Two-Start Pitchers/Streaming Starters: Burnes It Down

Plenty of arms to avoid with the dual start designation this week. Only a handful or a bit more in the upper tier, but each of those aces are worthy of sticking in your rotation for both their times toeing the rubber this week. Plus, a general wealth of middle tier options, some of which are not exactly good bets for both their appearances, as discussed below.

Please realize that these articles feature most recent rotation information available when the article is written, but that circumstances do change due to weather conditions, injuries and general craziness with managers. If a pitcher listed here as having two starts ends up with one (or perhaps none) in the upcoming week, apologies but this article is meant to provide analysis, it is up to the manager to set the lineups or rotations.

Without further ado, here are this week’s two-start pitchers:

You can count these aces on both hands and have your thumbs left over to twiddle, or in other words, not a lot of top tier arms to wind up and let go this week. There is a possibility, albeit slim, that the final denizen of the upper group is available in your leagues, and Quantrill would be a fine addition to your rotation even in weeks where he does not climb the hill twice.

Alcantara had a recent serious blow up, allowing 10 earned tallies to the Rockies in Denver, but otherwise has pitched well of late. He is coming off seven innings of shutout ball against the host Padres. He opens this scoring period with a home contest against the Braves, but then heads to Cincy for a road start and you might want to consider him more of a one start and sit option this week.

Skubal was being drafted in March based on his K potential, and there was some hand wringing early in the season when he struggled, but those who exercised patience now have been rewarded. He is striking out better than a batter per inning (9.8 K/9 through his 116.1 IP over the season to date) and he has brought more control to his efforts over the past several trips to the hill. As with Alcantara above, his first game is likely the best time to plug him into your rotation, before he hits the road to face the Blue Jays.

Gibson has pitched well for his new team since arriving, although the nine walks over 17.0 IP is a concern, as witnessed by his inflated 1.41 WHIP since landing in Philly. Having two road games this week is not ideal, of course, although as with the first two in this tier, his first game has the most potential for fantasy goodness.

Gutierrez is on a consecutive four game win streak, and has gone 5-0 over his last seven appearances on the hill. He also has accumulated a useful 3.05 ERA and 1.26 WHIP during that stretch of games. His K rate is pedestrian at best, sitting at 6.6 K/9 on the season, and his control could use some improvement, too (3.7 BB/9 through 79.2 IP. He has a pair of home games to work on getting his home/road splits more palatable this coming week.

Kelly was roughed up by the Giants in their home park during his last appearance, but had been dealing with the best of them prior to that for nine trips to toe the rubber. In the period beginning June 21 through the first week of August, he posted a superb set of ratio stats, with a 2.44 ERA and 0.97 WHIP over 59.0 IP, while exhibiting excellent control (1.2 BB/9). The K rate was not even average, however, mired at below 7 strikeouts per nine innings (6.6 to be more precise). An end of the week trip to pitch at Coors Field continues a theme of using this arm for his first start with the most confidence, and being prepared to sit him at the end o the scoring period.

Toussaint has a scant five starts this season, covering just 27.1 IP, but four of those outing recommend him as a useful SP going forward. He produces strikeouts at slightly better than a one per inning rate (9.2 K/9). Beware, as his advanced metrics hint at a potential for negative regression, and despite pitching on the road for both his week’s starts, he has the best matchups of the baker’s dozen populating this middle tier.

Price, the 35-year-old veteran, keeps chugging along, providing good stats for his owners while not of much value in leagues that reward heavily for victories, as he is winless since July 4th. In the seven appearances since that victory, he has provided a 3.62 ERA and 1.10 WHIP, although he has not pitched past the sixth inning at all this season. Two home starts, the first against the woeful Pirates, are in his favor if you need his stat production.

Hernandez has allowed just two earned runs over his last three outings, while contributing a 13:4 K/BB ratio over those 17.2 IP. He has a tougher matchup in his home start when he faces the Astros, and his road numbers could be bolstered when he faces the more favorable matchup against the Cubs at the end of the scoring period.

