MLB Two Start Pitchers: Week 6

There are a few more top-tier options this coming week, but still just a handful of guys you can insert into your rotation and forget about replacing them, as you likely do not own another SP that provides better potential production. The middle tier has plenty of useful options for the scoring period, and unfortunately, there are a number of starting pitchers that are not desirable even with a couple of appearance on the calendar for Week Six.

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:

There are seven SPs that warrant automatic starts for both their turns on the hill in Week Six. It is nice of Castillo to begin putting up the results many expected of him in 2018 finally, and despite his team, he is now worthy of plug-and-go status.

Soroka opens the middle tier, with his 11.0 K/9 rate over two starts in his limited MLB season. He has to face the Padres at home, who have been a strong visiting team thus far in 2019, but then gets to take on the last place Marlins to wind up the scoring period. He has not been pitching deep enough to provide any quality starts yet, but his efforts will certainly yield fantasy goodness despite that lack of six or more innings.

Rodriguez, on the other side of the coin, has tossed a pair of QS over his last three outings, both victories. Over that stretch, he has provided his owners a great 3.00 ERA and superb 0.89 WHIP, together with a 10.5 K/9 rate. He has a pair of good matchups on tap, with the A’s heading to Fenway and then the White Sox in the Windy City to wrap up the week.

Davies has been extraordinarily effective in limiting scoring this season, giving up just five earned runs total over his five starts to this point in the season. With a demonstrated lack of pinpoint control (3.29 BB/9 through 27.1 IP) and an 88.5 MPH fastball, coupled with a below-average strikeout rate (6.26 K/9), expect his ratios to rise but even so, he should remain a useful SP option.

Paddack is experiencing an excellent rookie campaign to date, twirling a stellar 1.67 ERA and minuscule 0.67 WHIP in five starts comprising 27.0 IP. He is working on a two-game QS streak, although he does have a couple of tougher games in store for him this week when he heads to SunTrust Field to face the Braves and then takes on the visiting Dodger squad at home next Sunday. His peripherals (.138 BABIP and 2.84 FIP) hint at some negative regression in his future, but nothing significant enough to stop employing him in your fantasy lineups.

Turnbull continues to fool hitters, having allowed just one run (zero earned) over his last two starts comprising 11.0 IP. His WHIP is inflated due to his control issues (3.81 BB/9 over his 26.0 IP this year), but the sub-three ERA is tempting. His first trip to the bump in Week Six finds him in Philly, but then he returns home to oppose the Royals, so the matchup situation is so-so.

Means is the rare Oriole starter that has potential in fantasy baseball. He is sticking in the rotation in Baltimore for the moment, with David Hess being shifted to bullpen duty. He has a nice K/BB ratio through his 20.2 IP of 3.83 and is set to face the host White Sox in his first start this coming week. The second appearance against the Rays is less favorable on paper.

Teheran, as with his rotation-mate Soroka, has the advantage of facing the soft-touch Marlins to wind up Week Six. He is also striking out batters at better than one per inning (10.2 K/9 over his 31.2 innings pitched this year (IP), although his control is not stellar, as he is walking nearly five batters per nine innings (4.8 BB/9), which has resulted in elevated ratio stats: 5.40 ERA and 1.58 WHIP.

Keller returns from his five-game suspension to face the league’s best when he takes the mound in Kauffman Stadium against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. He had success in 2018 once he joined the starting rotation in KC, and while not a spectacular option as a fantasy SP, he is steady and productive in the correct situation. His offense is not able to overcome much, so it is fortunate he has success on the mound individually. If your league does not overvalue victories, he is a useful fantasy commodity.

Chirinos is relying on superior control (1.8 BB/9 over 25.1 IP on the season) to assist him in putting up useful ratio stats: 3.55 ERA, 0.91 WHIP. He is just an average strikeout producer (7.8 K/9) despite possessing a mid-90s fastball. Despite having two road starts, the matchups are favorable in Week Six, and his team is among the best in the majors.

Roark has been steadily driving down his ERA, which now sits at an attractive 3.24, although the other ratio stat, his WHIP, is still ugly at 1.60. He is striking out a fair number of opposing hitters, but the walk rate of 4.0 BB/9 is hard to stomach for fantasy purposes or MLB pitching performance for that matter. Pitching for the Reds does nothing to improve his status, even with a two-start week in the offing.

Montas is on the road for his two starts in Week Six, which is not optimal, especially given his home park in Oakland which is extremely pitcher-friendly. Boston’s early season struggles on offense makes this matchup not especially dangerous, and while no pushover, Pittsburgh is not a frightening offense to take on, either. His 3.25 K/BB rate shows his value as a pitcher in your fantasy rotation, and his peripherals indicate that he could provide better results if his luck balances out.

Samardzija takes on the division-leading (and division-rival) Dodgers to open Week Six, but then heads to Cincinnati to toss against the cellar-dwelling Reds. Of course, his team is mired in last place in their division, so that has to weigh against his prospects this scoring period. The veteran right-hander is still striking out batters at a good clip (8.0 K/9 over 27.0 IP) and demonstrating adequate control to justify his 3.00 ERA and 1.15 WHIP.

Margevicius has exhibited an excellent 23:7 K/BB ratio thus far in 2019, and five of those walks occurred in his last game against the Mariners. He is adept so far in his young MLB career in keeping the ball within the park, yielding just three round-trippers over his five starts this season. Taking on the Braves and then the Dodgers is not ideal in terms of opponents, so he is ranked a bit lower in this tier than his stat line might indicate.

Porcello was finally able to produce a QS in his last trip to the rubber against his former team, beating the Tigers at Fenway in Week Five. He has reasserted his control over his past two starts, helping to push his inflated ratio stats down significantly. He is still giving up too many dingers, with a HR/9 rate of 1.96 on the season, a problem for a groundball-inducing SP. He gets Oakland at home to open Week Six, then heads to Chicago to face the White Sox, so the matchup situation is acceptable.

Wainwright has put up three QS in his last four times toeing the rubber for the Cards, but now has his next two starts on the road, where he has been less than fantastic over the past 2+ seasons. His peripherals look adequate to support his production so far this season, and he is still generating nearly eight Ks per nine innings (7.92 K/9 over his five starts and 25.0 IP in 2019).

Perhaps if you are desperate for a streaming option you might want to consider one of these pitchers, based on matchup. Avoiding these 11 SPs altogether, though, is a preferable approach to managing your fantasy rotations. Using any of these starters before they prove their mettle is potentially disastrous to your ratios and likely will not provide any great help with the counting stats, either.

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.