Fantasy Baseball Week 8 Two-Start Pitchers & Streaming Starters: Spencer Strider Takes On The Dodgers And Phillies

After a couple of weeks where the pickings in the middle tier were decidedly slim, now comes Week 8 with a plethora of options for streaming selection and with dual start eligibility to boot. Taj Bradley joins this group for the nonce, although if things proceed well for the rookie this week, he will be joining the upper echelon of starting pitchers featured here in coming weeks. That bounty in the middle tier comes with a cost, and you will be struggling to locate aces to plug into your lineups from the top tier. It will be an interesting week to watch the action on the waiver wire in your fantasy baseball leagues. There are a whole lot of hurlers that you are suggested to avoid plucking for your week’s roster(s), the bottom group stocked with those pitchers answering in the negative the question of who should I start this week in fantasy baseball? As always don’t forget to check out the latest fantasy baseball waiver wire targets to bulk up your roster ahead of next week’s scoring period. With MLB injuries piling up, working the waiver wire is as critical as ever. And be sure you take advantage of all our tools such as the fantasy baseball rankings, fantasy baseball projections, and MLB lineups as they release each day. And with that, here are the fantasy baseball two-start pitchers and streaming options for the upcoming week.

Not a wealth of aces with dual start eligibility this go around. Thus, as the title to the tier table suggests, start them if they are on your roster, without regard to either opponent or venue. These seven arms provide the best options for two effective appearances on the hill this week, and you do not want to miss out on an opportunity to benefit from their efforts atop the mound.

The rookie Bradley was recalled from Triple-A due to the long-term injury to Drew Rasmussen, and may become a fixture in the Rays’ rotation. He offers superb K/BB ratios in his early MLB career: 6.75. The limited walks allow for a superior WHIP over four starts, as well, sitting at 0.93, and his ERA is not too shabby either: 3.50. He gets to work on his home game this week, taking on a pair of teams that are playing at or just over .500 away from their home parks.

Gore, unlike the Tampa rookie profiled above, has been extraordinarily generous in handing out free passes to opposing hitters, his BB/9 sitting at an unattractive 4.5 through 46.1 IP (nine starts). To his credit, he is missing a ton of bats, and his 11.3 K/9 rate attests to that skillset. His ERA is still a palatable 3.69. He is not allowing many dingers, and has a pair of good matchups, with the Padres visiting before heading to Kansas City for a late week game against the struggling Royals.

Another hurler that has trouble locating the plate, the 30-year-old rookie (for MLB purposes) righthander Senga is coming off a game where he racked up a dozen Ks. He has tossed a pair of quality starts (QS) in his last three outings, and has also notched four victories for the Mets. He has a couple of road contests on tap this week, and aside from a nice outing in Miami to open the season, he has struggled away from Citi Field this season, so temper expectations, especially with his second start of the scoring period due to take place at Coors Field.

Bradish has a two-game QS streak going heading into Week 8, and he will need to continue his recent success atop the hill when he takes on a pair of tough teams: 2.82 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 20:4 K/BB ratio over his last 22.1 IP. Heading to New York to face the Yankees and then facing the Rangers in Baltimore is not an ideal two-start schedule, to be certain, but the Orioles are playing well, too.

Lorenzen is our first below average K producer in the middle tier, but he does provide solid ratio stats for his owners: 3.44 ERA, 1.21 WHIP through 34.0 IP this season so far. He gets to face a pair of division rivals who are looking up at Detroit in the standings as this is being written, so the matchups are favorable. 

Berrios has been a stable SP recently, and those fantasy owners who were able to shake off the stink from 2022’s abysmal performance have been rewarded, especially of late. Over his last six outings, he has posted a respectable set of ratio stats: 3.32 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over 38.0 IP. He has also been striking out batters over the season at an 8.9 K/9 rate, while limiting the free passes (2.1 BB/9 through 52.2 IP). He is heading out for two games away from his home park, and given his home/road splits this season, that should be of some concern, as should the fact that both his opponents play well in their home ballparks.

Ober is working on a three game QS string of outings, and over his past four starts (he only has 5 on the season) he has struck out six hitters in each contest. He sports an exceptional 1.78 ERA and 0.96 WHIP over the course of the season to date. With those superb ratios, it should be little surprise he has been stingy with the round trippers, allowing just two this year so far. He has two home starts, and that is looking especially good against the first opponent, the Giants who are not playing well away from their home park.

Williamson was sharp in his debut start for the Reds, and that was at Coors Field which makes the two hit, one earned run (on a dinger) effort all the more impressive. He has a home then a road start on the schedule this coming week, and taking on the struggling Cards at home portends as a good streaming option at a minimum, although facing the Cubs is not a horrible matchup, either. The 25-year-old southpaw has already demonstrated road moxie by beating the Rockies in their pitcher adverse ballpark.

