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Welcome RotoBallers to our Two-Start Pitcher Streamers article - Waiver Wire Streamers and Starts for Week 2, from April 1 to April 7. With this week being the first full week of the season, we're looking at a large variety of two-start pitchers.
Each week of this fantasy baseball season, this fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups column will identify starting pitchers expected to make two starts in the upcoming week. It can be considered as fantasy baseball streamers ahead of the Sunday night waiver wire run for leagues with weekly transactions.
There are 31 pitchers currently scheduled to make two starts during this period. We will be looking at pitchers who are less than 50% owned in Yahoo leagues. Listed will be those who are rostered over 50%, those who are best available under 50%, and risky options under 50%. There are a few other two-start pitchers available, but they should be avoided.
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Two-Start Pitchers - Over 50% Rostered
- Ryan Pepiot (vs. TEX, @ COL)
- Kevin Gausman (@ HOU, @ NYY)
- Triston McKenzie (@ SEA, @ MIN)
- Michael Wacha (@ BAL, vs. CHW)
- Charlie Morton (@ CHW, vs. ARI)
- Cristopher Sanchez (vs. CIN, @ WAS)
- Shota Imanaga (vs. COL, vs. LAD)
Best Available Two-Start Pitcher Streamers
Dean Kremer (16% Rostered), Baltimore Orioles
Scheduled Starts: vs. KC, @ PIT
Dean Kremer had an up-and-down 2023 season, but a 4.12 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 21.4% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate, and 4.34 xFIP through 172.2 innings is still serviceable.
Projection systems are in consensus that Kremer will likely put forth another mediocre year in 2024, with ATC projecting a 4.33 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 20.3% strikeout rate, and a 7.5% walk rate. While he's unlikely to outperform those numbers over the entire season, he should rise to the occasion against the league's worst offenses. Expect quality starts against two lineups that ranked among the 10 worst offenses in the league in 2023 (by runs scored).
Dean Kremer's 2Ks in the 2nd. pic.twitter.com/4juPajMb1I
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 9, 2024
Chase Silseth (7% Rostered), Los Angeles Angels
Scheduled Starts: @ MIA, vs. BOS
He has faced his fair share of struggles, but Chase Silseth is ready to stick in the Angels' major-league rotation. The 23-year-old survived multiple demotions and closed the season at the major-league level with a 3.21 ERA, 3.43 xFIP, 1.10 WHIP, and 29.9% strikeout rate in his last seven starts. Boston sports a formidable offense, but a matchup against a subpar Miami offense makes him worth streaming in fantasy baseball this week.
Chase Silseth's Wicked Splitters. 🤢 pic.twitter.com/wmnYF2FXlq
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 27, 2024
Risky Two-Start Streamer Picks
Andrew Abbott (47% Rostered), Cincinnati Reds
Scheduled Starts: @ PHI, vs. NYM
While he may have lost some steam near the end, Andrew Abbott was incredible in his rookie year with a 3.87 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 26.1% strikeout rate, and 9.6% walk rate through 21 starts in 2023. A 4.56 xFIP in 2023 and mediocre projections raise some red flags, but a matchup against Philadelphia's first-rate offense has him marked definitively in risky territory.
Max Meyer (43% Rostered), Miami Marlins
Scheduled Starts: vs. LAA, @ STL
Acclaimed pitching prospect Max Meyer will open his 2024 season with a two-start week. There's not much to go off of, with Meyer seeing six innings at the major-league level in 2022 before needing Tommy John surgery. He had an impressive Spring Training, allowing four hits and no runs through seven innings, which was enough to pick up the last spot in an injury-addled Marlins rotation. There's enough talent to consider Meyer, but there's not enough of a track record to trust him in starts against two good offenses.
MacKenzie Gore (43% Rostered), Washington Nationals
Scheduled Starts: vs. PIT, vs. PHI
MacKenzie Gore showed flashes in 2023 but ultimately disappointed with a 4.42 ERA, 4.89 FIP, 1.40 WHIP, 25.9% strikeout rate, and 9.8% walk rate in 27 starts. The 25-year-old's incredible stuff has helped him to some impressive stretches, but he's been prone to blow-up starts. This phenomenon was clear in Spring Training, as his solid spring was tainted in his final start as he allowed eight earned runs across 4.2 innings.
