Two-Start Pitchers Week 25 2014

Well, baseball fans, this is it. Down to the final week. Still plenty of good options in the middle tier to help you push you over the top in your leagues. Although this will be the final two start pitching article of the season, we are still here for your fantasy baseball needs even as we continue to cover football and start to gear up for basketball. Stick around, we can help you all year long. And come next March, look for full coverage of starting pitching and all other aspects of fantasy baseball to return big time. Let's take a look at what this final week has to offer in the form of two start pitchers.

Last time I have the opportunity to tell you, these guys in the top tier should be started no matter the opponent, no matter the stadium. Wind them up and let them go. Samardzija has adjusted to the American League and the results are nice for his owners, with four QS in his last five starts. Roark is back on track, rolling up three consecutive QS and five out of his last six starts have been of the QS variety. Wood has been spectacular the past month, and he should be highly sought after in your 2015 drafts.

This tier is where championships could be decided if you choose correctly. As per usual, I will break these pitchers down into tiers. If you can manage it, the top sub-tier is where you want to go pitcher shopping in your league.

Speaking of which, the top sub-tier ends with Matzek. It begins with Liriano, who is looking like he rediscovered what he did in 2013 when he helped lead his team to the post season. In his last five starts, he has given up five or fewer hits and has given up only three runs, earned or otherwise, in those appearances. He is also a dependable source of strikeouts, if you discount the two K effort against the Red Sox in his last outing. The Indians have a very nice top two in their rotation with Carrasco shining along side Corey Kluber. He provides great strikeout potential, and aside from getting roughed up by the Tigers his next to last start, he's been superb. He pitches at home this week, opening against the injured shoulder Duffy, wraps up against a beatable Tampa team. Peavy has been a godsend for the Giants, limiting hits, showing excellent control and not allowing many runners to score even if they do reach base. Wrapping up his regular season at home against the Padres should make for a fine end of the season, although there may still be some post season heroics to come. Fiers has only allowed six hits over his past 12 innings pitched, but also has given up five walks which is a bit troublesome. Still, he is a consistent source of Ks, and has six out of seven QS in the last five weeks. Ventura has started to pitch like he was expected to in March when many were reaching to draft him. He has had better control in his last two starts, and the strikeouts are looking better. With the Royals fighting the Tigers for post season relevance, it is a good time for him to start to put it all together. Pineda still isn't striking out many, but he is also exhibiting excellent control. He has become a solid and dependable SP now that he is healthy. Holland is looking unbeatable since he came back at the beginning of September, tossing four QS while compiling an excellent 3:22 BB/K ratio in those four starts. Grab him now and remember this for 2015. Wilson seems to have shaken off his funk that had affected him after his return from the DL, although his control is still spotty. The strikeout rate is rising while the earned runs go the opposite direction, which is what we want to see in our starters. Paxton has been excellent since returning to action in August, and is finally starting to provide the strikeouts we expect from him. He limits earned runs for the most part, but still has occasional control issues. He is going to be a sought after SP in next season's drafts. Chen just keeps rolling along for the AL East champs, The strikeouts fluctuate, but he does a great job of keeping his team in the game by limiting the earned runs, and for the most part, exhibiting great control. Matzek rounds out this group, and with the way the Rockies' bats have woken up lately, and with his average K rate, with him on the road for his two starts this week, I would start him. Especially in his first start at San Diego on Monday.

The second sub-tier opens with Odorizzi and runs down through Nolasco. Odorizzi can be a great pitcher at times, and then he goes and tosses in a disaster start. His unpredictability hurts his value and pitching on the road this week lowers it even more, as home has been tremendously more friendly for him this season. Dickey has become more stable, and is a good option at home, although his home and away splits are pretty close. He has a couple of tough match ups this week, and I might give him a pass if I could start someone in the top tier or the sub-tier above. Gonzalez is coming into the final week with a six game QS streak, and has been exhibiting great control over that period. He needs to stay sharp for the post season, and facing the Mets and Marlins should be good for him and the Nationals. Cole has put together three solid outings in a row, racking up 21 Ks in 19 IP, and collecting three wins to boot. He does pitch on the road this period, and his ERA is about one run higher away from Pittsburgh, so operate with caution as the matchups are not great. Gray was a fantasy darling after his 2013 late season efforts, and he rewarded his owners with a superb first half to the season, but he's been shaky lately. He has two important games this week, but if I had to choose, I would opt to start him against the Rangers at the end of the period. Martinez has been effective if unexciting since the end of August. There are not many Ks to enjoy when he starts, and his control is shaky at times, so he has some value but it is limited. Nolasco completes this sub-tier, and despite my lack of faith in him, I have to admit his recent efforts have been good. He continues to show off great control, and moderate Ks, but I really don't like his match ups, and would look for a better option to finish up the season.

The final sub-tier begins with Price and wraps up with Harang. I never thought I would rank Price below the Nolasco, but his results have been extraordinarily inconsistent. He has been good/bad over his last six starts, and you don't need that at this point in the season. Collmenter does not strike out many, but he also does not walk many batters, either. He has pitched five striaght QS, but his lack of Ks makes him less attractive, despite the great periherals. Alvarez has pitched better the past three outings, but he lacks the strikeouts to really impress. Losing Giancarlo Stanton from the Marlins lineup does not help his status. Lobstein has been an effective fill in as the Detroit fifth starter with Anibal Sanchez out of action, but despite some early Ks, he is settling in as game manager pitcher who keeps his team in the game for the most part. Nothing you want to hang your hat on, though. Colon has been up and down his past four starts, and although he did ring up seven hitters on strikes in his last outing, he hasn't been whiffing many batters lately. He has had a nice run this season, but it seems that he is running on fumes now. Harang seemed to be coasting along, but has recently put up some good K numbers in a couple of QS, but I don't fully trust him. Facing Pittsburgh in his first start is not ideal, but he has had success pitching at Philly in the past, so as a late week option, you could do worse.

The biggest surprise in this meager list is Duffy. I just worry about pitchers coming off shoulder injuries, and while he was lights out prior to his injury, at this point pays to exercise caution. Bassit may become a good SP, but his first outing was not a thing of beauty. Happ is a decent source of Ks, but he gives up too many earned runs too often to be trustworthy.

Should you have questions regarding fantasy baseball, especially starting pitching, you can reach me at ia@fantasyalarm.com to continue the discussion.