Fantasy Baseball Week 16 Two-Start Pitchers/Streaming Starters: Spenser Watkins Could Be A Star Next Week

Time to get back into the swing of setting your fantasy baseball lineups on a daily or weekly basis. The MLB All-Star Game (ASG) is over and done with, and now rotations are being adjusted, which makes the process of locating useful two-start SP options a bit more challenging. MLB lineups are in flux, but the below tables are as up to date as possible as of publication date. It's time for teams to buckle down and make their big acquisitions ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline to make a push for the postseason.

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.

There exists a whole slew of top options to tinker with this week, and if your SP is located in the top tier, run with him, put him into your lineup and reap the benefits. As the unofficial second half of the MLB season begins, now is the time to take advantage of your aces when they are scheduled toe the rubber a couple of turns in the scoring period.

Spenser Watkins, the second year right-hander, has been a solid if unspectacular part of the Baltimore rotation this season. He is a sub-par K producer (5.3 K/9 through his 52.2 IP this season) but does boast a sub-4.00 ERA. He has been better away from Camden Yards this year, so the game in Cincy stands out as the better time to use him in Week 16 if you are skittish about using an Oriole SP despite the improvement to their pitching in 2022.

Tarik Skubal is a fine strikeout producer who also offers a sub-4.00 ERA for his fantasy owners. He is a better pitcher at home, unlike Watkins above, and thus his first start against the visiting Padres projects as his more favorable trip to the hill this coming week. 

Nick Lodolo offers superb counting stat production with a 13.0 K/9. The rookie southpaw has some development in store but looks to be a fixture in the Reds’ rotation for the balance of this season. There will be highs and lows as he adjusts to the major leagues, but the strikeouts are a major drawing point.

The third-year righty JT Brubaker has been solidly unspectacular but effective for fantasy purposes. This despite his lack of command and control while plying his trade atop the mound. He strikes out better than a batter per inning, and his first start of the week is on the road against a division rival team in the Cubs, which profiles as his better start of his two-time taking the ball to start the game.  

Chris Flexen has gone 4-0 over his last five outings, and has been extraordinarily effective in the month of July, yielding just two earned tallies over his three starts in the seventh month of the calendar. He has both a home and a road game in the coming week, and his road/home splits indicate that he is comfortable on most mounds, but the end of the week contest against the powerful Astro lineup is the less desirable time to use the veteran righty.

Mitch White’s time in the Dodger rotation may be coming to an end, potentially this week with the impending return of Andrew Heaney. Presuming he take to the bump for these two starts, the better option is the first at home against the Nationals, as a road game in Denver smacks of potential danger.

Sean Manaea has been mercurial in his time on the hill of late, which is exacerbated by his inability to find the strike zone consistently (3.4 BB/9). He does offer a K per inning strikeout production when pitching for the Padres. His two matchups this week are favorable.

Pitching for the Cubs is not the best situation for a SP, but Keegan Thompson has been providing his owners with good ratio stat production: 3.43 ERA through his 81.1 IP in relief and as a starter this season, with a useful 1.25 WHIP to accompany that number. He also offers above average K potential with an 8.3 K/9 ratio on the season. The opening game this week against the visiting Pirates is his better matchup. 

George Kirby slides back into the back end of the Seattle rotation, and he has acquitted himself well in that situation, posting a useful 3.78 ERA and 1.24 WHIP over his prior 64.1 IP this season. With excellent control (1.3 BB/9) and the ability to miss bats (8.7 K/9), coupled with his low percentage ownership, makes him a worthy addition to your fantasy rotation.

Noah Syndergaard wraps up the middle tier, and is coming off a four-walk effort to head into ASG break. Those free passes were a season high for the veteran righthander, and presumably with the break, he will get back on track with his control. He has a pair of attractive matchups on hand this week.

As the rotations get shuffled following the break that the ASG provides, we will discover that some teams are going to rely on some less than splendid options to climb the bump and take the ball. This bottom group of arms slated to have dual starts in Week 16 are those you primarily want to avoid employing in your fantasy rotations. These hurlers are more likely to hurt your ratio stats, even if they provide some small counting stat production. Seek pitching value elsewhere.

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 27, 2022

Braxton Garrett MIA @ CIN TBD

Garrett has fared well in his last two starts, both against the Pirates. He gets a good matchup here, taking on the last place Reds. He should have a good opponent to continue to collect Ks against, as the Cincy bats are known to swing and miss plenty.

Thursday, July 28, 2022

Justin Steele CHC @ SF Alex Wood

The Cub southpaw has been effective over his last four starts, picking up a pair of quality starts (QS) among that quartet of contests, and allowing just six earned runs over those 22.1 IP for a stellar 2.38 ERA. It would be preferrable to be facing the Giants at home, but such is not to be, and makes him a less attractive streaming option pitching on the West Coast.

Friday, July 29, 2022

Reid Detmers LAA vs TEX Martín Pérez

Unlike Steele above, the second-year pitcher gets to face the Rangers at home, where he has enjoyed much more success than on the road this season. He is working on a consecutive QS game streak, although his peripherals do hint that he may be due for a negative regression in the future, so stream with caution here.

Saturday, July 30, 2022

Mitch Keller PIT vs PHI TBD

The 26-year-old righty is also working to build on a two game QS streak when he takes on the visiting Phillies at the end of the scoring period. He struggles with his command of the strike zone, resulting in an inflated WHIP. He has been working on lowering his ERA again after it blew up above 5.00 again at the end of June and first start in July. He has an average K rate which should not be expected to grow against the Phillies, who are a middle of the pack team in terms of swinging and missing.

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
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