Fantasy Baseball Week 9 Two-Start Pitchers & Streaming Starters: Shane McClanahan Tops Dual-Start Pitchers

To aid you in setting your fantasy baseball lineups, this week’s schedule provides a useful set of aces to plug in for both their starts, together with a fair number of middle tier options to use for one or both of their trips to the middle of the field to toe the rubber. Plenty of two-start starting pitchers that are populating the bottom group again, and it is suggested strongly that you avoid these pitchers altogether, despite their two-start status. If you are wondering “who do I start in my fantasy rotation,” you will do best to simply avoid the bottom tier denizens. As always, you should consult the latest Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire article, the MLB Fantasy Baseball Injury Report, and the MLB Streaks & Trends to discern the fantasy baseball risers and fallers heading into next week’s scoring period. Here are the two-start pitchers and streaming pitchers to consider for the upcoming scoring period.

The top group of starting pitchers are always those it is suggested that you employ for both their starts each week, no matter which mound they are pitching from or which offense they are facing off against. These are the ace-quality dual start options for the scoring period and you do not wish to miss out on one of their starts. These pitchers do disappoint on occasion, but the potential is that your team will benefit from having these arms in your lineup for their scheduled trip to climb the hill. If Bryce Miller (SEA) is still available in any of your leagues, be sure to put in a claim for his services.

Kopech, the 27-year-old right-hander on the Pale Hose starting staff, has been dominant over his last two trips to toe the rubber, a couple quality starts (QS) where he held the opposition scoreless through 15.0 IP. His dominance is exhibited in fine fashion by his 19:1 K/BB ratio over those contests, and in Week 9 he gets to practice his trade at home against a pair of teams that are at or below .500 when on the road.

Wells has been a victim of the long ball all season, with an inflated 2.1 HR/9 rate over his 57.0 IP thus far in 2023. Fortunately for him, this week sees him face the Guardians who have a deficit in the power production realm this year, and his second start is at Oracle Park, ranked 26^th in dingers allowed to date. He is racking up Ks at a rate of nearly one per frame, and his control is effective (0.84 WHIP), so this week is a good time to plug him in for both his times atop the hill.

Elder, the rookie righty, continued to deal from the bump, as shown by his 2.01 ERA and 1.17 WHIP accumulated over the course of his 10 starts for the Braves this season. He is likely due to see some negative regression, as his FIP (3.44) and LOB% (87.3%) both indicate a bit of good luck thus far in his major league career. He does induce a ton of groundballs (56.6%, 2.97 GB/FB ratio) which aids his excellent work on the mound to date. Facing the Oakland offense in his first start of the scoring period is a positive, as well.

Hauser has been ramping it up over his two most recent times on the hill, tossing 11.1 IP of scoreless action. He is on the road for both his Week 9 starts, although neither matchup is terrible, and facing the Reds in his second outing is decidedly intriguing. Strikeouts are not his forte, but he keeps the ball in the park effectively, with his groundball inducing tendencies.

Lively is coming off an impressive QS, save for the two round trippers he handed out to the Cards. He has a 16:3 K/BB ratio since joining the rotation for his two starts this season, and getting the Brewers with their free-swinging ways at home for his second start profiles as the start you want to use him this week. Heading to Boston is not quite as tempting, and his peripheral metrics hint that his luck has been tremendous thus far and may be due to head south. 

Hill collected nine whiffs in his most recent trip to the mound, but was charged with the loss after yielding five earned runs to the visiting Rangers. His opponents this coming scoring period are both seeing strong production over their recent history, while the Pirates are faltering after their surprising early success on the field. He is poised to continue his recent K success when he takes on the Giants early in the scoring period.

Miller, a top prospect for the Dodgers, walked away with a victory in his first MLB start, holding the host Braves to a single earned tally while striking out five over his 5.0 IP. He looks to stick in the rotation for the foreseeable future if he continues to produce, with Julio Urias on the 15-day IL due to his hamstring issue, and two home games this week, the first against the very beatable Nationals, is prospective for a positive situation for the youngster.

There may be the temptation to snag one of these guys on the cheap, but be advised that they reside in the third tier for good reason. Should you need some innings, a SP going against a cellar dwelling team in the proper venue would not be looked upon askance, so long as you limit the usage to a particular start that favors the pitcher. Oakland, Kansas City and Washington are offenses to consider targeting for streaming purposes.

Fantasy Baseball Streaming Pitcherss for Week 9

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:

Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals @ St. Louis Cardinals

The veteran keeps cranking out good starts, pitching consistently five innings or better while posting a useful 3.38 ERA over his 57.1 IP this season. The WHIP is unattractive due to his generosity in allowing opposing hitters to reach base safely, although the control is superb (1.3 BB/9). This was a better matchup when the Cards were struggling, granted.

Braxton Garrett, Miami Marlins vs San Diego Padres

The main knock against the 25-year-old southpaw is his inability to pitch deeper into games, but he is collecting his fair share of Ks while demonstrating good control. He has not been lights out at home, but then again, the Padres are playing below .500 this season.

Patrick Corbin, Washington Nationals @ Los Angeles Dodgers

The veteran southpaw has notched two consecutive victories, and has six QS over his last seven trips to toe the rubber for the Nationals. This is admittedly not an ideal matchup, heading on the road to take on the Dodgers and their superb home record, but it is difficult to ignore his recent success tossing the pill.

Ryne Nelson, Arizona Diamondbacks vs Colorado Rockies

Nelson is working on a pair of strong road starts, and now gets to take on the Rockies away from Coors Field, generally a positive situation for a hurler. His value here is discounted due to his relative ineffectiveness at home this season, but the matchup is tempting, to be certain.

Luke Weaver, Cincinnati Reds @ Boston Red Sox

The veteran righthander tossed his first QS out of his seven starts this season, but was not involved in the decision. He offers fine strikeout potential (8.8 K/9) with superior control (2.1 BB/9 over 38.0 IP). 

Julio Teheran, Milwaukee Brewers @ Toronto Blue Jays

The recent addition to the Milwaukee staff fared well in his inaugural start, holding the visiting Giants to one earned tally while racking up five Ks over 5.0 IP. He looks to be due to stick in the rotation if his production continues along this trajectory, with the Brewers continuing to populate the IL with their SPs.

Dean Kremer, Baltimore Orioles @ San Francisco Giants

Kremer has collected five victories over his last seven starts (with one loss and one no decision), although his ratios are still not entirely exciting for fantasy purposes: 4.61 ERA and 1.48 WHIP over 52.2 IP in 2023. He has been slightly more effective on the road this season, and his team is playing well away from Camden Yards, too.

Kyle Bradish, Baltimore Orioles @ San Francisco Giants

The Oriole second-year righty was roughed up by the host Yankees in his most recent time atop the hill, yet has been overall effective as a SP this season, with two consecutive QS prior to that misstep in New York. He profiles slightly more of a road warrior arm the past couple of seasons, so this matchup is not a negative if you consider streaming him. 

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.

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