Fun week, this one. Some unusual circumstances to consider.
First of all, Kyle Hendricks is set to return from the DL Tuesday, making him immediately a two start option. Secondly, Taijuan Walker just became a dad. He was originally scheduled to start Thursday but was pushed back to Tuesday, given him a long layoff before a two start week. Both could fall victim to rust, but Hendricks is the higher-floor pitcher with his ground-ball tendencies and has the better first matchup against thee White Sox.
There are several two-start pitchers owned in less than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues who I'd advise using this week, the most notable being Luis Castillo, a rookie with a high-90s fastball who has held his own through six starts despite facing nothing but high-scoring playoff contenders. His matchups this week are his best so far, if you can believe it.
Who else? Well, Brad Peacock and Mike Clevinger would be no-brainers if we could trust them to keep their rotation spots all week (I'm pretty sure about the latter, but not so much the former). They still rank awfully high, as you can see, but don't really qualify as sleepers since they're technically above the 80 percent ownership threshold.
If you're digging deeper, Jhoulys Chacin and Seth Lugo look like respectable options. Chacin has been a monster at home, where he'll be making both of his starts, and Lugo ... well, he faces the Padres.
I'd be comfortable starting any of the top 17 in just about any format, and Nos. 18-25 are decent options for points leagues, where you don't have to safeguard ERA and WHIP.
| Two-start pitchers for Week 17 | ||||||||
| Rank | Pitcher | Start 1 | Start 2 | |||||
| 1 | Jacob deGrom, NYM | at SD | at SEA | |||||
| 2 | Zack Greinke, ARI | vs. ATL | at STL | |||||
| 3 | James Paxton, SEA | vs. BOS | vs. NYM | |||||
| 4 | Gerrit Cole, PIT | at SF | at SD | |||||
| 5 | Sonny Gray, OAK | at TOR | vs. MIN | |||||
| 6 | Justin Verlander, DET | vs. KC | vs. HOU | |||||
| 7 | Eduardo Rodriguez, BOS | at SEA | vs. KC | |||||
| 8 | Jacob Faria, TB | vs. BAL | at NYY | |||||
| 9 | Luis Castillo, CIN | at NYY | at MIA | |||||
| 10 | Brad Peacock, HOU* | at PHI | at DET | |||||
| 11 | Lance Lynn, STL | vs. COL | vs. ARI | |||||
| 12 | Mike Clevinger, CLE | vs. LAA | at CHW | |||||
| 13 | Dan Straily, MIA | at TEX | vs. CIN | |||||
| 14 | Kyle Hendricks, CHC | vs. CHW | at MIL | |||||
| 15 | Jordan Montgomery, NYY | vs. CIN | vs. TB | |||||
| 16 | Jhoulys Chacin, SD* | vs. NYM | vs. PIT | |||||
| 17 | Seth Lugo, NYM | at SD | at SEA | |||||
| 18 | Taijuan Walker, ARI | vs. ATL | at STL | |||||
| 19 | Vince Velasquez, PHI | vs. HOU | vs. ATL | |||||
| 20 | John Lackey, CHC | vs. CHW | at MIL | |||||
| 21 | Mike Leake, STL | vs. COL | vs. ARI | |||||
| 22 | Carlos Rodon, CHW | at CHC | vs. CLE | |||||
| 23 | Kevin Gausman, BAL | at TB | at TEX | |||||
| 24 | R.A. Dickey, ATL | at ARI | at PHI | |||||
| 25 | Hyun-Jin Ryu, LAD | vs. MIN | vs. SF | |||||
| 26 | Jason Hammel, KC | at DET | at BOS | |||||
| 27 | Francisco Liriano, TOR | vs. OAK | vs. LAA | |||||
| 28 | Blake Snell, TB | vs. BAL | at NYY | |||||
| 29 | Jesse Chavez, LAA* | at CLE | at TOR | |||||
| 30 | Josh Tomlin, CLE | vs. CIN | at CHW | |||||
| 31 | Chris Smith, OAK* | at TOR | vs. MIN | |||||
| 32 | Edwin Jackson, WAS | vs. MIL | vs. COL | |||||
| 33 | Martin Perez, TEX | vs. MIA | vs. BAL | |||||
| 34 | Antonio Senzatela, COL | at STL | at WAS | |||||
| 35 | Zach Davies, MIL | at WAS | vs. CHC | |||||
| 36 | Tim Adleman, CIN | at CLE | at MIA | |||||
| 37 | Matt Cain, SF | vs. PIT | at LAD | |||||
| 38 | Adam Conley, MIA | at TEX | vs. CIN | |||||
| 39 | Miguel Gonzalez, CHW | at CHC | vs. CLE | |||||
| 40 | Cesar Valdez, TOR* | vs. OAK | vs. LAA | |||||
| 41 | Bartolo Colon, MIN | at LAD | at OAK | |||||
| 42 | Clayton Richard, SD* | vs. NYM | vs. PIT | |||||
*RP-eligible
