Here is a complete look at the fantasy baseball two-start pitchers for week 18. Obviously the top tier pitchers are going to be left in your line up, but here is a look at some of the more border line pitchers for mixed league starts and who they face in those starts.
Two-start pitchers week 18: remember again that the list below is more focused on mixed leagues since in AL or NL only leagues in most cases you do not have the option to rotate too many starting pitchers with the smaller player pool. The pitchers below are listed in alphabetical order by team name per category.
With the recent trades and moves, there have been some changes to the pitching rotations that you might not be aware of. Pitchers losing their two-start status this week include David Price in Tampa Bay (rookie Jeremy Hellickson it looks will get a one-time start to give the Tampa starters an extra day of rest), Jaime Garcia in St. Louis, Jered Weaver for the Angels and Vincente Padilla for the Dodgers.
American League:
Start them:
Carl Pavano (MIN) ~ @TB (Hellickson), @CLE (Carmona)
Trevor Cahill (OAK) ~ KC (Bannister), TEX (Lewis)
Jason Vargas (SEA) ~ TEX (Lewis), KC (Bannister)
Jeff Niemann (TB) ~ MIN (Duensing), @TOR (Morrow)
Colby Lewis (TEX) ~ @SEA (Vargas), @OAK (Cahill)
Roll the Dice:
Jeremy Guthrie (BAL) ~ LAA (Bell), CWS (Buehrle)
John Lackey (BOS) ~ CLE (Carmona), @NYY (Sabathia)
Josh Beckett (BOS) ~ CLE (TBD), @NYY (Burnett)
Mark Buehrle (CHW) ~ @DET (Bonderman), @BAL (Guthrie)
Fausto Carmona (CLE) ~ @BOS (Lackey), MIN (Pavano)
Brian Duensing (MIN) ~ @TB (Niemann), @CLE (TBD)
A.J. Burnett (NYY) ~ TOR (Morrow), BOS (Beckett)
Brandon Morrow (TOR) ~ @NYY (Burnett), TB (Niemann)
Buehrle has dropped his ERA a run and a quarter since June 6th and has allowed three runs or less in eight of his last nine starts. Carmona allowed two runs in six innings against Boston and six runs in six innings against Minnesota in his previous starts against them. He had allowed three runs or less in six straight starts before gettting bombed by the New York Yankees in his last outing. Burnett has went 3-1 in his last five starts, turning in scoreless outings in three of those campaigns. Morrow has been up and down in his last few starts but has had succes against both teams he faces next week. IN two starts against the Yankees, he has a 4.15 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP and versus Tamapa, he has a 2.08 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Guthrie has allowed three runs in his last 20 2/3 innings.
Sit Them:
TBD (CLE) ~ @BOS (Beckett), MIN (Duensing)
Jeremy Bonderman (DET) ~ CWS (Buehrle), LAA (Bell)
Brian Bannister (KC) ~ @OAK (Cahill), @SEA (Vargas)
Trevor Bell (LAA) ~ @BAL (Guthrie), @DET (Bonderman)
Bannister has not won since June 23, lsoing five of his past six starts with one no decision. He has not allowed less than four runs in a start since back on June 6th. Outside of a strong month of May when he posted a 1.33 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP, Bonderman has struggled to put together back-to-back solid starts in any other time period.
National League:
Start them:
Tim Hudson (ATL) ~ NYM (Santana), SF (Cain)
Brett Myers (HOU) ~ @STL (Westbrook), @MIL (Wolf)
Hiroki Kuroda (LAD) ~ SD (Richard), WAS (Hernandez)
Ted Lilly (LAD) ~ SD (Latos), WAS (Stammen)
Yovani Gallardo (MIL) ~ @CHC (Wells), HOU (Myers)
Johan Santana (NYM) ~ @ATL (Hudson), @PHI (Halladay)
Roy Halladay (PHI) ~ @FLA (West), NYM (Santana)
Clayton Richard (SD) ~ @LAD (Kuroda), @ARI (Lopez)
Mat Latos (SD) ~ @LAD (Lilly), @ARI (Jackson)
Jonathan Sanchez (SF) ~ @COL (Cook), @ATL (Lowe)
Roll the Dice:
Derek Lowe (ATL) ~ NYM (Dickey), SF (Sanchez)
Randy Wells (CHC) ~ MIL (Gallardo), CIN (Volquez)
Travis Wood (CIN) ~ @PIT (Ohlendorf), @CHC (Lilly)
Ross Ohlendorf (PIT) ~ CIN (Wood), COL (Cook)
Livan Hernandez (WAS) ~ @ARI (Lopez), @LAD (Kuroda)
Jake Westbrook (STL) ~ HOU (Myers), @FLA (West)
Lowe has allowed four runs or less in 10 straight starts but is just 2-6 during that time frame as Atlanta has sturggled to score runs for him. Wood could be a start him, but with only six starts as a rookie it is hard to put him in that category just yet. He allowed two runs in seven innings in a previous start against the Cubs this season. Ohlendorf has been flying under the radar, allowing two runs or less in five of his past six starts, including three of them in which he allowed no runs. Westbrook gets two starts this week, bumping Jaime Garcia to only one start. If you believe Dave Duncan can work his magic in a short time frame, then Westbrook is worth starting in his new league.Hernandez finished July with a 3.52 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP, with 29 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings. Wells turned it around in July, and has allowed three runs or less in six straight outings. His numbers in July show a 1.83 ERA with a 1.17 WHIP while holding hitters to a .224 average.
Sit Them:
Rodrigo Lopez (AZ) ~ WAS (Hernandez), SD (Richard)
Aaron Cook (COL) ~ SF (Sanchez), @PIT (Maholm)
Sean West (FLA) ~ PHI (Halladay), STL (Westbrook)
Craig Stammen (WAS) ~ @ARI (Jackson), @LAD (Lilly)
Lopez is on the fence as a starter next week, going 3-3 in his last seven starts with three runs allowed or less in five of those appearances. He has not faced Washington yet this year and allowed six runs in his lone start against the Padres. Cook has allowed five runs in three of his past four starts and has a 5.84 ERA versus San Francisco and allowed five runs in 2 1/3 innings against the Pirates earlier in the year. West heads back to the Marlins rotation from Triple-A where he had a 3.12 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 57 2/3 innings while holding hitters to a .271 batting average.


