Fantasy Baseball 2026 Two-Start Pitchers & Streaming Starters - 4/18

The last full week of April action offers up 14 Fantasy Baseball 2026 Two-Start Pitchers that have the potential to serve up a pair of stat-filled appearances in the upcoming scoring period. The middle-tier is also populated with a fair selection of dual-start arms to plug into your fantasy baseball rotations during the course of Week 5’s action. As is always seemingly the case, there are several two-start pitchers it is suggested you avoid despite the allure of their dual-appearance status.

The streaming options profiled in the second half of this week’s report would be better resources for fantasy ratio and counting statistics than any dwelling in the bottom group of two-start hurlers if you need arms to fill your rotations or provide innings this coming week of fantasy baseball action.

Please realize that these articles feature the most recent rotation information available at the time they are written, but circumstances can 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:

If you were wise enough to draft these SPs before the season began in earnest, or were fortunate enough to snap them up off the wire in your league, then take full advantage of your good fortune and insert them into your active rosters for both their times atop the hill in Week 5. Wind them up and let them go, and reap the benefits that your fantasy-savvy skills have delivered.

Griffin saw his streak of allowing two or fewer earned runs to the opponent in his start come to an end when the Pirates tagged him for four tallies at PNC Park. He also recorded a season high seven Ks in that contest and now has a 19:7 K/BB ratio over his 20.2 IP. He has a less-than-ideal first matchup to open Week 5 when the Braves come to visit, but the second outing against the White Sox is much more promising given their early season struggles.

Wrobleski is riding a two-game win streak, having gone 8.0 IP against the visiting Mets, allowing just two hits and zero walks in that game. He is carrying some attractive ratios into Week 5: 2.12 ERA and 0.76 WHIP over his 17.0 IP on the year. He heads back to the hill in Coors Field for his first upcoming start, not always the best venue for a pitcher, but then he has a home contest to face the Cubbies. Not the greatest set of outings on the schedule, but he does pitch for a superior team, too.

Mlodzinski was used in long relief for his most recent time atop the bump, and picked up the victory, holding the visiting Nats to just two hits and allowing no runners to cross the dish. He offers a superior 1.77 ERA on the season, but has an inflated WHIP (1.33) due to giving up nearly a hit per frame (19 hits over 20.1 IP). For the nonce, he is part of the Pirate rotation, and worthy of starting in his both his scheduled times to take the ball this week, even with both starts on the road.

Rea has been demonstrating superior control during his time toeing the rubber this year, allowing just three free passes over his four appearances (only one start) comprising 17.1 IP. His strikeout numbers are not terrible, either, with him whiffing 15 opposing batters thus far in 2026. Rea’s home/road splits over recent history indicate he is comfortable in most venues, and his second start in LA is against arguably the worst-performing SP on their staff in early action this season.

Montero, the 25-year-old righthander, has been showing great control and command, as evidenced by his 1.1 BB/9, albeit over just 16.1 IP. He has also been striking out hitters at a nice rate (8.3 K/9) and his peripheral metrics indicate that his early success is not a fluke but potentially something to build on as the season progresses: 1.69 FIP/1.20 xERA vs 3.31 ERA, .173 xwOBA. 

Flaherty, another Detroit SP, came within one additional out of collecting two consecutive quality starts (QS) but did get that result in a no-decision effort against the visiting Royals. He has resurrected his ERA which now sits at 4.05 through his 20.0 IP. The WHIP is inflated due to his inability to avoid handing out free passes, an issue he has handled in prior seasons much more efficiently than his 2026 efforts to date. He does have two away games on tap, both contests in hitter-friendly parks, but his recent results on the hill give hope that he can continue to miss bats and limit the number of times opponents cross the plate during his time in the game.

Meyer offers above-average strikeout production (9.2 K/9) to go with decent but not great ratio stats: 4.12 ERA, 1.32 WHIP over his 19.2 IP. His upcoming times on the mound look promising, as he gets the Cardinals at home, then faces the Giants at Oracle Park, a pitcher-friendly venue. He has not allowed more than three runs, earned or otherwise, in any of his four starts.

McGreevy started this season extremely strong, and while he has not been a disaster on the mound of late, he has been missing fewer bats lately, collecting just three Ks over his last 11.0 IP. His peripheral metrics do allude to potential negative regression in the future, although his current set of ratios are enticing if he can maintain them: 2.49 ERA, 0.83 WHIP.

The 24-year-old righthander Lowder has twirled a pair of QS as part of his last three outings, both of which games he was credited as the winning pitcher. Unlike the Cardinal hurler profiled immediately above, Lowder has peripherals that suggest his success on the mound is not a fluke (3.33 FIP vs 3.52 ERA, 65% LOB, although to be fair, the .254 BABIP is slightly concerning). 

Sugano turned in his second consecutive QS against the host Padres, a no-decision. He has yielded a homer in each of his appearances this season, two to the Padres in that recent QS outing. He is not much of a strikeout producer (6.48 K/9 over 16.2 IP) but does demonstrate efficient control (1.62 BB/9). The 36-year-old righty has a pair of games in hitter-friendly venues on the schedule, yet he has been effective, as evidenced by his ratios to this point in the season: 2.16 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 12:3 K/BB.

Despite their place in their team’s rotations that result in them taking the ball for a couple of trips to climb the hill in the coming week, those circumstances are not necessarily beneficial for any fantasy manager who takes a chance on these hurlers this scoring period. Although one or another of these pitchers could potentially deliver a useful streaming presence, the risk is simply too great that any counting stats delivered will be offset by the damage they provide to your ratios. Look for streaming options below in the next section for more fruitful pitching value.

