MLB Two Start Pitchers: Week 9

There are plenty of two start options in the upper tier this week, and nearly as many to choose from in the middle tier, although the bottom portion of that group is much more questionable than usual. Of course, theare those in the lower tier that should be avoided if you value your fantasy baseball stat production, but regular readers will certainly already realize this.

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:

This scoring period, there are an even dozen SPs that are recommended you strongly consider using for both of their scheduled mound visits. Soroka is the last pitcher listed here, and while you must expect a degree of negative regression to strike at some point, he has been nasty over his six starts to date and while on the road for a pair of appearances this week, is someone to consider adding to your rotation, especially in the leagues where he is available on the wire (23% in Yahoo leagues, 26.7% in ESPN).

Eflin does have a couple of away starts this coming week, which gives some concern to placing him this high in the middle tier. Despite his last outing, where he allowed four earned runs on seven hits and two walks, his ERA is still sub 3.00 (2.89, actually) and his WHIP still sits at an attractive 1.09. The strikeout numbers are below average (7.2 K/9) but his control is superb (1.4 BB/9).

Odorizzi is the second SP in this group who stumbled a tad in his last outing, after putting together a stellar stretch of pitching for several starts. His team has been playing great baseball, and the 29-year old righty seems to be reborn as well, sporting an excellent set of ratio stats: 2.63 ERA and 1.06 WHIP through nine starts comprising 48.0 innings pitched (IP) in 2019. Unlike Eflin, the strikeouts numbers are useful, but the control could be better (8.6 K/9, 3.2 BB/9). Also unlike the Philly hurler, his matchups heading into the next scoring period are favorable.

Turnbull has become the best pitcher for the Tigers, forming a decent one-two punch in the rotation with Matthew Boyd . He has been striking out better than a hitter per inning (9.2 K/9 through 48.2 IP to date) and despite shaky control (3.7 BB/9), still has a decent 1.25 WHIP over his nine starts. He gets the pitiful Marlins at home for his first Week Nine start, then toes the rubber against the Mets at Citi Field at the end of the scoring period, which may be a time to consider sitting him on your bench out of discretion.

Teheran has tossed a trio of quality starts (QS) among his last five outings, and now carries a palatable 3.88 ERA and nearly acceptable 1.28 WHIP on the season over 55.2 IP. He is on the road for his next two visits to the bump, which were it 2017 would portend great things, but his home/road splits are much more equal the past two seasons. His control is still an issue with an inflated walk rate of 4.2 BB/9, but due to his strikeout skills, he still possesses a nice 2.15 K/BB ratio.

Rodriguez is certainly not the most constant SP to employ for your fantasy rotation, rolling out efforts where he yields five or six earned runs, then following up with gems where he gives up just a single run or none. He provides superior K numbers (10.1 K/9 over 49.2 IP), with decent control (2.9 BB/9 through nine starts) and a skill-set that keeps the ball in the park (0.7 HR/9). Despite the occasional blips on the radar screen, he is still a useful SP, especially in the first road start against the Blue Jays in this coming week.

Pitching for the Astros has been a positive experience for Miley, as evidenced by his 3.51 ERA and 1.15 WHIP through his nine 2019 starts. He has two home starts this week, the first against the mercurial White Sox offense, then against the resurgent Red Sox bats, so not exactly prime pickings. Yet the Astro offense is formidable, so home starts should equal fantasy goodness for the veteran southpaw.

Happ has been better away from his home park over the past year plus, and has a pair of tasty road games in store for him this week, heading to Baltimore and then Kansas City. Expect good control from him with middling K numbers, and despite an overall 2.0 HR/9 rate in 2019, he has been effective at keeping the ball from finding the seats away from Yankee Stadium as a rule.

Pena has been used as a “primary” pitcher, with the Angels employing an “opener” ala the Tampa Bay example that began in 2018. His results have been excellent, with good ratio stats together with counting stats in that role. He enjoys a superb 4.63 K/BB ratio over 38.2 IP this season, although his peripheral stats (4.48 FIP and .220 BABIP) hint that he has been lucky to this point. Note, though, that his two Week Nine “starts” are at home.

Quintana has pitched five QS through his prior seven times toeing the rubber and he now has a pair of home starts on tap in Week Nine’s schedule. He offers his owners great counting stats with a 8.8 K/9 rate as well as passable ratio stats: 3.68 ERA and 1.27 WHIP through his 51.1 IP this season. The Phillies are just a .500 team on the road, and the Reds supply a favorable matchup at the end of this next week’s action.

Leake is working on a three game QS streak, and has been stepping up his game over the past two outings, holding opponents to just a pair of earned runs over the last 13.2 IP. He is certainly not a high strikeout performer, putting up a 6.8 K/9 rate during his nine starts this season, relying on his control to retain his marginal success thus far. Pitching in Oakland at the end of Week Nine should improve his road tendency to deliver long balls to opposing hitters.

Darvish is a better pitcher than his stats would reveal: 5.14 ERA, 1.62 WHIP over 42.0 IP this season. He has been toiling to drop those ratio numbers, which are still ugly, to be certain. If you need strikeouts, his 11.2 K/9 rate is tempting, and there is no way he can continue to walk so many batters, right? He has been worse at Wrigley than away from the North Side of Chicago, and one more week of poor production, despite a belief that he is better than advertised, drops him to the bottom tier for a time.

None of these starting pitchers are recommended for your rotations in Week Nine, despite their seemingly desirable two-start status. Perhaps you might consider employing the services of Norris in his home start against the below-mediocre Marlin offense, but none of the other starts here stand out as likely potential statistical bounties. Just stay away and your fantasy stat line will most likely benefit.

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.