Smyly has been extremely effective while on the bump at Wrigley Field this season, and here he is with two home starts on his calendar in Week 8. He has been effective at missing bats generally (8.2 K/9 through 50.1 IP) and is also showing excellent control, as witnessed by his 1.8 BB/9 rate over his nine starts in 2023. 

Montgomery has two road starts in Week 8, and that plays into his strength so far this season, as he has profiled as more of a road warrior than someone enjoying home cooking. He is a decent source of Ks, and his underlying metrics indicate that his 4.21 ERA may be due to a bit of poor luck: 3.89 FIP, .321 BABIP. 

Perez, the 20-year-old rookie, has looked comfortable at the MLB level in his two trips to the hill, allowing just seven hits over his 9.2 IP, and racking up a 13:3 K/BB ratio over his brief stint with the Marlins. He does have to head to Coors Field to take on the Rockies, not a favorite place for most pitchers to ply their trade, and then he is scheduled to face off against the Angel’s Shohei Ohtani for his second start of the scoring period. Thus, his low placement in this tier.

Cease is working on a two-game QS streak, a nice change from his efforts in early May where he was tagged for 11 earned tallies over 10.0 IP, inflating his ERA dramatically, a state of affairs from which he is working to recover. He has a 9.7 K/9 rate on the season, but that has dropped by better than a K over his last several games, and his opponents in both his road starts in Week 8 are not exactly known for their free-swinging ways. Then again, neither are these horrible matchups, and thus the veteran White Sox righty makes the middle tier, barely.

It is suggested every week that you avoid plugging any of these bottom tier arms into your fantasy rotations, as the damage they may wreak on your stat lines is not worth the occasional good start that may result from using one of these SPs. If you are desperate for innings or counting stats, then you may perhaps consider using an arm that is facing one of the bottom dwelling teams, to wit: Oakland, Cincy, Colorado, or Washington.

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:

J.P. France, Houston Astros @ Milwaukee Brewers

The hope here is that the road will help the youngster rediscover the magic he demonstrated in his first two starts for the Astros, as opposed to his recent debacle against the visiting Cubs. 

Brayan Bello, Boston Red Sox @ Los Angeles Angels

He has collected three victories over his last three outings, but only once pitched deeply enough into the contest to garner a QS as well. Over the last four times he has climbed the hill, his ERA sits at an attractive 2.57. His WHIP is a less charming 1.38 due to his lack of control (3.9 BB/9 over those 21.0 IP).

Rich Hill, Pittsburgh Pirates vs Texas Rangers

The 43-year-old (!) veteran overwhelmed the Tigers in his last outing, one-hitting the Detroit offense over 6.0 IP while collecting his fourth win of the season. His home numbers do not look great, but the damage was most done in an early no-decision against the White Sox, and his results have been worthy of streaming use generally this season.  He is an effective pitcher, evidenced by an 8.2 K/9 rate.

Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals vs Detroit Tigers

Another long in the tooth veteran who is still tossing the baseball effectively overall, Greinke is certainly not going to provide a ton of whiffs (6.2 K/9 over 46.2 IP) but his excellent control aids him and keeps him in most contests long enough to be eligible for the win. Unfortunately, his team has rarely helped him achieve that end result. This game finds him at home, which plays to his strength this season again.

Alex Faedo, Detroit Tigers vs Chicago White Sox

The second-year SP tossed a QS in his second start this season, but still lost the game due in part to his team’s offense being shut out by the Mariners at Comerica Park. He gets to take on division-rival Chicago, also at home and will look to build on his seven K effort against Seattle.

Louie Varland, Minnesota Twins vs Toronto Blue Jays

The righty has posted three QS among his first four trips to the bump this season, and has racked up impressive K numbers over those 23.0 IP, with a 10.6 K/9 showing up on his stat sheet thus far into the season. He has a home start, and that is where he has been most effective in a small sample size in 2023.

Alex Wood, San Francisco Giants @ Milwaukee Brewers

Wood will be brought along gradually, as he recently came off the IL. Expect him to produce strikeouts at his usual rate of one per frame as he stretches out the arm. Using him for a road start is risky, to be honest, and if you want to sit him on your bench here, no one will disparage that decision given his home/road splits over the past few seasons. Still, he does have a nice 2.87 ERA heading into this contest.

Patrick Corbin, Washington Nationals @ Kansas City Royals

The veteran lefty has been solid over the past six times he has toed the rubber, yielding an acceptable 14 earned tallies over those 36.1 IP, resulting in a 3.67 ERA during that stretch. He is not a great K producer, but a 22:4 K/BB ratio does have some value, as his WHIP is an eye-catching 1.16 over his recent half dozen starts. This is a decent road matchup, given the opponent.

Dean Kremer, Baltimore Orioles vs Texas Rangers

The Baltimore righthander has five victories on the campaign, picking up three over his last three trips to the mound. He also has three QS over his last six starts, and he continues to work on reducing an inflated ERA, which currently sits at 4.94, a big improvement over the 15.00 figure he was tagged with after his first outing in 2023. 

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