Two-Start Pitchers/Pitching Streamers: Week 3

As Week 3 rolls into our fantasy baseball world, the number of two-start pitching options has grown tremendously. The upper tier contains many more desirable arms to plug in for your fantasy rotations. That is the good news. Plenty of hurlers to avoid, that being the less happy intelligence contained in the bottom tier below. There is, however, a nice set of middle tier arms to consider.

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 adieu, here are this week’s two start pitchers:

These are the 11 pitchers that it is suggested you simply wind up and let run for the scoring period. Montas is a relatively new addition to the upper tier of SPs to consider, and he is coming off a decent but potentially worse than it looked outing, so perhaps consider some discretion when using him but this writer will not hesitate to plug him in for both starts.

Bumgarner gets to pitch at home for the first time this week, when Arizona hosts the Astros, and then leaves the desert to visit San Diego. He has not pitched poorly, but his offense has certainly not done him any favors. It is a concern that his fastball has not broken 90 MPH yet, but the pitcher says things feel good. The veteran deserves consideration in a two-start week, despite starting out of the gate a bit slow.

Marquez has been on top of his game, allowing just two earned runs over his 11.2 IP this year, sporting an attractive 1.54 ERA and minuscule 0.86 WHIP, both of which are due to adjust sometime soon. The first start is at home, and against the Giants, so big plus in the ledger there. The second start in Seattle is not exactly reason to avoid using him, either. Grab him and employ him while he is hot.

Plesac tossed eight scoreless innings but his offense let him down and he did not come away with a deserved victory. His next two outings are on the road, but in his short stint in the majors, that has not proven to be a negative for him. He is missing bats consistently to open the campaign, and has the potential to become an ace if his skill set continues to develop.

Hill looked great in his initial start this season, coming away with a well-deserved victory by tossing five scoreless frames. So long as the 40-year old southpaw can make his way to the bump and take the ball, he is well worth employing in your rotation. Use him now while he is healthy.

Heaney is winless on the season, but has pitched well, posting a useful 2.79 ERA and attractive 0.83 WHIP, making for great ratio stats. The 12:1 K/BB ratio is superb as well. The downside is two road starts in Week 3, as the left-hander pitches better at home traditionally.

Martinez has shifted from starter to closer and now back to starter. He did not look good in his first start, yielding six earned tallies over just 3.2 innings, and now heads off on the road to take on the surprising Tigers at Comerica Park, but then has the rival Cubbies at home. His arm is worthy of giving him the doubt on the first misstep of the season.

May has not been exactly the most efficient pitcher to open this season, lasting just 7.2 innings over his two starts. He is simply not missing many bats, and that is limiting his time toeing the rubber for the Dodgers. He does have a road game, albeit in San Diego, to open this scoring period, and then gets the Giants at home, so he is worth employing these two starts, given his backing offense.

Eflin is a risky consideration, not just due to COVID issues that arose with Miami and Philly, but also because of back spasms he was experiencing in mid-July. If he gets to go, and that is questionable at least with his first start against the Marlins, he has risk with some hope of reward, although his strikeout potential is below average.

Pearson had an excellent debut performance, holding the current World Champs to just a pair of hits over five scoreless innings. He struck out a batter per inning, as well. He is on the road for his two starts this week, but then again, it is not as though the Blue Jays are truly playing at home this season.

Singer has put together a pair of 5.0 IP outings, yielding two earned runs each trip to the hill. It was surprising he did not build on his seven strikeout effort against the Indians when he faced the free-swinging Tigers, but despite not top-notch matchups, his efforts have made him worthy of early consideration, especially in a two-start week.

Musgrove winds up the middle tier, and while he offers good strikeout potential (11.9 K/9 through his 11.1 IP this year) but has been having control issues that have hurt him, too (4.76 BB/9). He could easily slide down to the bottom tier, so keep an eye on this week’s results if you are brave or desperate enough to rely on Pirate ace.

These 14 SPs are the ones you should really take pause before plugging into your starting rotation, even with the allure of a pair of starts this coming week. It will be stressed here over and over again, but with a short season, you cannot jeopardize your ratio stats by starting high ERA and WHIP pitchers and hope to compete in roto leagues, or prevail in your head to head matchups. Just stay away from these arms.

Potential Streaming Options for Week 3

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:

Wednesday, August 5,2020

Garrett Richards SD vs LAD TBD

If Richards could ever stick around for a season, he would be a SP1. Fortunately, he is healthy now, and available in many leagues. The opponent is not ideal, but he is at home, so there is that.

Marco Gonzales SEA vs LAA Dylan Bundy

Gonzo gets to pitch at home, and while Bundy is no pushover, especially now that he is out of Baltimore, the Angels are not some scary behemoth of an opponent. Plus, he handled this same opponent on the road handily in his most recent start, racking up six Ks over 6.1 IP.

Sean Newcomb ATL vs TOR Hyun-Jin Ryu

He has been up and down this season, with a poor outing against the Mets as his latest effort. He now gets a chance to reverse the negative trend, at home against a certainly beatable opponent.

Spencer Turnbull DET @ StL Jack Flaherty

The Tiger second year righty has only faced the Reds to open 2020, but those efforts have been impressive. A 2.45 ERA and 1.00 WHIP is a useful set of ratio stats, and a 14:5 K/BB ratio is of utility as well. The Detroit team has been surprisingly effective to open the season, too.

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Adam Wainwright StL vs DET Michael Fulmer

This is a real reach. There is serious doubt with this writer that the 38-year old veteran has a full season of effectiveness left in the tank. He did look good in his first start, albeit against the Pirates at home, but this start is also in Saint Looey, so plus in the asset column there.

Tyler Chatwood CHC @ KC Mike Montgomery

Great opening effort by the 30-year old right hander, allowing just a single earned run on three hits and a pair of walks, in collecting his first win of the season. Good matchup in store, even with the Cubbies going on the road for this contest.

Kyle Freeland COL vs SF TBD

Great matchup for the Rockie southpaw with the Giants heading to Coors Field. He is hoping to turn around a disaster of 2019, and has taken the first step with a six-inning victorious effort in Texas against the Rangers. A 5:3 K/BB ratio on the early season shows he has some room to improve, and he does have a start on Sunday against the Padres at home to work on his game.

Friday, August 7, 2020

Chris Bassitt OAK vs HOU Zack Greinke

Bassitt secured a back-of-the-rotation spot when A.J. Puk went down, and the team was cautious with his pitch count in his first start. He will be ramping things up, presumably, and gets to face the Astros at home, which is favorable for him given his prior home/road splits.

Saturday, August 8, 2020

Tanner Roark TOR @ BOS Zack Godley

Roark kicked off his season on a winning note, tossing 5.0 three hit innings in defeating the host Nationals. He did not allow a single free pass during that outing, and whiffed five. He now heads to Boston to seek to continue his winning streak.

Sunday, August 9, 2020

Austin Voth WAS vs BAL Tommy Milone

Voth was the loser in our prior pitcher’s victory. He did yield two homers in that 5.0 IP effort, so it was not exactly like he was just unlucky. He gets the Orioles at home, and that is a superb matchup, and thus, he becomes a streaming option on a day with few of those available.

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.