Fantasy Baseball Week 10 Two-Start Pitchers & Streaming Starters: Kevin Gausman On The Bump Twice

This week again offers a nice group of fantasy baseball two-start starting pitchers to help you set your fantasy rotations, but you will need to likely have drafted most of those in the top tier to be able to employ their services as they are not probable as options on your league’s fantasy baseball waiver wire. The middle tier, however, contains a number of hurlers that your league competition may have overlooked and are available for you to add, even if it is inspired mainly due to their two-start status. Also, consider that some of the bottom tier pitchers could have some streaming value. Speaking of streaming, there are a number of arms to consider for the mid-week action in the second half of this article, and by design, those are pitchers give you have at least a 50% chance to find available for pickup purposes. As always, to improve your fantasy baseball lineups be sure to check out the latest Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire column from Adam Ronis for the top free agents to add to your lineup(s) and don’t miss Colby Conway’s MLB Streaks & Trends article as he highlights some of the fantasy baseball risers and fallers from the past week. Here’s are this week’s fantasy baseball two-start pitchers and fantasy baseball streamers for Week 10!

These pitchers are the arms that deserve placement in your rotation when they are scheduled to start, never mind who the opponent may be or the location where they climb the hill. Only the last denizen of the top tier has the ownership that might allow you to snag him off the wire or as a free agent, and he does admittedly have a pair of tough matchups in Week 10. There is a dual Hunter sighting in the upper group this week, and you should see a bunch of strikeouts if you possess either (preferably both) as part of your fantasy starting rotation.

Garrett has gone four starts without a decision, although he has allowed just four earned runs over that stretch of 21.2 IP. He has posted a 26:6 K/BB ratio over those starts and is working to reduce his once bloated ERA down into a more respectable range, as it currently sits at 4.22. He has two favorable matchups on tap in Week 10 against the bottom dwellers of the AL Central, the Royals and White Sox. 

Steele, the third-year southpaw, has been dealing this season, putting up excellent ratio stats: 2.65 ERA and 1.06 WHIP through his 12 starts on the year. He is just an average strikeout producer, but has good control and is extraordinarily effective at keeping the ball in the yard (0.3 HR/9 over 68.0 IP). Beware, as he left his mid-week start with a forearm strain, and could hit the IL, thus missing his two-start opportunity. Keep an eye on his status if you plug him into your rotation.

Varland, the rookie righthander for the Twins, has collected five quality starts (QS) over his seven trips to toe the rubber in 2023. His two road starts are not a great concern, given his home/road splits, but the opponents are not the most favorable. Excellent control and nearly a K per frame makes him a fantasy asset despite the less than preferred matchups in his dual start week.

Gibson has a tasty 7-3 record on the season, and has won his last three outings. He is not the arm to rely upon if you need Ks with his below average 5.9 K/9 rate, and he needs to get his control under control (2.9 BB/9). The veteran hurler knows how to pitch, though, as evidenced by his two QS immediately preceding his recent victory over the visiting Guardians where he came up one out short of making it three consecutive quality starts. His second start in Week 10 against the Royals portends as his best matchup.

Paxton has been racking up the Ks at a tremendous rate since coming off the IL this month, collecting 27 Ks over his 19.0 IP. His first start against the Guardians’ tepid offense promises to be the best of his two starts, as heading to New York to face the Yankees is not enticing, even with his current stretch of effective pitching. 

Bielak has been mostly effective while atop the hill this season, holding opponents to a single earned run in three of his last four starts. He has been guilty of being too free with the walks, resulting in his WHIP sitting at an inflated 1.45 through his 31.0 IP in 2023. As with Paxton above, his contest against the Guardians profiles as his best matchup; being backed by the Astro offense and defense, though, does have advantages for pitchers.

Greinke has been exceptional through the month of May, tossing 31.1 IP while allowing just eight earned runs, and accumulating a 2.30 ERA and 0.83 WHIP over that span. He is also striking out a respectable number of opposing hitters, racking up a 7.2 K/9 rate in May, and walking less than a batter per frame. Two road contests on tap will test him, to be sure, but does the term crafty veteran come to mind when looking at his recent success?

