Each Sunday, this article will take a look at the two-start pitchers you should get into your fantasy baseball lineups and a few to avoid for the week ahead. The hurlers fall into four categories: must start, should start, could start, and don’t start. Also, you get the Streamer of the Week.
There are only two weeks left in the regular season, and there’s a lot of championships to be won on the back of unknown pitchers that have popped up throughout the season. Let’s dive into the pitching action!
STREAMER OF THE WEEK
Dane Dunning, CHW (MIN, @CIN)
(53% CBS, 25% Yahoo, 21% ESPN)
The Chicago White Sox have had a massive influx of young pitching talent into their rotation over the past couple of seasons, and Dane Dunning looks like the next man up to continue that trend. Dunning has 21 strikeouts in 20 innings this season to go along with a 2.75 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. He’s coming off his first quality start and win of the season and will look to build on that against the Minnesota Twins and Cincinnati Reds in a two-start week.
His Opponents
The Twins have built a reputation as a lineup to avoid in recent seasons, but that hasn’t been the case over the past month. Since August 1st, the Twins are middle of the pack in all of baseball with a .319 wOBA and a 101 wRC+ versus right-handed pitchers on the road. They also rank inside the top-10 with a 24.9 percent strikeout rate against righties. Their lineup is still dangerous, but it’s not to be feared like it once was. The White Sox are more than capable of putting up some runs of their own, and if Dunning can limit the baserunners, his chances of getting through five innings and grabbing a win increase significantly.
Dunning’s second start of the week comes against Cincinnati. The Reds have been struggling recently and have had significant problems versus right-handed pitchers since the calendar flipped to September. The Reds offer plenty of strikeout upside for Dunning as they have struck out 24.9 percent of the time versus right-handed pitchers this month. The 25-year-old will have a good chance at improving his ERA in this start because the Reds rank second-last in baseball by scoring 3.78 runs per game. The White Sox offense is red hot right now, and Dunning is lined up against Tyler Mahle, who has given up five home runs at Great American Ballpark this season in just five games. The strikeouts, run-prevention, and win make this an excellent finish for Dunning’s two-start week.
MUST START
Trevor Bauer, CIN (CIN, CHW)
Jack Flaherty, STL (@MIL, @PIT)
Zack Greinke, HOU (TEX, ARI)
Carlos Carrasco, CLE (@CHC, @DET)
Clayton Kershaw, LAD (@SD, @COL)
Corbin Burnes, MIL (STL, KC)
SHOULD START
Jose Berrios, MIN (@CHW, @CHC)
Michael Pineda, MIN (@CHW, @CHC)
Jesus Luzardo, OAK (@SEA, SF)
Marco Gonzales, SEA (OAK, SD)
Deivi Garcia, NYY (TOR, @BOS)
COULD START
Sandy Alcantara, MIA (BOS, WAS)
Pablo Lopez, MIA (PHI, WAS)
Matthew Boyd, DET (KC, CLE)
Dane Dunning, CHW (MIN, @CIN)
Zach Davies, SD (LAD, @SEA)
Carlos Martinez, STL (@MIL, @PIT)
DON’T START
Joe Musgrove, PIT (@CIN, STL)
JT Brubaker, PIT (@CIN, STL)
Ryan Yarbrough, TB (WAS, @BAL)
Taijuan Walker, TOR (@NYY, @PHI)
Julio Teheran, LAA (ARI, TEX)
Anibal Sanchez, WAS (@TB, @MIA)
Jake Arrieta, PHI (NYM, TOR)
Michael Wacha, NYM (@PHI, ATL)
Taylor Clarke, ARI (@LAA, HOU)
Jorge Lopez, BAL (ATL, TB)
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Main Credit Image: Embed from Getty Images
