also struggled on the road this season, and guess where both his Week Fifteen starts occur? If not for the ability to pitch well occasionally, he would be relegated to the bottom tier this scoring period.

Keuchel has pitched twice on the road for the Braves since joining the rotation, and has yielded three dingers over those 10.2 IP for an ugly 2.5 HR/9 ratio. He heads to Atlanta for his next two scheduled trips to the mound, and also has the pleasure of facing the Marlins in the second game of Week Fifteen, which is an extremely favorable matchup. He has never been a great source of Ks, but as he chips off the rust, his peripherals should normalize to career levels and make him a more palatable starting option. Perhaps even by the end of the coming week.

There are weeks when the bottom tier contains certain streaming options that can be recommended. This week, the better course of action is to avoid all these bottom-tier denizens for your fantasy purposes. If you must dumpster dive in Week Fifteen, look for pitchers going against the cellar dweller teams, such as the Orioles, Tigers, Royals, Giants and Marlins. But with any of these seventeen SPs, you would do well to simply look elsewhere for pitching help.

Feel free also to send any starting pitching or other fantasy baseball questions to ia@fantasyalarm.com for a private response to your specific issue. The more detail you can provide about your team and league, including settings (H2H vs roto, points or categories, weekly or daily moves, roster size, league size, etc.) the better the response will be suited to your individual situation. As ever, good luck and Godspeed in all your fantasy endeavors.