September is here, which in the baseball world means expanded rosters, early auditions for 2018 and continual changes to starting rotations.
This list? It's more suggestion than fact. Considering how many teams have already opted to go the six-man route -- nearly half he league, by my count -- you have to believe others will follow suit. And if they change course after lineups lock, there's not much you can do about it.
So for the final month, you'll want to be extra careful slotting a two-start pitcher in your lineup because nobody can say with any real certainty exactly who'll be making two starts. It'll be fewer pitchers overall, though, so you may not need to pursue them as aggressively anyway.
Ask yourself this: If the pitcher in question ends up making only one start, can I live with the ramifications? If you can't, don't put yourself in that position. Go for quality rather than quantity.
This week, I see two pitchers owned in less than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues who are in line for two starts but who won't ruin me if they end up making only one: Jake Junis and Mark Leiter. Each has his best matchup early in the week, too, which works out nicely.
At Nos. 12 and 13, they form the line of demarcation between those I'd absolutely start in any format and those I'd leave strictly for points leagues, where I'm not as concerned about protecting ERA and WHIP. The definitive cutoff for that second group would probably be Kendall Graveman at No. 21, which isn't to say everyone before him is a must.
| Two-start pitchers for Week 23 | ||||||||
| Rank | Pitcher | Start 1 | Start 2 | |||||
| 1 | Stephen Strasburg, WAS | at MIA | vs. PHI | |||||
| 2 | Jake Arrieta, CHC | at PIT | vs. MIL | |||||
| 3 | Carlos Martinez, STL | at SD | vs. PIT | |||||
| 4 | Robbie Ray, ARI | at LAD | vs. SD | |||||
| 5 | Dallas Keuchel, HOU | at SEA | at OAK | |||||
| 6 | Jose Berrios, MIN | at TB | at KC | |||||
| 7 | Chase Anderson, MIL | at CIN | at CHC | |||||
| 8 | Rich Hill, LAD | vs. ARI | vs. COL | |||||
| 9 | Rick Porcello, BOS | vs. TOR | vs. TB | |||||
| 10 | Alex Cobb, TB | vs. MIN | at BOS | |||||
| 11 | J.A. Happ, TOR | at BOS | vs. DET | |||||
| 12 | Jake Junis, KC | at DET | vs. MIN | |||||
| 13 | Mark Leiter, PHI* | at NYM | at WAS | |||||
| 14 | Trevor Bauer, CLE | at CHW | vs. BAL | |||||
| 15 | R.A. Dickey, ATL | vs. TEX | vs. MIA | |||||
| 16 | Parker Bridwell, LAA | at OAK | at SEA | |||||
| 17 | Bartolo Colon, MIN | at TB | at KC | |||||
| 18 | Andrew Cashner, TEX | at ATL | vs. NYY | |||||
| 19 | Jason Vargas, KC | at DET | vs. MIN | |||||
| 20 | Michael Wacha, STL | at SD | vs. PIT | |||||
| 21 | Kendall Graveman, OAK | vs. LAA | vs. HOU | |||||
| 22 | Robert Stephenson, CIN* | vs. MIL | at NYM | |||||
| 23 | Erasmo Ramirez, SEA* | vs. HOU | vs. LAA | |||||
| 24 | James Shields, CHW | vs. CLE | vs. SF | |||||
| 25 | Rafael Montero, NYM* | vs. PHI | vs. CIN | |||||
| 26 | Adam Conley, MIA | vs. WAS | at ATL | |||||
| 27 | Ben Lively, PHI | at NYM | at WAS | |||||
| 28 | Chad Kuhl, PIT | vs. CHC | at STL | |||||
| 29 | Chris Smith, OAK* | vs. LAA | vs. HOU | |||||
| 30 | Luis Perdomo, SD* | vs. STL | at ARI | |||||
| 31 | Chad Bettis, COL | vs. SF | at LAD | |||||
| 32 | Homer Bailey, CIN | vs. MIL | at NYM | |||||
| 33 | Odrisamer Despaigne, MIA* | vs. WAS | at ATL | |||||
*RP-eligible
