Fantasy Baseball 2026 Two-Start Pitchers & Streaming Starters - 7/4

Heading into the first full week of July, there are another full set of Fantasy Baseball 2026 Two-Start Pitchers to consider populating your fantasy baseball rotations with in pursuit of summertime fantasy success. The middle tier has another good selection of arms to ponder plugging into your lineups, although on occasion not for both their scheduled appearances. As ever, a number of dual-start SPs that you should consider forgoing as part of your pitching staff unless you are willing to suffer ratio damage without great counting stat production.

For streaming purposes, there are a wealth of Fantasy Baseball 2026 Streaming Starters you might wish to investigate snatching off the waiver wire and adding to your pitching staff. It is a good thing to have options, especially in leagues that reward for efficiency on the mound.

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:

These 16 SPs are those you insert into your fantasy baseball rotations and let them work their magic. No worries about the opponent or where they will be working, these are the best options you will find for dual-start possibilities heading into Week 16. Wind them up, and let them go.

McClanahan has tossed a couple of quality starts (QS) over his two most recent trips to the mound, going six innings in each outing. He has now secured an attractive set of ratios, with a 3.05 ERA and 1.17 WHIP to his credit through 16 starts. He is striking out very nearly a batter per frame with 77 Ks over his 79.2 IP to date. Despite his two starts not being easy matchups, he has been much more effective at home and he has two games scheduled for him to climb the hill at Tropicana Fiend in Week 16.

Buehler is coming off a horrible start, one where he yielding nine earned runs over just 4.0 IP, but prior to that he had held the opposition to just a single earned tally in five consecutive trips to the bump. Given his success this season, the hope is that the debacable at Wrigley will be a one-off aberration and he can get back to limiting the opposition’s ability to cross the dish. He offers good strikeout production (8.3 K/9 over his 82.0 IP), and as with the SP profiled immediately above, he has two home starts on tap and that is where he has been most effective this season.

Prielipp is the third middle tier SP profiled this week that is scheduled to toe the rubber on his home mound for both his scheduled Week 16 starts, playing to his strength as well. His performance on the mound has been less than stellar of late, certainly less inspiring than those five starts he had from mid-April to mid-May. Despite the bloating of his ratio stats, he continues to offer excellent K production when he takes the ball.

Although his W-L record (0-3) does not reflect it, McGreevy has twirled five QS in his last six times on the mound. He Is pitching efficiently with excellent control (2.1 BB/9 over his 95.1 IP) although he is not demonstrating dominance while dealing from the hill, as evidenced by his well-below-average 5.7 K/9 rate. Another case where the dual-start SP is lined up for a pair of home contests, and once again, that plays to his strength with regard to his home/road splits on the year. 

Boyd has been limited to just 76 pitches over his two starts since being activated from the IL, and has been effective in the limited action, holding the opposition to just three earned runs over his recent 9.2 IP. Presumably the veteran southpaw is working up to going deeper in games, which will allow him to build up his strikeout numbers which makes him valuable as a fantasy asset. Unlike those SP profiled above in the middle tier, the left-hander is set to pitch on the road for both his upcoming starts, but his home/road splits to not scream that his is a major impediment for the 35-year-old hurler, plus the matchups are favorable.

Since tossing a trio of QS between May 27^th and June 8^th, Abbott has not pitched deep enough in his contests to acquire any more quality starts, but he has been effective at limiting opponents’ run production with a 3.10 ERA over his last four trips to the mound (20.1 IP). He has been amassing more Ks recently, but has also been demonstrating weak control, handing out too many free passes to be able to pitch deeper into games, running up his pitch counts unnecessarily.

Lorenzen has the good fortune to be on the hill away from his home park, Coors Field, for both his Week 16 scheduled outings. His last four trips to the bump have seen him produce attractive ratio numbers in the form of a useful 3.43 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. He has also accumulated an appealing 18:4 K/BB ratio over those 21.0 IP. The first contest against the Dodgers is not a necessarily pleasant matchup, but the second appearance against the Giants looks a bit more tempting.

