Fantasy Baseball: Two-start Pitcher Rankings for Week 10
With few obvious must-plays, Chris Towers looks at some of the riskier two-start options who may pay off in Week 10.
By
Chris Towers
•
3 min read
This is a pretty good week for two-start pitchers -- at least, if you believe in some recent trends. If you're skeptical about the recent work of the likes of Matt Shoemaker, Adam Conley, or Michael Fulmer, then you won't find much value here.
However, I'm buying all three to a certain extent, and view them all as worthy starters in most leagues this week. Starting with Conley (64 percent owned), who hasn't exactly been consistent this season, but continues to show flashes of absolutely brilliance, most more recently in limiting the Pirates to just two hits in six shutout innings.
He struck out nine batters, one start after striking out just three in 4 1/3 innings, which kind of highlights the issue with him; Conley has yet to record consecutive quality starts this season. This is obviously less of a concern with two starts on the way, and you have to like Conley's chances against a Twins lineup that was bad even before they lost Miguel Sano.
Shoemaker (54 percent owned) is another pitcher who I think might be no-brainer to start in Week 10. Yes, his track record is mostly awful, but Shoemaker has been a fundamentally different pitcher over his last four starts, relying on his splitter more than ever, with truly tremendous results. 31 strikeouts and no walks over his last three starts make Shoemaker someone you have to get into your lineup with two starts, even if you aren't totally sold yet.
Fulmer (72 percent owned) is a bit less widely available than the other two, and he is probablyt the tougher one to trust at this point. His track record of success is roughly as long as Shoemakers (three starts), but his three starts haven't been quite as impressive: 22 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings, with four walks. Only one run allowed, and Fulmer was enough of a prospect coming up that it isn't crazy to think he might be figuring something out. Toronto is a tough matchup, but if he can get through that, the Yankees haven't been particularly difficult for opposing pitchers.
If you are looking for other options to stream, consider Danny Duffy (20 percent owned and seeing a spike in his velocity since joining the rotation) or Sean Manaea (34 percent owned and coming off the best start of his young career).
Of course, the biggest wild card might just be Yankees starter Michael Pineda (61 percent owned), who finally lived up to the hype Thursday, striking out eight eight in 5 2/3 innings against the Tigers. He gets the Tigers again this week, after opening the week with the Angels. Pineda's peripherals scream "ace," but Fantasy owners who have used him in the past have been known to shout some rather less pleasant words.
You've got options this week if you want to stream. Especially because there are really only a handful of true no-doubt two-start options this week -- maybe as few as nine. With most of your pitchers likely slated for one start, it might be time to throw caution to the wind.
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| Rank | Pitcher | Start 1 | Start 2 |
| 1 | Jon Lester CHC | @ PHI | @ ATL |
| 2 | Jacob deGrom NYM | @ PIT | @ MIL |
| 3 | Joe Ross WAS | @ CHW | vs. PHI |
| 4 | Steven Matz NYM | @ PIT | @ MIL |
| 5 | Carlos Carrasco CLE | @ SEA | @ LAA |
| 6 | Cole Hamels TEX | vs. HOU | @ SEA |
| 7 | Masahiro Tanaka NYY | vs. LAA | vs. DET |
| 8 | Dallas Keuchel HOU | @ TEX | @ TB |
| 9 | Aaron Sanchez TOR | @ DET | vs. BAL |
| 10 | Chris Archer TB | @ ARI | vs. HOU |
| 11 | Matt Shoemaker LAA | @ NYY | vs. CLE |
| 12 | J.A. Happ TOR | @ DET | vs. BAL |
| 13 | Rick Porcello BOS | @ SF | @ MIN |
| 14 | Adam Conley MIA | @ MIN | @ ARI |
| 15 | Mike Fiers HOU | @ TEX | @ TB |
| 16 | Michael Fulmer DET | vs. TOR | @ NYY |
| 17 | Michael Pineda NYY | vs. LAA | vs. DET |
| 18 | Trevor Bauer CLE | @ SEA | @ LAA |
| 19 | Tyler Chatwood COL | @ LAD | vs. SD |
| 20 | Colby Lewis TEX | vs. HOU | @ SEA |
| 21 | Mike Bolsinger LAD | vs. COL | @ SF |
| 22 | Danny Duffy KC | @ BAL | @ CHW |
| 23 | Mike Leake STL | @ CIN | @ PIT |
| 24 | Robbie Ray ARI | vs. TB | vs. MIA |
| 25 | Jonathon Niese PIT | vs. NYM | vs. STL |
| 26 | Juan Nicasio PIT | vs. NYM | vs. STL |
| 27 | Sean Manaea OAK | @ MIL | @ CIN |
| 28 | Hector Santiago LAA | @ NYY | vs. CLE |
| 29 | Mat Latos CHW | vs. WAS | vs. KC |
| 30 | Zach Davies MIL | vs. OAK | vs. NYM |
| 31 | Williams Perez ATL | @ SD | vs. CHC |
| 32 | James Paxton SEA | vs. CLE | vs. TEX |
| 33 | Christian Friedrich SD | vs. ATL | @ COL |
| 34 | Eddie Butler COL | @ LAD | vs. SD |
| 35 | Pat Dean MIN | vs. MIA | vs. BOS |
| 36 | Ubaldo Jimenez BAL | vs. KC | @ TOR |
| 37 | Adam Morgan PHI | vs. CHC | @ WAS |
| 38 | John Lamb CIN | vs. STL | vs. OAK |
| 39 | Wade Miley SEA | vs. CLE | vs. TEX |
| 40 | Mike Wright BAL | vs. KC | @ TOR |
