Fantasy Baseball 2026 Two-Start Pitchers & Streaming Starters - 8/15

Another week arrives and so does a fresh batch of Fantasy Baseball 2026 Two-Start Pitchers to consider placing in your fantasy team’s or teams’ rotations this coming scoring period. Loads of top tier aces  or near aces to use if you are fortunate enough to have them on your roster(s) currently, as most of these arms will not be available short of trading for them. Once again, not a wealth of middle tier hurlers that offer varying degrees of value, for one or possible two starts in Week 21. 

The second portion of the report profiles those Fantasy Baseball 2026 Streaming Starters that are suitable to consider adding to your starting staffs for the coming week. If you are looking at any of the third-tier Fantasy Baseball 2026 Two-Start Pitchers for streaming starts, might you consider looking to these SPs to populate your rosters instead.

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 17 pitchers are those with dual-start eligibility that should be plugged into your lineups without hesitation. Could any of these SPs have a bad outing? Certainly, but their production will more likely help propel your team(s) toward league dominance, especially if you are fortunate to have more than one on your team. Wind them up, let them go, and reap the benefits.

McLean took a tough loss, although he did collect his 14^th quality start (QS) against the host Braves, who he held to just a single run through 6.0 IP on just one hit. He only picked up three Ks in Atlanta, but is generally a steady strikeout producer, as witness by his season-long 10.5 K/9 rate. He does not have an easy week coming up, although getting the Padres away from their home park at Citi Field is a positive element for the second-year right-hander. The matchup in Chicago against the division-leading Pale Hose is much more a game where discretion might suggest not relying on the Met hurler as one of your dual-start SPs in Week 21.

Griffin has not looked good over his most recent two trips to the hill, parceling out a pair of dingers in each of those outings, his last with the Nationals against the host Braves and then in his debut with Cleveland at his new home against the Mets. He has been a solid SP option this season prior to this blip on the radar, and possesses a useful 3.31 ERA and 1.11 WHIP over his season-long 133.1 IP. He offers average K production and good control: 8.2 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9. Two good matchups, although the end of the scoring period contest does take place at Coors Field. 

Young, the 27-year-old righty, threw his 10^th QS of the season against the host Minnesota Twins, going 6.0 IP at Target Field. He is scheduled to face the Rays twice in the coming scoring period, once on the road to open Week 21, then back home at Oriole Park to wind up the week. Currently, he is also scheduled to face off against Nick Martinez, who happens to be one of the top tier dual-start SPs. 

Buehler carries an unsightly set of ratios heading into his Week 21 matchups against a team that is playing well below .500 overall (Mets) and a team that struggles when away from Target Field (the Twins): 4.88 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. Over his last five outings, however, he has accumulated a much more fantasy-useful 3.20 ERA although the WHIP is still an ugly 1.38 over those 25.1 IP. His control is an issue, with a 3.7 BB/9 rate on the year dragging along behind his efforts on the hill.

Bratt, a 23-year-old southpaw, entered the Diamondback rotation due to injuries to other Arizona rotation members, and it looks as though he will be sticking in that role until September arrives. He currently sports a 3.74 ERA although his WHIP is elevated at 1.40 due to his shaky control: 5.1 BB/9 over his 33.2 IP in 2026 (19 walks handed out over his seven starts). His last two starts have been of the QS variety, which gives him upside despite having his week open at Fenway Park, and his road efforts, admittedly based on a small sample size, have been less than optimal. A home start against the visiting Reds projects as the start to employ his services in Week 21.

Quantrill has been tapped to join the Ranger rotation due to Nathan Eovaldi’s elbow troubles sending that SP to the IL. He had been starting or bulk relieving for Texas prior to his most recent one inning relief appearance against the visiting Orioles. In the prior seven appearances, he posted a 3.51 ERA and 1.14 WHIP, helping the Ranger management team tag him to be the latest starting rotation member in Arlington. He is a below-average K producer who does demonstrate good control: 5.9 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 over his limited 65.2 IP this season. The Nationals are not a terrible matchup although they do play better away from Nationals Park, but the Angels are certainly a good matchup as a road team.

To keep your ratios in order, these hurlers should be left on your bench or on the waiver wire. Even if you see a positive matchup, their endeavors on the mound generally have negative potential for your team’s fantasy efforts to snare that league championship. Rather than take a risk on these arms harming your team’s stat lines and not contributing greatly to your accumulation of counting stats, look below to the streaming options profiled for your edification.

Potential Streaming Options for Week 21

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:

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Max Scherzer, Toronto Blue Jays @ Tampa Bay Rays

The veteran’s stat line is nothing to crow about, with a 6.79 ERA and  1.46 WHIP after taking a loss against the Red Sox on Thursday, a loss where he only allowed one earned run on three hits over 5.0 IP. This contest plays to his strength, in terms of his home/road splits plus it is in a pitcher-friendly park in St. Petersburg at Tropicana Field.

Thursday, August 20, 2026

Anthony Kay, Chicago White Sox vs. Atlanta Braves

Grant Holmes, Atlanta Braves @ Chicago White Sox

Both SPs in this contest offer positives to induce fantasy managers to plug them into their lineups. The veteran Pale Hose southpaw hurler is working on a two-game consecutive QS streak, and gets the boost of pitching at home in this contest, where he has realized greater success while toeing the rubber this year. He is a slightly below-average K producer with a 7.3 K/9 rate over his 116.0 IP in 2026. 

