More: Week 18 sleeper hitters | Breakout hitters & Pitchers | Waiver adds
Ranking two-start pitchers for the upcoming week means predicting two-start pitchers for the upcoming week, and in that regard, I tend to err on the side of caution. After all, I wouldn't want you activating a pitcher solely for the two starts if I'm not supremely confident he's in line to make two starts.
There's a little more clarity at the end of the first weekend of the second half than there was at the beginning. We know now Zach Eflin will be returning from the DL to make two starts while Ervin Santana and Marco Estrada are probably coming back later in the week. There's still enough uncertainty, though, that these rankings are less than complete.
But if you want sleepers, these rankings aren't lacking in those. My favorites are Joe Musgrove and Zack Wheeler, who each have one exceptionally good matchup. I was also surprised to see just how available Kevin Gausman is. The top 12 here are must-start regardless of format, and I'd be willing to go as deep as 24, Andrew Suarez, in standard points leagues.
Two-start pitchers for Week 18 | ||||||||
Rank | Pitcher | Start 1 | Start 2 | |||||
1 | Corey Kluber, CLE | vs. PIT | at DET | |||||
2 | Luis Severino, NYY | at TB | vs. KC | |||||
3 | Jacob deGrom, NYM | vs. SD | at PIT | |||||
4 | Patrick Corbin, ARI | at CHC | at SD | |||||
5 | Blake Snell, TB | vs. NYY | at BAL | |||||
6 | Jose Berrios, MIN | at TOR | at BOS | |||||
7 | Ross Stripling, LAD* | at PHI | at ATL | |||||
8 | Rick Porcello, BOS | at BAL | vs. MIN | |||||
9 | Kenta Maeda, LAD | at PHI | at ATL | |||||
10 | Masahiro Tanaka, NYY | at TB | vs. KC | |||||
11 | Sean Newcomb, ATL | at MIA | vs. LAD | |||||
12 | Zach Eflin, PHI | vs. LAD | at CIN | |||||
13 | Joe Musgrove, PIT* | at CLE | vs. NYM | |||||
14 | Tyler Anderson, COL | vs. HOU | vs. OAK | |||||
15 | Zack Wheeler, NYM | vs. SD | at PIT | |||||
16 | Kyle Hendricks, CHC | vs. ARI | at STL | |||||
17 | Carlos Rodon, CHW | at LAA | vs. TOR | |||||
18 | Gio Gonzalez, WAS | at MIL | at MIA | |||||
19 | Kevin Gausman, BAL | vs. BOS | vs. TB | |||||
20 | Cole Hamels, TEX | vs. OAK | at HOU | |||||
21 | Julio Teheran, ATL | at MIA | vs. LAD | |||||
22 | Junior Guerra, MIL | vs. WAS | at SF | |||||
23 | Jhoulys Chacin, MIL | vs. WAS | at SF | |||||
24 | Andrew Suarez, SF | at SEA | vs. MIL | |||||
25 | Eric Lauer, SD | at NYM | vs. ARI | |||||
26 | Luis Castillo, CIN | vs. STL | vs. PHI | |||||
27 | Drew Pomeranz, BOS | at BAL | vs. MIN | |||||
28 | Felix Pena, LAA* | vs. CHW | vs. SEA | |||||
29 | Jaime Barria, LAA | vs. CHW | vs. SEA | |||||
30 | Jose Urena, MIA | vs. ATL | vs. WAS | |||||
31 | Mike Minor, TEX* | vs. OAK | at HOU | |||||
32 | Jeremy Hellickson, WAS | at MIL | at MIA | |||||
33 | Clay Buchholz, ARI | at CHC | at SD | |||||
34 | Trevor Williams, PIT | at CLE | vs. NYM | |||||
35 | Francisco Liriano, DET* | at KC | vs. CLE | |||||
36 | Lucas Giolito, CHW | at LAA | vs. TOR | |||||
37 | Yefry Ramirez, BAL* | vs. BOS | vs. TB | |||||
38 | Homer Bailey, CIN | vs. STL | vs. PHI | |||||
39 | Brett Anderson, OAK | at TEX | at COL | |||||
40 | Burch Smith, KC* | vs. DET | at NYY | |||||
41 | Heath Fillmyer, KC | vs. DET | at NYY |
*RP-eligible