Each Sunday, I’ll be taking a look at the two-start pitchers you should get into your lineups, and a few to stay away from. Also, I’ll give you my Streamer of the Week. Let’s dive in.
STREAMER OF THE WEEK
Alec Mills, CHC (KC, @STL)
(15% CBS, 5% ESPN, 6% Yahoo)
When Alec Mills made the Chicago Cubs rotation to start the 2020 season, it was a bit of a surprise to baseball fans and fantasy managers alike. However, he answered any questions people had when he produced six innings of two-run ball against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Small Park in his 2020 debut.
This week, Mills will look to build on that opening performance. He has two starts against the Kansas City Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Royals rank in the bottom-10 of the league in weighted On Base Average (.298) and OPS versus right-handed pitchers (.670). Also, Kansas City ranks fifth in baseball with 9.78 strikeouts per game. I imagine that Mills can take advantage of this and provide his managers with more strikeouts than the three he had in his opening act of 2020.
While Mills should take advantage of the matchup against the Royals, the Cardinals would usually present a different story. Unfortunately, they have been affected by COVID-19 as their entire series against the Milwaukee Brewers was postponed this weekend. This could mean there is some extra rust to knock off for St. Louis. The Cardinals rank in the bottom-10 for batting average, slugging, and wOBA for 2020. It’s a minimal sample size, but one that indicates Mills could be in for a couple of fantasy-relevant outings against some weaker offenses.
The Cubs are also leading all of baseball with six runs per game and should provide Mills with enough run support to have him in contention for two wins this week. The 28-year-old is readily available on the three major websites, and shouldn’t cost a lot in FAAB or waiver priority to acquire. Add him to your roster for Week Three and enjoy a couple of solid performances from the back end of the Cubs rotation.
MUST START
Shane Bieber, CLE (@CIN, @CHW)
Gerrit Cole, NYY (PHI, @TB)
Jacob deGrom, NYM (@ATL, MIA)
Sonny Gray, CIN (CLE, @MIL)
Mike Soroka, ATL (NYM, @PHI)
Jose Berrios, MIN (PIT, @KC)
Walker Buehler, LAD (@SD, SF)
Rich Hill, MIN (PIT, @KC)
Chris Paddack, SD (LAD, ARI)
Lucas Giolito, CHW (@MIL, CLE)
Kyle Hendricks, CHC (KC, @STL)
German Marquez, COL (SF, @SEA)
SHOULD START
Max Fried, ATL (TOR, @PHI)
Zach Plesac, CLE (@CIN, @CHW)
Kyle Gibson, TEX (@OAK, LAA)
J.A. Happ, NYY (PHI, @TB)
Madison Bumgarner, ARI (HOU, @SD)
COULD START
Nathan Eovaldi, BOS (@TB, TOR)
Matthew Boyd, DET (STL, @PIT)
Joe Musgrove, PIT (@MIN, DET)
Alec Mills, CHC (KC, @STL)
Jesus Luzardo, OAK (TEX, HOU)
Brady Singer, KC (@CHC, MIN)
DON’T START
Matt Shoemaker, TOR (@ATL, @BOS)
Derek Holland, PIT (@MIN, DET)
Johnny Cueto, SF (@COL, @LAD)
Danny Duffy, KC (@CHC, MIN)
Kevin Gausman, SF (@COL, @LAD)
Asher Wojciechowski, BAL (MIA, @WAS)
Tyler Mahle, CIN (CLE, @MIL)
Josh Lindblom, MIL (CHW, CIN)
Framber Valdez, HOU (@ARI, @OAK)
Carlos Rodon, CHW (@MIL, CLE)
Justus Sheffield, SEA (OAK, COL)
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