If he puts it all together, he'll be incredible, but expecting him to win a duel against that Phillies offense in his current state is wishful thinking.
Casey Mize (31% Rostered), Detroit Tigers
Scheduled Starts: @ NYM, vs. OAK
Now fully recovered from the Tommy John surgery he received in 2022, it is full-steam ahead for Casey Mize. But having not seen a major league mound since April 2022, he presents as a natural risk. A 2.21 ERA through 20.1 innings in Spring Training will likely encourage many to stream, but a 4.78 xFIP in that same span should throw cold water on hopes of a breakout year.
A start against the lowly Oakland Athletics gives Mize as good a shot as any to prove he's dissolved the rust, but the top of the Mets lineup can still do damage. While you may be tempted to roll the dice on the 2018 first-overall pick, it's still too early to stream him with confidence.
James Paxton (20% Rostered), Los Angeles Dodgers
Scheduled Starts: vs. SF, @ CHC
Now in his 11th season, James Paxton finds himself in a great spot with the Dodgers. A starter backed up by one of the best rosters created in recent memory should have high expectations for fantasy success. However, the 35-year-old has struggled lately, with a 4.50 ERA and 4.68 FIP in 2023. ATC projects slight improvement, with a 4.27 ERA, 4.40 FIP, 1.28 WHIP, and 25% strikeout rate, but that won't be enough to stream him confidently this week.
He will start the season against two of the NL's best offenses, with Chicago returning an offense that put up the sixth-most runs in the MLB last season and San Francisco boosting their lineup with the additions of Jorge Soler, Jung Hoo Lee, and Matt Chapman. Paxton will likely rack up plenty of wins and quality starts as the season goes on, but he should be ignored as a streamer this week.
Kyle Gibson (19% Rostered), St. Louis Cardinals
Scheduled Starts: @ SD, vs. MIA
Coming off a season where he held a 4.73 ERA and 19.5% strikeout rate through 33 starts, it wouldn't be the best idea to stream Kyle Gibson. Leave the 36-year-old on the waiver wires with a matchup against Fernando Tatis Jr. and Co. looming.
Sean Manaea (19% Rostered), New York Mets
Scheduled Starts: vs. DET, @ CIN
ATC's 2024 projections of a 4.25 ERA, 4.18 FIP, 1.26 WHIP, 24.6% strikeout rate, and 7.6% walk rate would be Sean Manaea's best numbers in years. A 1.94 FIP through four Spring Training starts is encouraging, but it isn't enough to stream him with confidence against an elite Reds offense in the hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park.
Dane Dunning (17% Rostered), Texas Rangers
Scheduled Starts: @ TB, vs. HOU
Dane Dunning will do his job as a starting pitcher against most offenses, as evidenced by his 3.70 ERA in 2023. However, the 29-year-old lacks the firepower (19.4% strikeout rate in 2023) necessary to stifle two of the league's best offenses in Tampa Bay and Houston.
Joe Boyle (6% Rostered), Oakland Athletics
Scheduled Starts: vs. BOS, @ DET
Joe Boyle is on the heels of an incredible late-season debut, with a 1.69 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 25% strikeout rate, and jaw-dropping 132 Stuff+ grade in three starts. The 24-year-old is an intriguing starting pitcher, but that intrigue shouldn't translate into a stream this week. Boston is one of the better offenses in the league, so his lack of experience, poor command, and awful supporting cast is a recipe for disaster.
Joe Boyle's 3Ks...with 2 Swords. ⚔️⚔️ pic.twitter.com/7f9sXIpzIt
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 6, 2024
Tanner Houck (5% Rostered), Boston Red Sox
Scheduled Starts: @ OAK, @ LAA
Tanner Houck is coming off an awful 2023 season, with a 5.01 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 21.4% strikeout rate, and 8.9% walk rate over 21 starts. There's hope against a poor Oakland Athletics offense, but the Los Angeles Angels, unfortunately, are still stocked with enough offensive talent to leave Houck alone.
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