Fantasy Baseball 2026 Two-Start Pitchers & Streaming Starters - 5/16

Week 9 presents a boatload of aces to consider employing as your Fantasy Baseball 2026 Two-Start Pitchers this scoring period, but alas, not a bounty in the second tier, where we only offer a half dozen arms for additional two-start action. The bottom tier, as per usual, is chockful of SPs you would best avoid, even with the appeal of two trips to toe the rubber this coming week.

If you are seeking some arms to employ as Fantasy Baseball 2026 Two-Start Pitchers, you will find a number of pitchers to consider adding to your rosters for a single start…or perhaps your streaming pickup could wheedle his way onto your roster for more than just a single appearance In your rotation.

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:

This group of aces are those pitchers you want to plug into your rotations, and then reap the benefits from having them pitch for your team(s). There are concerns among these SPs, notably Foster Griffin, who was not stellar in 4.1 IP in the Queen City at The Great American Ballpark Thursday. Just a reminder that even the best of players can occasionally stumble in their efforts.

Ginn struck out an average of a hitter per inning in his recent victory over the host Phillies. He allowed just four hits, one a homer to Kyle Schwaber for the lone run scored during his eight frames pitched. It was a rewarding bounce back after allowing five earned tallies in his prior start. He has a pair of road contests on tap for Week 9, playing into his home/road strengths.

Nelson snagged a quality start (QS) against the Rangers in Arlington in his latest time atop the hill, giving him a pair of consecutive QS to bank on heading into Week 9. He has a couple of home contests on the schedule heading into the upcoming scoring period, and while he has had his issues in a couple of games at Chase Field this season, the matchups are against a pair of teams struggling no matter where they take the field. The 28-year-old righthander is a good source of Ks, and this should be especially so when the takes on the free-swinging Rockies’ offense to wind up the week.

Ritchie experienced his shortest start in his rookie campaign, lasting just 4.1 IP in his fourth time on the hill this season, and took a no-decision, his third in a row after claiming a victory in his first appearance in 2026. He is still handing out too many free passes to be fully trusted. These two starts are against a couple of sub-.500 teams and the youngster does pitch for the team that reached 30 victories before any other MLB squad this season.

Urena, another rookie righty, has not been so fortunate in the record department, going 1-3 in his five starts for the Angels (1-4 overall). He has collected some nice ratio stats in his starts, though, with a 3.51 ERA over his 25.2 IP when opening the proceedings on the mound, and a useful 1.21 WHIP over that stretch of action. He is also striking out nearly a batter per frame with an 8.6 K/9 rate on the season. Much like his fellow rookie hurler profiled immediately above, he needs to find the plate more often and more consistently, as evidenced by his 5.6 BB/9 rate over his 27.1 IP. He has been much more effective when on the mound at home, and lo and behold, here are a pair of home starts on the schedule for him in Week 9.

Cecconi has not been pitching deep into the games he starts, including his most recent time on the bump where his inefficient ways saw him pulled after 4.0 IP and 89 pitches. On the positive side, he has accumulated a stellar 1.93 ERA and 10:4 K/BB ratio over his most recent two appearances, and his upcoming matchups are against two struggling teams, albeit in their home parks. His peripheral metrics indicate that he may have encountered a bit of tough luck but not so much that his recent success tossing the sphere is not reproducible.

Quintana over his last four outings has produced an attractive 3.00 ERA and 1.14 WHIP through 21.0 IP. Two of those starts were at Coors Field, and two were on the road, so his home and away schedule in Week 9 in not a major concern. He will not provide great K numbers, and realize he does pitch for a team that struggles to notch any marks in the win column, and thus he is the last option this scoring period in the middle tier.

You are advised again to look elsewhere for pitching help than in this group of hurlers. These 15 SPs are not to be trusted given their recent (or season-long) production. Earlier in the week, there was one more member of this tier, however Chase Dollander had a shortened start due to arm tightness (now diagnosed as an elbow sprain), an injury which would have dropped him from the middle tier, although that is now a moot point. If you are seeking a streaming SP, look below for some better options.

Potential Streaming Options for Week 9

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, May 19, 2026

Ben Brown, Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers

The 26-year-old righthander is being stretched out, having been limited to just 4.0 IP in each of his two recent times toeing the rubber as a starter for the Cubs. He has been spectacular, not allowing a run during those eight frames. Not the greatest matchup, but at least he gets to pitch at home in this contest.

Griffin Jax, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Baltimore Orioles

In his two starts in the Tampa Bay rotation, he has allowed just two earned runs, but has also tossed just 9.0 IP. Over those contests, he has also been credited with only four strikeouts against five walks. His K rate during his time as a reliever was more impressive at 9.8 K/9 over those 12.0 IP. He has been more of a force at home this season, so this matchup plays to his strengths.

Anthony Kay, Chicago White Sox @ Seattle Mariners

The 31-year-old southpaw has twirled a pair of 5.0 IP efforts, allowing just two earned runs over those games, and collecting 10 Ks against three free passes. He has struggled when pitching on the road this year, so a trip to Seattle is not necessarily the best matchup possible, but his team is playing .500 baseball this season, making for a potential sleeper highpoint. Just be aware that he has struggled when away from the South Side. Then again, his more recent victory was against Seattle.

