Fantasy Baseball 2024 Two-Start Pitchers & Streaming Starters - Week 21

There is an even dozen dual start options residing in the top tier to aid your fantasy baseball efforts this week as the dog days of summer roll on. Not a huge selection of middle-tier arms, but that should not be a surprise as this trend has been continuing all season. 

Loads of arms to avoid for even one of their two trips toeing the rubber in Week 21, although the bottom three or four hurlers were late scratches from the middle tier, but their recent efforts facing opposing batters does not lead to trust in their ability to provide fantasy goodness this scoring period.

The one-start streaming options are spread out over the week, save for the initial and closing days of the scoring period. If you need an arm to aid your fantasy squad’s efforts, look to the arms profiled in the second half of this article as opposed to taking a chance on one of the two-start pitchers in the lower-tier.

Fantasy Baseball 2024 Two-Start Pitchers

These 12 pitchers are the ones you want to plug into your rotations and let them have their way with their opposition. These aces are your best options to collect counting and ratio stat advantages over your opponents, so be happy if you have any of these hurlers on your team(s) and take advantage of your good fortune.

Pfaadt has won four of his six last starts, with three of those trips to the hill resulting in quality start entries on his stat sheet. On the other side of the coin, he has allowed nine earned tallies in the other two appearances he made over that stretch of games where he would have qualified for a quality start due to pitching deep enough into the contest. He also ran up 11 strikeouts in his most recent effort on the bump. He continues to demonstrate great control (1.8 BB/9 over his 144.2 innings this season) and his peripheral metrics do not indicate that his efficient ways on the mound are likely to make a major negative regression. So, despite having two road games, he leads the middle tier of dual start options this week.

Estes has had a good trio of starts and in Week 21 has a pair of upcoming home starts to potentially continue his good fortune on the bump. He has been far more successful when dealing at home than on the road this season. He offers average strikeout potential, better of late, and continues to demonstrate excellent control.

Herz, the rookie southpaw, has had a fine run over his last seven starts, racking up 41 strikeouts over those 33.2 innings, with a useful 3.48 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. He gets the Rockies away from Coors Field in his first start of the scoring period, which is his best matchup in Week 21. The second start at the home park of the Braves is less promising, especially going against another member of the middle tier profiled a in the entry below.

Holmes is another rookie hurler who has a propensity to roll up the strikeouts at an above-average rate (9.2 K/9 on the season, 12.5 K/9 over his most recent 18 innings of work). He gets to climb the hill at home for both his Week 21 starts, where he has been slightly more effective this year. His peripheral metrics do not suggest that his season’s numbers-3.60 ERA, 1.13 WHIP-are phantasms soon to fade.

Houck is the owner of 17 quality starts in 2024, collecting his more recent at home against the visiting Rangers in a no-decision. He has been a dependable pitcher this season, despite fading a bit as the summer wears on. Neither of his two matchups are tremendous opportunities for the righty, but if he can continue to generate his considerable share of grounders, he should continue to be a useful fantasy arm.

Cannon’s streak of three quality starts ended in his last outing, a loss to the visiting Yankees. He has not fared well on the road, so his first start in Week 21 is not the best matchup to employ his services. The second appearance at the end of the week against the visiting Tiger offense has better prospects for the third rookie pitcher featured in the middle group of dual start pitchers this particular scoring period. He does pitch for the White Sox making it rough to nominate him as a solid two-start option, let alone a streaming choice, and thus he winds up the middle group.

A wealth(?) of arms populate the bottom tier. While there are some familiar names in this group, it is not suggested you rely on any of these pitchers for both their starts. There are some who have matchups with opponents that make for a potential streaming option, such as Harrison at home against the White Sox or Assad at Miami, but in general, the risk is too high to rely on any of the arms in the bottom tier to boost your fantasy results in Week 21.

Fantasy Baseball 2024 Streaming Starters

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…

Cody Bradford, Texas Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

The Texas southpaw has only appeared in seven games this season, but has collected three quality starts over that limited action. He carries a 3.50 ERA and 1.00 WHIP over his 36.0 IP and also has a 33:6 K/BB ratio in his time on the bump. All that makes him a fine streaming candidate in a home start.

Davis Martin, Chicago White Sox vs. San Francisco Giants

As noted above in the two-start discussion, it is tough to trust a Pale Hose pitcher for your fantasy production. He has been solid in his two most recent times climbing the hill, allowing just one earned run over those 11.2 innings. His lack of control is going to be an issue, if it continues to run at the current rate of 5.0 BB/9. 

Jose Soriano, Los Angeles Angels vs. Kansas City Royals

The second-year right-hander has given up one or zero runs in four of his last five times toeing the rubber for the Halos, and has collected 25 strikeouts over those 28.2 innings. He also has a useful 3.36 ERA on the season, and has accumulated an exceptional 1.91 ERA over his last five outings. He has been a road warrior this season, so heading to KC for this contest is a good streaming pick.

Nick Martinez, Cincinnati Reds vs. Yariel Rodriguez, Toronto Blue Jays

The only game where both sides are being nominated as streaming options, both these pitchers had been pitching effectively until their most recent outings, which while not horrible, were not as positive. Based on their recent efforts, both are worthy of considering in this contest. Rodriguez is the better option if you are seeking strikeouts, while Martinez offers the better walk rate and lower WHIP. Martinez has been superior on the road, while Rodriguez prefers toeing the rubber in Toronto.

Albert Suarez, Baltimore Orioles vs. Houston Astros

Suarez’s start may be pushed back a day, but that is not etched in stone yet. If he moves back a day in the rotation, he still would face the Astro hitters at home, which plays to his home/road splits. He has not allowed an earned run over his last two outings consisting of 11.2 innings, where he has racked up 11 strikeouts. If you wish to plug him into your rotation, keep an eye on his scheduled start date.

Tyler Mahle, Texas Rangers vs. Cleveland Guardians

Returning from an elbow injury, the veteran righty has picked up his strikeout production quickly, with seven strikeouts against the visiting Red Sox batters. He also allowed three walks over his 4.2-inning effort, but this matchup finds a team not quite so patient at the plate as Boston’s hitters are this season. 

Bowden Francis, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Los Angeles Angels

The 28-year-old right-hander is coming off a quality start effort against the host Angels, where he continued to rack up the strikeouts at an enhanced rate (11.3 K/9 over a dozen innings). He figures to stick in the Toronto rotation for the balance of the season and gets to face the same Angel offense he mastered on the road at home in this game.

Valente Bellozo, Miami Marlins vs. Chicago Cubs

The rookie righty has only pitched in five contests for the Marlins but has a superior 2.28 ERA and 0.94 WHIP over his limited 27.2 innings. He is an average strikeout producer with above-average control in his bag of tricks. Note that his peripheral metrics hinting that his superior ratio stats could be subject to a negative regression as the season plays out, but not anything tremendously terrible, merely are return to normal expectations.