Two-Start Pitchers/Streaming Starters: Studs Going Twice

The season heads into the dog days, and there are plenty of two-start options to consider whether to use or set aside this week. As per normal, the tier with the most residents is the bottom group, although there are a fine set of choices to contemplate as you set your fantasy rotations for this scoring period.

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:

These nine SP’s are those that you should put your faith in this week. It does not matter where they are pitching or who is taking the field to oppose them. These are your best bets for strong ratio and counting stats, so wind ‘em up and let ‘em go.

Maeda has a two-game quality start (QS) streak on the line heading into Week 18, and has tossed three QS in his last five outings. A 36:6 K/BB ratio shows just how effective he has been whilst atop the bump, and the 2.15 ERA and 0.82 WHIP are fine selling points to roster the veteran righthander. He sits in the middle tier due primarily to his two road starts this coming week, as he is more effective at home by a large measure.

Mahle notched a victory in his latest trip to the hill, despite only collecting a pair of Ks. He has been demonstrating a strong propensity to miss bats, with a 10.7 K/9 rate on the season. Despite having a pair of home starts on the schedule, his home/road splits this season do not show that to be a huge positive. The good news is that neither the Twins nor the Pirates are above .500 opponents.

Megill has twirled five consecutive starts where he has been charged with one earned tally or none, and has accumulated a stellar 39:11 K/BB ratio over his 35.1 IP to date. His ratios are superior as well, sitting at 2.04 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. There is some risk of negative regression, though, looking at his advanced metrics, but nothing tremendously concerning. Of his two upcoming contests, the road trip to Miami looks most promising for him to continue his successful rookie effort.

Kuhl, even when he has been “roughed up” of late, has still pitched well enough to be a useful SP for fantasy purposes. Since the end of June, he has also pumped up his K rate to an attractive 10.0 K/9 (26.0 IP) and has been working to push his ERA and WHIP closer to useful levels (currently, 4.43 ERA and 1.36 WHIP). Despite his recent relative success toeing the rubber, he does have a pair of road contests this week, and that is a concern atop his team’s lack of success away from friendly PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

Wacha matched his season high in Ks with nine in a five inning no-decision against the visiting Yankees. He now has a pair of good contests on the slate, with the Mariners coming to the Trop’ and then a trip to Baltimore to face the last place Orioles. 

Houser has a couple of home games on tap, which bodes well, even with the Giants coming in for the end of the week game. He is coming off a five-inning shutout effort where he was touched for just two safeties and a single free pass. Houser is a middle of the rotation arm, and thus in the midst of the middle tier options this week.

Dunning is still having his pitch count restricted by the Rangers, although he was able to last an out into the seventh frame in his most recent start, where he limited the Diamondbacks to just two earner tallies on six hits and two walks. He only had a trio of Ks although he has been striking out a batter per inning over the course of 2021. The Angels coming to Texas for the first game of the week is the best option for using him in your rotation, and discretion suggests avoiding him when he pitches in Oakland to wrap up Week 18.

Matz has dropped his last three road contests, so despite having some less than stellar home ratio numbers, a pair of games at home portend better results this week. Neither matchup is top notch, but he is averaging a K per inning (9.1 K/9 actually) and showing effective control (2.5 BB/9). 

Plesac relies on his control to keep him in games (1.8 BB/9 rate through 80.1 IP) which in turn gives him a strong 1.10 WHIP on the season. He does not miss a ton of bats with a sub-average 5.8 K/9. The second outing of the week at home against Detroit looks to be his best chance to provide good fantasy results.

There are some arms in this tier that have been ranked higher earlier in the season, but their recent results have dropped them to this bottom grouping. None of these SPs offer great opportunity for ratio or counting stat goodness, and you would be best served simply keeping any of these hurlers on the bench this week, if you have one or more on your roster. There may be better matchups for a few of these pitchers in the coming weeks, but not this scoring period. 

Potential Streaming Options for Week 

There is no promise that each game day will provide a streaming option. First of all, the pitcher must be available in at least 50% of leagues to be a viable candidate to snag off the wire. Then, the pitchers discussed above are not included as they have a different sort of value, even though some might be available as free agents in your league. Plus, some days the matchups and/or venues just do not figure as positive enough factors to favor plugging the arm into your rotation, even for one start. That all being said, here are this week’s best streaming candidates:

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Luis Patiño TB vs SEA Yusei Kikuchi

Patino has problems on the road of recent effort, but is coming off an effective home start, to wit, six shutout innings against the Yankees where he was tagged with just three hits, a pair of walks, and managed to fan eight opposing hitters. Getting to face the free-swinging Mariners at home presages future success on the hill.

Wednesday, August 4, 2021

Matt Harvey BAL @ NYY Jameson Taillon

Harvey has been able to hold opposing hitters scoreless for three consecutive QS, all resulting in notches in the win column for the veteran righthander. He did pick up a win against the same Yankee team (well, not exactly the same following their trades this past week) in his final April start.

Thursday, August 5, 2021

Merrill Kelly ARI vs SF Alex Wood

Kelly picked up a second consecutive victory, this one a QS against the host Cubs, and evened his record to 7-7 as a result. He has been the winner in five of his last seven games (two no-decisions), demonstrating excellent control (0.8 BB/9) as well as avoiding the long ball (0.8 HR/9) during those 44.2 IP. He is pitching at home, this contest, too.

Triston McKenzie CLE @ TOR Ross Stripling

McKenzie has offered his owners a pair of QS over his last three starts, and has put up an 18:3 K/BB ratio during that stretch. While the Blue Jays are not prolific strikeout producers, his 11.7 K/9 ratio on the season is too good to discount fully here. 

Friday, August 6, 2021

Logan Webb SF @ MIL Brandon Woodruff

Webb has allowed more than one earned run one time in his last seven starts, and that time was to the tune of just two earned runs over 5.0 IP. He is striking out better than a hitter per innings (9.4 K/9 to be accurate) and faces the second highest ranked K producing offense in the majors here.

Alek Manoah TOR vs BOS Martín Pérez

Look to see how the rookie fares coming off the IL during Saturday’s game against the Royals for a clue as to his effectiveness. He was posting a sub-3 ERA (2.90) prior to his injury, together with a 1.07 WHIP, both extraordinarily attractive stats. He was also striking out opposing batters at an enhanced 11.7 K/9 rates.

Cal Quantril CLE vs DET Matt Manning

The Cleveland 26year-old righthander is working on a series of three one earned run efforts, the last two being QS games. The six walks over those contests witness an ongoing control issue (3.0 BB/9 through his 78.2 IP this season) but the Tigers have traditionally had problems beating Cleveland in recent history.

Saturday, August 7, 2021

Brad Keller KC @ StL TBD

Keller has been effective over the past four appearances, compiling a 2.28 ERA and 1.05 WHIP through 27.2 IP. He still features an inflated 5.55 ERA and 1.67 WHIP on the season, so rely on the recent success, not the season-long effort when deciding if he could be desirable to employ in your rotation.

Brett Anderson MIL vs SF Anthony DeSclafini

Anderson held the Pirates scoreless in his most recent outing and here gets to pitch at home, where he has been more successful this season than when away from his own bed. Taking on the Giants at home is a plus on the ledger for the veteran southpaw. Do not expect a ton of Ks even with the Giants visiting, though. 

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.