Teheran has been dealing in his two starts this season, currently possessing a pair of admirable ratio stats: 0.82 for both his ERA and WHIP. He has a small sample size to his credit but also has a pair of good matchups lined up this coming scoring period. 

There are certain arms in this tier that may be enticing for a streaming start, although none are worthy of trusting for both their starts in Week 10. Oviedo facing Oakland at home, Perez taking the hill at home against the visiting Cards, or Peralta at home vs the A’s are all worthy of back of the rotation use. The rest of the pitchers here are best avoided, if you value your ratios.

Potential Streaming Options for Week 10

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:

Clarke Schmidt, New York Yankees vs Chicago White Sox

Schmidt’s main appeal is the superior strikeout rate he has produced (10.5 K/9 through 55.2 IP-65 Ks) as his ratios reside in the decidedly unattractive realm: 5.01 ERA, 1.51 WHIP. He has limited opponents to just three earned tallies over his past 3 starts, comprising 15.2 IP, and he has a good home matchup in this contest.

Jaime Barria, Los Angeles Angels vs Chicago Cubs

The 26-year-old righthander has acquitted himself well as a starter, albeit over limited innings. He boasts a stellar 1.59 ERA and 1.00 WHIP over his 34.0 IP in 2023. He is also striking out a batter per inning, and gets a home start against a team that is well below .500 away from Wrigley this year.

Reese Olson, Detroit Tigers @ Philadelphia Phillies

Olson started his MLB career by going five innings without allowing a hit, but ultimately lost his first start in Chicago against the Pale Hose. His performance was impressive until he yielded a pair of singles in the sixth frame, but he continued to show dominance on the bump by racking up six Ks over his 5.0 IP, that trend continuing his minor league skillset. 

Dean Kremer, Baltimore Orioles @ Milwaukee Brewers

The Baltimore righty has six wins on the season, two away from his career mark set last season. He has also upped his K rate this season, currently sitting at an acceptable 7.5 K/9 over 65.0 IP. He has fared better away from Camden Yards this year, so heading to Milwaukee is no reason to avoid employing him in your rotation.

Garrett Whitlock, Boston Red Sox @ Cleveland Guardians, Aaron Civale

Both sides of this matchup are attractive, although neither of these pitchers are going to rack up significant whiffs for their owners, both with below average K rates on the year. Both pitchers have shown the ability to shut down the opposition while also displaying an unimpressive effort on occasion. Neither has large sample sizes against MLB hitting in 2023, so the jury is still out but the potential for useful pitching production on both sides of the field exist here.

Michael Lorenzen, Detroit Tigers vs Arizona Diamondbacks

The 31-year-old righty has had the occasional stumble this season, but has now tossed five QS over his last six times toeing the rubber for the Tigers. He offers a 3.50 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over his eight starts, which helps offset to an extent his pedestrian K potential (6.8 K/9). He gets a tough test when the Diamondbacks slither into Comerica Park for a late week game.

Kyle Bradish, Baltimore Orioles vs Kansas City Royals

Another pitcher collecting QS of late, the Oriole 26-year-old righ-thander has tossed three such efforts over his last four appearances. He has held opposing offenses to just a single run or none in those quality starts, and here gets a home game against a weak opponent. 

Ben Lively, Cincinnati Reds @ St. Louis Cardinals

The Cincy right-hander has come within an out in two of his last three outings of achieving a QS, sandwiching a pair of 5.2 IP efforts around his QS against the Cards. He currently boasts an impressive set of ratio stats: 1.99 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, admittedly over a limited sample size of five appearances (three starts) amounting to 22.2 IP. He heads to St. Louis to learn if he can mystify the Cardinal hitters on the road at Busch Stadium.

Griffin Canning, Los Angeles Angels vs Seattle Mariners

Speaking of quality starts, the Angels' fourth-year righty has collected a pair over his last two outings. That does not negate his propensity to allow dingers to opposing batters, though, and that is a concern if you plug him in for this start, with his 1.5 HR/9 rate over the season. He also hands out more than a fair share of free passes, but will provide decent K results to offset those negatives (8.3 K/9 over 42.1 IP). 

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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