Here is a complete look at the fantasy baseball two-start pitchers for week 23. 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.
2 start pitchers week 23: 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.
American League:
Start them:
Jon Lester (BOS) ~ TB (Niemann). @OAK (Anderson)
Max Scherzer (DET) ~ CWS (Jackson), BAL (Guthrie)
Justin Verlander (DET) ~ CWS (Garcia), BAL (Arrieta)
Brett Anderson (OAK) ~ SEA (Vargas), BOS (Lester)
Jason Vargas (SEA) ~ @OAK (Anderson), @LAA (Haren)
Ricky Romero (TOR) ~ TEX (Hunter), TB (Niemann)
Shaun Marcum (TOR) ~ TEX (Lee), TB (Price))
Roll the Dice:
Edwin Jackson (CHW) ~ @DET (Scherzer), KC (Davies)
Carlos Carrasco (CLE) ~ @LAA (Haren), MIN (Slowey)
Dan Haren (LAA) ~ CLE (Carrasco), SEA (Vargas)
Kevin Slowey (MIN) ~ KC (O’Sullivan), @CLE (Carrasco)
Tommy Hunter (TEX) ~ @TOR (Romero), NYY (Burnett)
Slowey returns to action after a stint on the disabled list. Before the injury, he had went 3-1 in his previous five starts, allowing one run or less in three of them. Jackson has been riding a hot streak since coming back to the American League, going 3-0 in five starts with a 1.47 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. Haren has had two good starts in a row and faces Seattle again, a team he tossed seven shutout innings against in his last start. Hunter is always on the fence for me with his fringe stuff that can lead to some explosive outings. He has failed to make it to the fourth inning in three of his last 10 starts. He has yet to face either Toronto or New York this season.
Sit Them:
Jake Arrieta (BAL) ~ @NYY (Burnett), @DET (Verlander)
Freddy Garcia (CHW) ~ @DET (Verlander), KC (O’Sullivan)
Sean O’Sullivan (KC) ~ @MIN (Slowey), @CWS (Garcia)
A.J. Burnett (NYY) ~ BAL (Arrieta), @TEX (Hunter)
Jeff Niemann (TB) ~ @BOS (Lester), @TOR (Romero)
Burnett has been too inconsistent and a win in his last start was his first since July 28th. I don’t want any part of Niemann in my rotation until he shows he is healthy. He has been bombed in his two starts since coming off of the disabled list, allowing 17 runs in 8 1/3 innings. Garcia has slowed down after a nice first half, now sporting a 5.80 ERA and 1.64 WHIP since the All-Star break. Arrieta is 0-3 in his last four starts and his inability to throw strikes makes it hard for him to get wins because he can barely make it through five innings in a start.
National League:
Start them:
Tommy Hanson (ATL) ~ @PIT (Karstens), STL (Westbrook)
Tim Hudson (ATL) ~ @PIT (Karstens), STL (TBD)
Ryan Dempster (CHC) ~ HOU (Rodriguez), @MIL (Gallardo)
Johnny Cueto (CIN) ~ @COL (Chacin), PIT (Karstens)
Ubaldo Jimenez (COL) ~ CIN (Harang), ARI (Saunders)
Anibal Sanchez (FLA) ~ @PHI (Oswalt), @WAS (Zimmermann)
Wandy Rodriguez (HOU) ~ @CHC (Dempster), LAD (Kershaw)
Clayton Kershaw (LAD) ~ @SD (Correia), @HOU (Rodriguez)
Roy Oswalt (PHI) ~ FLA (Sanchez), @NYM (Pelfrey)
Tim Lincecum (SF) ~ @ARI (Enright), @SD (Correia)
Roll the Dice:
Ian Kennedy (ARI) ~ SF (Bumgarner), @COL (Chacin)
Jhoulys Chacin (COL) ~ CIN (Cueto), ARI (Kennedy)
Nelson Figueroa (HOU) ~ @CHC (Gorzelanny), LAD (Padilla)
Yovani Gallardo (MIL) ~ STL (Westbrook), CHC (Silva)
Mike Pelfrey (NYM) ~ @WAS (Zimmermann), PHI (Oswalt)
Wade LeBlanc (SD) ~ LAD (Monasterios), SF (Bumgarner)
Madison Bumgarner (SF) ~ @ARI (Kennedy), @SD (LeBlanc)
Jake Westbrook (STL) ~ @MIL (Gallardo), @ATL (Hanson)
Jordan Zimmermann (WAS) ~ NYM (Pelfrey), FLA (Sanchez)
Kennedy has been up and down in his rookie season, but his strikeout rate plus his 6-2 record over his last 10 starts gives him the nod for rotations next week. Figueroa has been solid in his four starts since moving into the Astros rotation, with only five runs allowed in 23 innings. Westbrook has lost three in a row but still pitched well enough to win two of them. The Cardinals gave him only five runs of support in those three outings. Zimmerman has had one good start and one rough start since coming back to the major leagues. He faces Florida again next week, after tossing six shutout innings with nine strikeouts against them on 8/31. LeBlanc is teetering on the edge of benching after coming down from his hot run in July and allowing 16 runs in his last 13 innings. Getting two home starts where he has a 2.71 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP should help. Chacin has run off three straight solid starts, allowing two earned runs in 20 innings with 19 strikeouts. Gallardo’s overall numbers seem okay, but a 7.23 ERA and 1.70 WHIP after the break with hitters batting 90 points higher against him tells me there may be something wrong with him. Pelfrey has gone 3-3 in his last six starts, allowing three runs or less in five of those outings. Hitters have started to catch up to Bumgarner the second part of the year. Luckily for you, he gets two road starts next week where he has a 2.62 ERA with a 1.32 WHIP vs. 5.24 and 1.49 at home.
Sit Them:
Aaron Harang (CIN) ~ @COL (Jimenez), PIT (Morton)
Chris Volstad (FLA) ~ @PHI (TBD), @WAS (Olsen)
Carlos Monasterios (LAD) ~ @SD (LeBlanc), @HOU (Figueroa)
Jeff Karstens (PIT) ~ ATL (Hanson), @CHC (Cueto)
Kevin Correia (SD) ~ LAD (Kershaw), SF (Lincecum)
TBD (STL) ~ @MIL (Narveson), @ATL (Hudson)
Monasterios has not picked up a win since May 28th and has not gone five innings in a game since back on July 30th. Karstens win in his last start was his first since June 19th, sandwiched around eight losses. Correia always seems to run in streaks and unfortunately for his owners, he is in a run right now, allowing 20 runs over his last 12 innings. Harang’s first start in two months in the major leagues was not a success and pitching at Colorado next week does not bode well for your team’s stats. Volstad faces a six game suspension which could impact his two starts next week depending on if he appeals the ruling.