On the other side of the field, the Braves’ 30-year-old right-hander is also carrying a two consecutive QS streak into this game, with the added appeal that both those efforts were shut outs while he was toiling on the hill. He is also just a so-so strikeout manufacturer while on the hill, with a 7.4 K/9 over 114.0 IP in 2026 so far. He is also pitching as more of a road warrior this season, so the trip to the Windy City is not anywhere a negative circumstance.

Grayson Rodriguez, Los Angeles Angels @ Houston Astros

The young righty has enjoyed some recent success on the hill, posting a 3.94 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over his last three starts, covering 16.0 IP. He has been racking up a significant number of punchouts during that stretch, with 20 opposing hitters going down swinging during that time. His opponent in this game, despite currently leading their division, are only barely over .500, both at home and overall.

Andrew Alvarez, Washington Nationals @ Texas Rangers

The second-year southpaw has put together a string of three outings where he has held the opponents to two or less earned tallies, and posting a superb 2.25 ERA over those 16.0 IP. The WHIP of 1.06 is also useful for fantasy purposes, offsetting the well below average K rate of 5.6 and unattractive 3.9 BB/9 rate. To be fair, his season strikeout rate is settling in at a more useful 8.4 K/9 but the walk rate shows his need to harness his control and command while on the hill (4.2 BB/9 over 69.1 IP). He is another hurler in this section that could accurately be called a road warrior, too.

Friday, August 21, 2026

Jacob Lopez, Athletics @ Houston Astros

The fourth-year southpaw benefits when he does not toe the rubber in his hitter-friendly home park, and here he is on the road for a start in Houston. Over his last five appearances, he has accumulated a stellar set of ratios: 2.36 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, accompanied by a 32:10 K/BB ratio.

Connor Prielipp, Minnesota Twins @ San Diego Padres

Randy Vasquez, San Diego Padres vs. Minnesota Twins

Another game where both starting pitchers have some potential as streaming starters. The Twins’ rookie SP has been sharp in his last three outings, striking out better than a hitter per frame (17 Ks over 16.0 IP) and has acceptable ratio numbers, with a 3.94 ERA and 1.13 WHIP over those contests. The major concern is that he has struggled on the road, although his game is being played in a pitcher-friendly park when he takes the ball in Petco Park.

The Padre SP in this game has won his last two starts, allowing just two earned runs over those 11.0 IP. Of greater concern than his ability to collect victories and keep runners from scoring is the two Ks he racked up during the course of his time on the hill during his immediate recent past. Another worry is whether one or more of the Padre SPs currently on the IL will return to action and push the 27-year-old out of the starting rotation, so keep an eye on the probable starter lists before trusting him in this contest.

Robert Gasser, Milwaukee Brewers vs. Atlanta Braves

The 27-year-old southpaw stumbled a bit in his most recent appearance, given the hook an out shy of five full innings, and allowing three runs, the most he has allowed in his last four outings, where he has amassed a useful 3.06 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. Pitching at home has been where he has excelled during the course of this season. He is racking up Ks at a decent rate (8.2 K/9 over 67.0 IP), although this opponent is not exactly composed of free-swingers.

Hunter Dobbins, St. Louis Cardinals @ Philadelphia Phillies

The 26-year-old righty has yet to allow more than three earned runs in any of his nine appearances on the mound this season, and currently carries a 3.40 ERA into his 7^th start on the season (10^th appearance). He has not shown any particular favoritism to pitching at home as opposed to tossing the ball on the road, so a trip to Philly is not necessarily a reason to dodge using him in this streaming situation.

Blade Tidwell, San Francisco Giants @ Boston Red Sox

The rookie right-hander has only made two starts for the Giants, but those have been effective, with his ERA in those contests rounding out at 2.53 and his WHIP a superior 1.12, plus a 9:2 K/BB ratio over those 10.2 IP. Limited sample size so far, but his peripheral metrics do not indicate any reason to believe he cannot continue to produce as a member of the San Francisco rotation, which he appears likely to be through the balance of 2026.

Saturday, August 22, 2026

Andrew Painter, Philadelphia Phillies vs. St. Louis Cardinals

In his three appearances since being recall from the minors, he has put up a stellar 0.98 WHIP and a corresponding useful 2.93 ERA through those 15.1 IP. His most recent time on the hill was in St. Louis where he held the Cardinal hitters to just two earned runs on a pair of hits, and he also struck out six opposing batters. He now gets to face that same squad, but at home.

Cody Bradford, Texas Rangers vs. Los Angeles Angels

The 28-year-old southpaw has been on the shelf for all of 2025 and only recently returned to the Texas rotation. He is going to seek a return to his more productive strikeout producing ways as he settles in, although his control has been impressive thus far over his two starts this season. He does get to face the less-than-intimidating Angel lineup at home here.

Patrick Sandoval, Boston Red Sox vs. San Francisco Giants

Sandoval’s six starts since returning to action after going under the knife in mid-2024 for a surgical procedure on his throwing elbow have delivered a useful 3.30 ERA but also a bloated 1.70 WHIP due to questionable control (3.9 BB/0 through 30.0 IP) and handing out better than a hit per inning (38 hits to date). This is a potentially great matchup, given that the Giants are struggling severely when not playing ball in their home park.

Drew Anderson, Detroit Tigers @ Kansas City Royals

The veteran right-hander is still being stretched out, having been used out of the bullpen most of the season until the recent trades of Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize by the Tigers opened up rotation slots in 

Detroit. He was initially signed with an eye that he would be a SP for the Tigers when 2026 opened, and that is now apparently the plan as the season progresses. He does offer strikeout potential and the Royals are currently wallowing in last place in the division both teams inhabit.