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Aaron Civale, Athletics @ Los Angeles Angels

The 30-year-old veteran righthander has been mostly impressive in his first season with the A’s, aside from an inflated WHIP (1.39), mostly due to his propensity to allow better than a hit per inning. Aside from a couple of appearance, he has been effective in limiting all the basepath traffic from touching home plate. This matchup features the first place team in the division against the last place team from Anaheim, worthy of a streaming start.

Janson Junk, Miami Marlins vs. Atlanta Braves

The six-year righty has been rather roller coasterish in his starts this season, limiting the opposition to just five earned runs in five of his starts, but in the other three, coughing up 11 earned tallies. He relies upon good control, as he is a below-average strikeout producer. He does not seem to be bothered pitching on the road, but this is a home contest, although the Braves also do not seem concerned with having to play games away from Truist Park.

Thursday, May 21, 2026

Cade Cavalli, Washington Nationals vs. New York Mets

The third-year right-hander has been highly effective in seven of his nine starts, allowing two or fewer earned runs in those contests. He came within a out of collecting his second QS against the host Marlins in his last start. He has only been touched for one round-tripper this year, and is striking out better than a batter per inning, making him an attractive option to pick up off the waiver wire, and not necessarily only for a single streaming start, either.

Dustin May, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

May has been tagged with a couple of losses in his last two times climbing the hill, which come amidst his three QS streak (he has five QS on the season). He also notched a season-high seven Ks in his most recent start, and continues to demonstrate excellent control overall. This matchup allows the two teams jostling for position in the middle of the division to take measure of each other.

Luis Severino, Athletics @ Los Angeles Angels

Veteran right-hander Severino took a tough loss in his latest outing, holding the host Orioles to just two earned runs over 5.1 IP, although he did lack control, yielding four walks to match his four Ks in that contest. Over his last four starts, he has posted a spectacular 1.88 ERA, allowing just five earned runs over those 24.0 IP. His efforts on the road have been significantly better than his home results, so a game against the division rival Angels in Anaheim hints at further success on the hill for the 32-year-old SP.

Friday, May 22, 2026

Connor Prielipp, Minnesota Twins @ Boston Red Sox

The rookie left-hander was a featured SP in this article last week, and has done nothing to merit his non-inclusion for another profile. He has gone 5.0 IP in each of his last three outings, and while the Twins are likely going to limit his usage given his limited innings pitched previously in his professional career, not to mention his two Tommy John surgical procedures (TJS), when he is taking the pill to open the proceedings, he will be a useful streaming option. He offers above-average K production and reasonable control: 9.9 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 through his 19.0 IP to date. 

Trevor McDonald, San Francisco Giants vs. Chicago White Sox

Still technically a rookie hurler given his limited MLB experience, the 25-year-old righty tossed a QS in his first time toeing the rubber this season, and then settled for a 5.1 IP no-decision against the host Dodgers in LA. He is striking out nearly a batter per inning, and demonstrating excellent control. A home game against the surprising White Sox is an acceptable matchup, especially if he continues to miss bats at a nice clip.

Kyle Leahy, St. Louis Cardinals @ Cincinnati Reds

Over his last three starts, the 28-year-old right-hander has posted a superior 2.30 ERA and struck out 17 opposing hitters during those 15.2 IP. His WHIP is inflated, sitting at 1.59 on the season, mainly due to his proclivity to allow bats to find his pitches, and truth be, told, his control could use some tweaking, as well. He has allowed six homers this season, and heading to Cincy might be an issue in that department, so be advised that he may be due for a negative adjustment.

Walker Buehler, San Diego Padres vs. Athletics

The veteran hurler’s best efforts on the hill this season have taken place at Petco Park, so a home contest is a positive mark on his ledger. His peripheral metrics: 3.63 FIP vs 5.20 ERA, 64.1% LOB, .309 BABIP indicate that he has perhaps been a bit unlucky while dealing from the mound this year. He has not handed out a free pass over his last two starts, although he was touched for a long ball in each outing, a potential worry against this opponent.

Saturday, May 23, 2026 

Colin Rea, Chicago Cubs vs. Houston Astros 

The veteran hurler has suffered through two rough outings in his past four times on the hill, although to be fair, those rough patches occurred against the Braves and Dodgers, who have been known to make things difficult for opposing pitchers. Removing those two outings from his stat profile, and he has delivered a superb 2.86 ERA over is other 34.2 IP. This contest sees him face off against the Astros, who currently possess the worst run differential in all of baseball, and who consistently struggle on the road this year.

Erick Fedde, Chicago White Sox @ San Francisco Giants

The veteran righty will not provide great strikeout numbers, but he is currently displaying a useful sub-4.00 ERA (3.77) and an even more charming 1.16 WHIP through his accumulated 43.0 IP thus far in 2026. This is an away contest, where he has had his share of struggles this season, but he is facing the team with the second worst run differential in the game thus far, and who are not exactly known as world beaters at their home park, either.