Soriano, the 27-year-old righty, has been watching his ERA slowly climb as the season progresses, and it now sits at a still not unwieldly 3.42; the inflating of his WHIP is more troubling, as it now resides at 1.32 on the season. He has a pair of road contests on the schedule this coming scoring period, and he has definitely enjoyed better results when pitching away from his home diamond this year. He continues to miss plenty of bats while toiling on the hill, as evidenced by a superior 10.0 K/9 gathered over his 100.0 IP this season.

As is the usual situation on a weekly basis, a true boatload of arms you will want to consider leaving on the bench or better yet, on the waiver wire for your opponents to plug into their rotations. The risk to your ratio stats at the expense of limited counting stat production is too high for these hurlers at present. Some may reclaim previous valued fantasy status, but at present the risks are too high to take those chances.

Potential Streaming Options for Week 16

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 2026 Streaming Starters candidates:

Monday, July 6, 2026

Eric Lauer, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Colorado Rockies

The 31-year-old southpaw has tossed the equivalent of three QS over his last three trips to toe the rubber, but one of those six inning stints was a relief appearance, so not a true QS by rule. Still, excellent pitching by the left-hander with the exception of his below-average strikeout rate in the current season which does not aid his below-average control. This is a fine matchup with a home start against the struggling Rockies as a road opponent away from Coors Field.

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Andrew Alvarez, Washington Nationals vs. Houston Astros

The Nationals have scheduled the 27-year-old southpaw to start this contest, as opposed to stepping in after the opener leaves the game and he is used in a bulk reliever role. He has yet to allow more than three earned runs in any appearance, and features an attractive 3.05 ERA, although his WHIP (1.38) is somewhat bloated due to his propensity to allow hitters to collect hits at a rate of one per inning. Offsetting that is his excellent skill at missing bats, evidenced by a 10.5 K/9 over his 41.1 IP thus far this season.

Wednesday, July 8, 2026 

Christian Scott, New York Mets vs. Kansas City Royals

The second-year righty returned to action and racked up six Ks over his limited 4.1 IP start against the visiting Philadelphia squad. He has a stellar 10.6 K/9 rate over his 10 starts in 2026, and gets to face the Royals here, who struggle mightily this season when away from Kansas City. Of course, the Mets are not exactly playing like world beaters, but are better at Citi Field, to be sure. 

Slade Cecconi, Cleveland Guardians @ Minnesota Twins

The Guardian right-hander stumbled in his last outing, handing out five earned runs to the visiting Pale Hose offense, although he escaped with a no-decision result. Prior to that poor showing, he had tossed three QS among his previous five starts, and had accumulated some excellent ratio results: 1.88 ERA and 1.08 WHIP over those 28.2 IP, so he had been a dependable SP for a good period. He is a below-average K producer, relying on his control and the ability to generate groundballs to be effective on the bump.

Dean Kremer, Baltimore Orioles vs. Chicago Cubs

Colin Rea, Chicago Cubs @ Baltimore Orioles

Both SPs in the game scheduled to take place at Camden Yards midweek are worthy of a streaming consideration. Kremer has seen extremely limited action, having been sidelined by a quadricep injury, but his return to the ranks of healthy pitchers went well, allowing just a single earned run over 6.0 IP, earning him a victory, his first this season, as well as a QS, his second of 2026.

On the other side of the coin, the veteran righty Rea brings a less than desirable 4.74 ERA and even less appealing 1.43 WHIP into this contest, but recent results have been much more palatable: 1.76 ERA and 1.30 WHIP over his last three trips to the hill, consisting of 15.1 IP. Only delivering below average K results, and struggling with his control, however, and that makes him the less desirable but still potentially useful half of this pitching matchup.

Jose Cabrera, Arizona Diamondbacks @ San Diego Padres

The rookie followed a great outing to open his MLB career with a less than stellar experience against the host Rays, allowing four earned runs over 5.0 IP, allowing the Tampa Bay hitters to take the ball over the fence twice. He figures into the rotation plans for the Diamondbacks at present, and he did pitch well in his debut, and the opponent here has real trouble generating offense.