Jax seems to be an all or nothing/very little strikeout producer, having whiffed 10 in his last outing, and 22 Ks in his three best appearances. He has nine Ks in the other five appearances lasting longer than one inning pitched. The best hope for some decent K numbers is in his second start at New York against the host Yankees, as the Indians whom he faces at home to open the week are in the bottom third of K producers.

Miley, despite allowing five earned tallies to the host Braves in his most recent time on the mound, still sports an attractive 3.00 ERA and useful 1.24 WHIP on the season. He has a pair of home games this coming week, where he has been more effective this year. He is a below average K option, though, despite facing the number 2 and number 4 teams on the strikeout list to date.

Ober will likely be on a limited pitch count for the balance of the season, which limits his value, in terms of producing counting stats and wins or quality starts. He does have a fine 9.7 K/9 rate this season, so when he is on the bump, he is producing for his owners. Neither matchup is great, either, so coupled with the lack of time in the game to produce, he is a lower-level option although still of some utility for fantasy owners.

The top two residents of the bottom tier would be considered for middle group status save for their backing offense, but it is difficult to want to employ a SP whose team has a league-leading run differential in the negative direction. All the arms in this tier it is suggested you avoid plopping into your lineups, despite the allure of dual starts. The damage to your ratios and lack of counting stats is too detrimental to take the risk.

Potential Streaming Options for Week 

There is no promise that each game day will provide a streaming option. First of all, the pitcher must be available in at least 50% of leagues to be a viable candidate to snag off the wire. Then, the pitchers discussed above are not included as they have a different sort of value, even though some might be available as free agents in your league. Plus, some days the matchups and/or venues just do not figure as positive enough factors to favor plugging the arm into your rotation, even for one start. That all being said, here are this week’s best streaming candidates:

Tuesday, August 17. 2021

Tanner Houck BOS @ NYY Andrew Heaney

Houck was again demoted to the minors, but is expected to be recalled for this start. He did last through the fifth inning in his last stint on the hill, matching his season’s best, but gave up three earned runs, too, and took the loss. He showcases a stellar 2.93 ERA and 1.14 WHIP this season for the Red Sox and a 44:7 K/BB ratio through just 30.2 IP.

Thursday, August 19. 2021

Brett Anderson MIL @ StL Jack Flaherty

Since the beginning of July, in five appearances, Anderson has put up a stellar 1.40 ERA and 0.82 WHIP. You get those excellent ratio stats with a subpar K rate of 4.6 K/9. In his previous start against the Cards in St. Louis, he did limit the opponent to a single earned run through 5.0 IP, albeit in April. 

Dane Dunning TEX vs SEA Chris Flexen

Dunning looked sharp through four innings in his return from injury, although he was pulled from the contest against the A’s after allowing two earned runs. He gets to face the Mariners at home, where he has been much more successful this season, and does offer nearly a K per inning (8.8 K/9 through 99.2 IP).

Tyler Alexander DET vs LAA Patrick Sandoval

Alexander has settled into the Tiger rotation with the injuries to José Ureña, Matt Boyd and Spencer Turnbull providing the opportunity. He offers average K potential (7.3 K/9) with good control (1.9 BB/9), and his advanced metrics do not indicate that he is pitching beyond his skill set.

Friday, August 20. 2021

Jamie Barria LAA @ CLE TBD

Barria has tossed three consecutive quality starts (QS), although he pushed that to the limit by allowing three earned tallies to the Dodgers through 6.0 IP. This is a road contest, and to be fair, he has been much better when pitching at home this season, but the sample size is certainly small. 

Saturday, August 21. 2021

Kris Bubic KC @ CHC Alec Mills

Bubic has allowed three or fewer earned runs over his last five starts, and he had been working on a four consecutive game QS streak before getting pulled in the fifth against the host Cardinals. The matchup against the Cubs is decent, although truth be told, it would project better if he were on the mound in KC instead of at Wrigley Field, given his home/road spits this season.

Feel free also to send any starting pitching or other fantasy baseball questions to ia@fantasyalarm.com for a private response to your specific issue. The more detail you can provide about your team and league, including settings (H2H vs roto, points or categories, weekly or daily moves, roster size, league size, etc.) the better the response will be suited to your individual situation. As ever, good luck and Godspeed in all your fantasy endeavors.