Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers/Streaming Starters: Mitch White Is Twice As Nice

July has come upon us, and it is high time to adjust your fantasy baseball rotation(s) to employ the top tier starting pitchers in your pursuit of a fantasy baseball championship. Of course, keep an eye on the weather in the host MLB cities this coming scoring period, as this can have an effect on a pitcher’s dual start eligibility, as well as shifting the streaming matchups potentially. Plenty of options in the middle tier this week to aid with setting your fantasy baseball rotations, but if you drafted well, or employed your fantasy league’s waiver wire/free agent marketplace efficiently, you may have one or more starting pitchers from the upper tier to use for two starts this coming scoring period. Loads of bottom group arms, as ever, that you are suggested to avoid. Remember to keep a close eye on the MLB injury report, so as to be able to bob and weave accordingly. 

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 ado, here are this week’s two start pitchers…

Plug these top tier arms into your rotations, and let them pitch. The results will likely prove satisfactory for the most part, although one must be prepared for the occasional misstep by the best arms in the business. Overall, having these aces on your fantasy staff will yield great results, and therefore, congratulate yourself for your foresight in snagging these starting pitchers at the draft or off the wire.

White has been added to the Dodger rotation while Andrew Heaney is sidelined, and has pitched well enough to stick around, with a 3.93 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 33:11 K/BB through his 34.1 IP in relief and as a SP. He has two home games this week against a couple of teams that do not fare well away from their home parks.

Irvin has handed out eight earned runs over his last two starts, but both those trips to the hill were on the road. He has been much more effective in Oakland in 2022, and now has a two-start week where both his starts are on familiar turf. He has yet to allow a dinger at home, so the stars seem aligned for a return to better results for the 28-year-old southpaw.

Taillon continues to produce victories for both the Yankees and his fantasy owners, with a superb 9-1 record on the year after his recent conquest of the visiting A’s. He produces Ks at an average rate (7.4 K/9 over 84.0 IP), and demonstrates excellent control as evidenced by his stellar 1.2 BB/9 ratio in 15 starts. Two road starts should not adversely affect this 2022 road warrior, either.

Garcia has a pair of excellent matchups this week, and is working on a three-game win streak heading into Week 13. He possesses a useful 3.54 ERA and 1.06 WHIP on the season, and offers his owners better than a K per inning (9.4 K/9 through 76.1 IP). 

Cueto has twirled six quality starts (QS) out of his eight starts this season, and currently possesses a 3.33 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. Beware that his sabermetric peripherals hint that he has had some fortunate luck in producing those ratios, and despite those stellar numbers, his record sits at 2-4. He has two home starts on the schedule, but has not fared at well on home ground as when traveling away from Chi town. He does get to face the Tigers at the end of the scoring period, so there is that potential bright spot.

Hendricks has produced pair of QS over his past two outings, holding the opposing offenses to just two earned tallies (both in the most recent game), while striking out 13 batters and allowing just two free passes. He does face a couple of tougher matchups, both away from Wrigley Field this week, so despite the recent success, he is ranked lower in this tier due to the schedule.

Kremer has not allowed a run over his past three times atop the bump, earner or otherwise, and his ERA has dropped into eye-opening range: 1.29. He is still allowing baserunners, but his WHIP is also excellent, sitting at 1.14 through his five starts this season. The main knock on his performance is the sub-par 6.1 K/9 rate, although his walk rate is an acceptable 2.3 BB/9 and he has been stingy with the round trippers (0.3 HR/9). Both of his Week 13 times atop the mound are at home.

Bumgarner still features a sub-4 ERA on the season (3.63) but there are concerns in that he is occasionally prone to allowing dingers and does not possess the ability to miss a ton of bats, resulting in a below average 6.5 K/9 rate through 79.1 IP. He has a pair of home starts on tap, and he has been better pitching in the desert than on the road this season.

Greinke is working on a two QS streak, holding the opposing offenses he has faced to a single run in each contest. He is pitching for a last place team, so that limits his chances to record victories (look at his 2-4 record for proof) but he has pitched well at home, so the end of the scoring period matchup against the visiting Guardians looks promising. Just do not expect much in the way of Ks, given his sub-par 4.5 K/9 rate on the year.

As is ever the case, it is suggested that these arms be avoided at this juncture of the season, should you value your ratio stats. You also will likely not receive much help in the counting stat arena, either, despite the two-start status these hurlers are imbued with in Week 13. Even with decent matchups, such as facing Detroit or Washington, the use of any of these SPs is dicey for your fantasy success.

Potential Streaming Options for Week 

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, July 6, 2022

JT Brubaker PIT vs NYY Luis Severino

The Pirate righthander has been effective at home of late, racking up a pair of wins in his last three appearances, both at PNC Park. So, although he takes on the intimidating Yankee offense here, he has recent history on his side. He has also posted a 17:3 K/BB ratio over his last trio of trips of the bump, while also notching two quality starts.

David Peterson NYM @ CIN Mike Minor

Facing the Reds is a superb matchup for Peterson, who sports an attractive 3.10 ERA on the season, with a useful 1.24 WHIP through 52.1 IP (as of his June 26^th QS in Miami). His control needs some refining, but he does strike out nearly a batter per frame.

Thursday, July 7, 2022

Josh Winckowski BOS vs NYY Gerrit Cole

The 24-year-old rookie is acquitting himself quite handily in his short time as part of the Boston rotation. He has put up a superb 2.12 ERA over his last three outings, all victories, and has been demonstrating good control (1.6 BB/9 over those last 17.0 IP). He is not a K producer by any stretch, with just a 5.9 K/9 ratio during his short MLB service time, but the minor league numbers hint that he can improve on that area as he gets acclimated to pitching in the big leagues.

Friday, July 8, 2022

José Quintana PIT @ MIL Chi Chi González

The veteran lefty has pitched well for the Pirates, racking up a useful 3.43 ERA over his 76.0 IP to date, with an average 7.9 K/9 rate amassed during his 15 times toeing the rubber for Pittsburgh. His peripherals indicate that his success is no fluke, and while he is a better option at PNC Park, he is not struggling this season when taking the ball on the road, as opposed to the prior couple of campaigns. 

Tyler Wells BAL vs LAA Michael Lorenzen

Wells has held opposing offenses to just two earned tallies over his past three outings, plus he has accumulated an eye-opening 5-0 record over his last six starts. He has a superb set of ratio stats, as well, with a 3.23 ERA and 1.03 WHIP to his credit in 2022. He has excelled when climbing atop the hill at Camden Yards this year, so taking on the Angels at home bodes well for his continued success.

Saturday, July 9, 2022

Devin Smeltzer MIN @ TEX Jon Gray

The Minnesota southpaw is another SP with superb ratio stats on the season: 2.86 ERA and 1.01 WHIP through his 50.1 IP this season to date. He has tossed five QS in his last seven outings, and is coming off a season high nine K effort against the Cleveland bats. 

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.

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Related MLB Links:

• Previous Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Targets
• 2022 MLB Fantasy Baseball Prospect Report
• 2022 MLB Injury Report
• Fantasy Baseball Daily Round Ups
• Fantasy Baseball Closer Reports