Potential Streaming Options for Week 5

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 Fantasy Baseball 2025 Streaming Starters candidates:

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Steven Matz, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Cincinnati Reds

The veteran southpaw has collected three consecutive victories to open the season, steadily pushing down his ERA to its current palatable 3.94, accompanied by a superior 0.94 WHIP. He is racking up slightly better than a strikeout per inning, and has only allowed five walks over his 16.0 IP in his first three times toeing the rubber. 

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Eduardo Rodriguez, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Chicago White Sox

Anthony Kay, Chicago White Sox @ Arizona Diamondbacks

A game with a pair of SPs that are worth considering plugging into your fantasy baseball rotations this Wednesday. The lefty who hails from Venezuela is not producing anything near league-average K numbers (5.5 K/9 through 23.0 IP), but the Diamondback hurler is delivering excellent ratio numbers with a 1.96 ERA and 1.22 WHIP accumulated over his four starts thus far in 2026. Be advised that his peripheral metrics do hint that some negative regression may be in his future: .239 BABIP, 87.3% LOB, 4.24 FIP. This is certainly a good matchup considering the opponent, though, and a good time to use a pitcher who has found his groove to open the season.

In the other dugout, the Pale Hose offer up a hurler who is able to produce a closer to average K rate, while also possessing some useful ratio numbers for fantasy purposes: 2.45 ERA, 1.16 WHIP over his 14.2 IP in 2026. As it is with Rodriguez, his peripherals are shaky with an unsustainable .171 BABIP and 92.6% LOB, together with a scary 5.47 FIP. His results have been impressive early in the season, and perhaps he has some more mound magic to dispense in the desert.

Clay Holmes, New York Mets vs. Minnesota Twins

The Met righty is another streaming option who has amassed some attractive ratios over his first four starts: 1.96 ERA, 1.09 WHIP over his 23.0 IP to date. He only handed out a one walk in his most recent stint atop the hill, but he needs to corral his pitches better and show better control to complement his ability to keep the ball in the park and induce ground balls from opposing hitters.

Nick Martinez, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Cincinnati Reds

Speaking of superior ratios compiled to open the season, the 35-year-old righthander has put up a 2.16 ERA and 0.96 WHIP while tossing 16.2 IP through his three starts for the Rays. He is another SP that is delivering sub-average K results while working from the hill, but if you believe in grudge match inspiration, he does get to face off against the team he toiled for the past two season in this contest

Landen Roupp, San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

The third-year righthander has twirled a pair of QS among his three times on the bump this year, and has been racking up the Ks at better than one per frame, with a useful 18:5 K/BB rate over his initial 16.2 IP in 2026. Of course, this is about the worst matchup imaginable, given the dominance the reigning World Series champs have been demonstrating to open the season, but at least it is home start for the Giants’ SP.

Aaron Civale, Athletics @ Seattle Mariners

The 30-year-old righthander has yielded a scant three earned runs over his three starts, holding the Mets scoreless in his most recent time toeing the rubber on four hits and no free passes. He brings a superb set of ratios on the road against a division rival: 1.72 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. He gets to pitch on the road in a more pitcher-friendly venue than his current home park, and the opponent is in the bottom half of the majors in terms of offense production to open the season.

Zack Littell, Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves

Despite doling out three dingers to the Brewers in his last outing, he actually pitched well in a no-decision. He has tossed five innings in each of his appearances, and has yet to pitch in excess of 75 pitches in a start. He has a home start here, although he does face a team that has been pounding the ball early this season, and given his propensity to allow the ball to disappear over the fence, he will have to be careful when facing the team that is currently fourth in the majors in homers.

Thursday, April 23, 2026

Davis Martin, Chicago White Sox @ Arizona Diamondbacks

Recommending a pitcher on the team with the fewest wins in the American League is not easy, but he has dealt out a couple of QS, going 7.0 IP in his most recent start against the host Royals. Unfortunately, he was tagged with the loss in that contest, but he has also been credited with a third of the White Sox total victory accrual in 2026. He has shown good control over his three starts, and is striking out hitters at a slightly below average strikeout rate (2.0 BB/9, 7.5 K/9 over 18.0 IP).

Kyle Harrison, Milwaukee Brewers @ Detroit Tigers

The 24-year-old southpaw is coming off a wrist and knee injury, normally not the reason to stream a pitcher. He is not heading to the IL however, only having his scheduled start pushed back a few days. He has been effective on the bump, posting a 15:4 K/BB ratio over his 14.2 IP this season, and also possessing a 3.07 ERA and 1.09 WHIP through three starts.

Friday, April 24, 2026

Dean Kremer, Baltimore Orioles vs. Boston Red Sox

The veteran righty took a no-decision in his first 2026 outing, where he struck out nine visiting Diamondback batters. He gets to face the division-rival Boston squad at home in Baltimore, where he has been more comfortable and effective over recent times. He will seek to build on his early success against a Red Sox team that has shown itself to be prone to free-swinging tendencies to start the year.

Eric Fedde, Chicago White Sox vs. Washington Nationals

The veteran righty has opened the season with a 0-3 record, but that is mostly a function of the team he pitches for, as he allowed three or fewer earned runs in each of his times atop the hill. He has struck out four batters in each of his appearances, which, while not great K production, he has also shown great command by allowing just one walk in each of his starts. As matchups go, this profiles as a good home start, although the Nationals have been much more dangerous when playing away from Nationals Park.

Saturday, April 25, 2026

Reid Detmers, Los Angeles Angels @ Kansas City Royals

The young southpaw again collected nine Ks in a start, the second time he has achieved that level of bat-missing this season, both in road games which bodes well for this matchup potentially. He also has two QS among his four starts this year, and has demonstrated good control to go with his strikeout skills. His team is also showing strong offensive skills early this season.