Reviewing Every Two-Start Pitcher For Week 24 (9/11 – 9/17)

Every Friday I look at every projected two-start pitcher for the week ahead and detail my thoughts about rolling with them on your roster. There are four tiers: Definitely, Probably, Questionable, Bench. Definitely Start features starters that are no doubters for the week ahead followed by Probably Start with pitchers that look like good plays but may create a hesitation or two. Players labeled as Questionable are for deeper leagues or have one-of-two outings that should be skipped. Pitchers under Bench should be avoided despite their two starts in the week ahead.

Definitely Start

Carlos Carrasco (DET, KCR) 

Corey Kluber (DET, KCR) 

Jacob Degrom (@CHC, @ATL) 

Jose Quintana (NYM, STL) 

Justin Verlander (@LAA, SEA) 

Gerrit Cole (@MIL, @CIN) 

Zack Greinke (COL, @SFG) 

Sonny Gray (@TBR, BAL) 

• It’s a bit surprising to have any concerns with Jacob deGrom, but I’m still throwing him out there for both starts despite his recent turbulence.
• 2017 has had all kinds of bumps in the road for Gerrit Cole, though it wouldn’t be smart to overthink this a pair of outings in the week ahead. There’s always a chance they don’t get well but it’s not high enough to change the course.

 

Probably Start

Dylan Bundy (@TOR, @NYY) 

Gio Gonzalez (ATL, LAD) 

Reynaldo Lopez (@KCR, @DET) 

Sean Manaea (@BOS, @PHI) 

Taijuan Walker (COL, @SFG) 

• Even with Dylan Bundy’s last start not going his way, I’m all for rolling him there against the Yankees again if it means he gets the Jays first.
• Taijuan Walker gets the major benefit of facing the Rockies out of Coors…but Arizona still isn’t a favorable park to host them. Still, I think he’s worth the gamble even if he’s the bottom choice of the tier.
• Then there’s Sean Manaea who has earned enough trust lately to take full advantage of the Phillies. There are some concerns about the start in Boston, but it’s not enough to hold him back for the entire week.

Questionable

Brandon Woodruff (PIT, @MIA) 

Cole Hamels (SEA, @LAA) 

Dillon Peters (@PHI, MIL) 

Eduardo Rodriguez (OAK, @TBR) 

Garrett Richards (HOU, TEX) 

Jon Gray (@ARI, SDP) 

Joe Biagini (BAL, @MIN) 

Robert Stephenson (@STL, PIT) 

Kyle Gibson (SDP, TOR) 

Luiz Gohara? (@WSH, NYM)

Miguel Gonzalez (SEA, @LAA)

• This is one of the rare weeks where there may be a good amount of options to choose from one your wire. Dillon Peters is an intriguing one as it still hasn’t been 100% confirmed that he’ll be getting the start against the Phillies on Tuesday despite being his turn in the rotation.
• I’d normally push Garrett Richards into the second tier, but with his 50 pitch limit last time out, I’d expect 75-80 in the Houston start, limiting his upside and lowering his floor. Meanwhile, the Astros are a strong offense and it could be a tough outing to stomach.
• The worst options of the lot are Miguel Gonzalez and Joe Biagini. We simply don’t know what we’re going to get from them, with Gonzalez possible of eeking out mediocre starts against the Mariners and Angels and Biagini holding plenty of upside but an undeniably low floor.
• There’s a chance that Luiz Gohara has two starts this week, though the Braves may be in a six-man rotation + who knows what plan they have for Gohara. If he does get the nod, I’m not confident that he’ll be polished enough to take advantage of a slumping Nationals offense and the Mets, but there’s a chance it plays in your favor.

Bench

Adam Wainwright (CIN, @CHC) 

Andrew Moore (@TEX, @HOU) 

Ariel Miranda (@TEX, @HOU) 

Jaime Garcia (@TBR, BAL) 

Jason Hammel (CHW, @CLE) 

Kyle Freeland (@ARI, SDP) 

Marco Estrada (BAL, @MIN) 

Matthew Boyd (@CLE, CHW) 

Myles Jaye (@CLE, CHW) 

Nick Pivetta (MIA, OAK) 

Sam Gaviglio (CHW, @CLE) 

Ubaldo Jimenez (@TOR, @NYY) 

• Nothing too shocking here, though I can see people roll the die with Jason Hammel. I elected to push him into the bottom tier as his upside is 2-3 ER across 6 frames with mediocre strikeout production and WHIP. It’s not enough to ignore a date with Indians.
• Another option may be Kyle Freeland as he faces the Padres in Coors and Diamondbacks in Arizona. He doesn’t have enough potential for me to risk a major blowup here that kill your playoffs in a heartbeat.