Two-Start Pitchers/Streaming Starters: Gut Check Time

This week delivers less in the way of dual start options among the various MLB rotations, although you should always be prepared for revisions to take place before the scoring period kicks in on Monday. There are a nice group of top tier arms to consider, and fortunately, a lesser number of hurlers in the bottom group to avoid employing in Week 25. Not so many middle tier SPs to choose from, but still a handful to ponder using.

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 10 pitchers are all worthy of gracing your lineups for both their outings. Montas continues his stellar performance since the All-Star break. Cortes is also shining brightly for the Yankees since joining the New York rotation, and Minor gets the nod to join the top group due to a pair of opportunities to toe the rubber at home this week.

DeSclafani has a nice stat line on the season, with a 3.33 ERA and 1.12 WHIP, although his advanced metrics hint that there could be a slight negative regression in his future. He also has not been pitching deep into his starts, with just one six inning start since July 22nd, which is limiting his counting numbers. Still, he has an acceptable K rate and good control, as witness by his 8.4 K/9 rate and 3.43 K/Bb rate in 2021. He also has two home games this coming week.

Gibson is coming off a couple of poor outings, but had tosses three consecutive quality starts (QS) prior to that. He gets a home start against the Cubbies to open the week, then takes on the Mets who he handled well back in early August. If you want to be careful, though, his best start is the early week game against Chicago.

Alexy has a small sample size in terms of MLB experience, consisting of a mere two starts, but looking to his minor league stats, he profiles to be a strong strikeout producer who will struggle with his control. In his favor, he has two home starts on tap. Of course, the first is against the division leading Astros, and then up comes the AL Central leaders, the White Sox. Use the rookie with discretion.

Ryan is another rookie hurler with just two starts under his belt at the big-league level. Unlike Alexy above, though, his MiLB BB numbers show a good sense of control and command of the strike zone, although his advance K production has not arrived in the majors…yet. 

Peralta offers a sub-4 ERA (3.60, actually) but is having a difficult time pitching deep enough into contests to be use in accumulating counting stats. He has been much better at home than on the road this season, so his first start against the Brewers lines up a his best potential outing, although the Rays in Tampa does not intimidate greatly.

Gray pitches away from Coors Field for both his times on the hill in Week 25, although he is not an SP that thrives away from home tremendously. He does offer the ability to rack up a K per inning. The second matchup offers to be his best start of the two he offers this week, when he takes on the Nationals. 

Rodriguez squeaks into the middle tier, and is coming off a poor effort where he allowed six earned tallies to the host Rays on eight hits (but zero walks). Before that, however, he has pitched well in five of seven contests, so he suffers from occasional inconsistency. Still, it is the lack of steady performance that keeps ranked this low in the tier, while his K rate of 10.5 K/9 makes him attractive.

There are but a dozen SPs to avoid this week. You may wonder why Darvish continues to avoid a favorable ranking but looking at his recent struggles in three of his last four starts explains that he is too inconsistent to trust presently. Further down the list, Manoah is another promising SP that simply is not tossing the ball with enough consistency to be trusted as you compete for a championship, or just to make the league playoffs. The balance of these pitchers are too risky to put into your rotations once, let alone two times this coming week.

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, September 14, 2021

Jesus Luzardo MIA @ WAS Erick Fedde

Luzardo set his season high in Ks three starts ago, and then matched it in his most recent outing against the Mets, not exactly known as a free-swinging offense in 2021 (18th in total Ks generated). He has been steadily pushing down his grossly inflated ERA to a still unattractive 6.72. A road game, which is not where Luzardo has been at his best, but as far as matchups go, it does not get much better.

Eric Lauer MIL @ DET Wily Peralta

Lauer has opened September with all QS, albeit that consists of only two games. He has held opponents to less than four earned runs since mid-June, however, and currently sports an admirable 3.18 ERA and 1.18 WHIP, and provides Ks at an 8.5 K/9 clip.

Drew Rasmussen TB @TOR Jose Berrios

In each and every appearance the 26-year-old righthanded second year big leaguer has made since July 5th, he has held opponents to a single earned tally or none. He recently went 5.0 IP in Boston, collecting a victory for his efforts. He strikes out hitters at a strong 9.6 K/9 rate, although he could benefit from better control (3.4 BB/9 through 61.0 IP this season).

Tony Gonsolin LAD vs ARI Luke Weaver

This lined up as the only head-to-head matchup that had the potential to be promoted this week, but Weaver’s road record and stats nixed that possibility. Gonsolin, for his part, was on a limited pitch count after being activated due to shoulder issues, but presumably will be stretched out as circumstances allow in this start. He gets the Diamondbacks at home, a plus, and his 10.5 K/9 should play well against an Arizona offense that ranks 9th in total Ks produced on offense.

Thursday, September 16, 2021

Michael Wacha TB vs DET Matthew Boyd

The 30-year-old righty has been effective on the hill his last four appearances, and is in line to face a team he held to just a single run over 5.0 IP his last time on the bump, and this effort comes at home instead of in Comerica Park. During his recent stretch of four games, he has been stingy with the free passes, handing out just two walks while at the same time missing a ton of bats (28 Ks, 12.4 K/9 over 20.1 IP). 

Jose Saurez LAA @ CHW Carlos Rodon

The third-year southpaw went the distance in his last outing, pitching 9.0 innings and holding the visiting Rangers to just five hits and one earned run. This is a tougher matchup, and on the road, He has been effective at generating groundballs which will be helpful in Guaranteed Rate Field on Chicago’s South Side.

Friday, September 17, 2021

Bailey Ober MIN @ TOR TBD

In 54.0 IP since July began, the Minnesota rookie has compiled an attractive 3.17 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with a useful 55:11 K/BB ratio, as well. He has also been better away from Target Field this season, so the matchup on the road against the Jays is not daunting. 

Brady Singer KC vs SEA Chris Flexen

Singer has held opponents to a mere four earned runs over the last four starts, for a stellar 1.46 ERA and a useful 1.22 WHIP. The Mariners on the road is a nice matchup, better than facing them at T-Mobile Park, certainly. 

Taylor Hearn TEX vs CHW Dylan Cease

Hearn has collected three consecutive victories, and takes on a less than stellar matchup at home here. Realize that despite this recent string of success, his advanced metrics hint that some negative adjustments to his production may be on the horizon. The Pale Hose squad from the Windy City are a sub .500 team away from home, though, so that’s a positive point for the Texas third-year southpaw.

Saturday, September 18, 2021

Bryse Wilson PIT @ MIA Edward Cabrera

Wilson is the best streaming option on Saturday that is not profiled in the two-start pitchers above, and while a Pittsburgh SP is not normally a preferred quality for fantasy purposes, here the Pirate righty gets to face a bottom-three offense in terms of runs produced in a pitcher’s park.

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.