Thursday, July 9, 2026

Jake Bennett, Boston Red Sox @ Chicago White Sox

The rookie lefty is coming off his second consecutive QS, against the division-rival Yankees, which also resulting in him notching his second victory of his short MLB career. He brings a fantasy-useful set of ratios, 3.27 ERA and 1.06 WHIP, and while not overwhelming, a 25:7 K/BB rate. He is scheduled for a Friday night start in Anaheim, so you might want to mull over those results before locking in on the southpaw for this streaming start.

Sean Manaea, New York Mets vs. Kansas City Royals

The veteran southpaw has fared better this season when serving as a SP than he has out of the bullpen, so a game at home against the less than daunting Royal offense sets up as a worthwhile streaming opportunity to employ his services. The Kansas City team is playing well-below .500 baseball on the road and is certainly not a fearsome offensive juggernaut. Manaea offers good strikeout potential (9.1 K/9 through 63.0 IP) and his peripheral metrics indicate he should be putting up better stats than his line currently shows.

Kyle Leahy, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Milwaukee Brewers

Word out of St. Louis is that the club will begin to take steps to limit the 29-year-old righty’s innings following the All-Star break, but for now he seems to be on track to pitch as a normal starter for the Cards. He picked up his second win and QS against the visiting Yankees, holding the Bronx Bombers to just a single earned run (on a dinger) over his 6.1 IP where he tossed 87 pitches. He currently touts a 3.27 ERA and 1.06 WHIP as his ratios with a 25:7 K/BB ratio.

Friday, July 10, 2026

Brandon Sproat, Milwaukee Brewers @ Pittsburgh Pirates

The second-year right-hander has been impressive over his last two times toeing the rubber, going 11.2 IP and collecting a pair of wins, toting a 1.597 ERA and 0.62 WHIP during the course of those two contests. He has notched two QS over his last appearances as well, and continues to strikeout better than a batter per inning (9.6 K/9 over his 75.0 IP this season). He has also been more effective when on the road this year, so a trip to PNC is not a reason to avoid using him as a streamer, and perhaps he merits consideration as a more permanent addition to your fantasy pitching staff. 

Jack Flaherty, Detroit Tigers vs Philadelphia Phillies

The month of June has seen the veteran righty return to form, after struggling to open the campaign. His most recent outing saw him strikeout nine Houston hitters over the 5.0 IP he put in. If he can keep up his production that has arrived last month, he again becomes a valued SP: 2.50 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 11.5 K/9 through 18.0 IP. This is a tough matchup, but the 30-year-old is showing the ability to be trusted again.

Saturday, July 11, 2026

Javier Assad, Chicago Cubs @ Cincinnati Reds

If events go as planned, this will be the 28-year-old right-hander’s second start since being reinserted into the Cubs rotation. He still has the potential to be relegated to the bullpen, where he has proven valuable for the team, and his role will be something that is dependent on the return of the wounded arms that line the IR for Chicago. On the hill, he offers good control but limited K production: 2.3 BB/9, 5.4 K/9 through 51.2 combined IP as a starter and in relief. Although he has been at his best when toeing the rubber at Wrigley Field, this is a good matchup against the division’s cellar-dwelling team.

Ryan Johnson, Los Angeles Angels @ Minnesota Twins

The young right-hander may sport an unattractive 7.40 ERA and 1.52 WHIP on his short season efforts, but his last two outings paint a different picture: 11.0 IP, 0.82 ERA, 0.55 WHIP, 11:1 K/BB. The Twins are certainly not an overly scary opponent, even at their home park, where they are struggling to break even in their win-loss efforts.

Cal Quantrill, Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros

A new addition to the Texas rotation, the veteran right-hander is being stretched out which could result in him having the opportunity soon to notch a win and/or a QS. He offers attractive ratios in the form of a 3.31 ERA and 1.22 WHIP presently, and did notch five Ks over his 4.0 IP effort against the host Blue Jays, yielding just one free pass in that appearance. This is a favorable matchup for the 31-year-old to continue his efforts to prove he belongs in the Ranger rotation going forward.