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Yo, it's Jon Anderson, continuing to run the show here in terms of late-summer fantasy baseball writing. I am back with another edition of two-start pitchers as we approach the playoffs. It is week 23, and we're firmly into the playoff weeks for most leagues.
This weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups column aims to identify starting pitchers expected to make two starts in the upcoming fantasy baseball week, ahead of the Sunday night waiver wire runs for leagues with weekly transactions.
This list will be limited to players under 50% rostered in Yahoo leagues and divided into three sections based on recommendation levels: solid starters, risky streamers, and must-avoids.
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Solid Two-Start Pitcher Streamers
Reid Detmers, Los Angeles Angels - 38% Rostered
Scheduled starts: @ CLE, vs. SEA
He got bumped back from his Sunday start, setting him up for two starts here. The last few outings have been against very tough offenses so the numbers haven't come out that great, but Detmers still has a really strong 29.2% K% and a 9.6% BB% with a .279 xwOBA allowed over his last nine starts since returning from his minor league stint. That's good enough for me to start him in this two week start with confidence.
Bailey Falter, Philadelphia Phillies - 20% Rostered
Scheduled starts: @ MIA, @ ATL
The young lefty has put together a 3.40 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP, a 23% K%, and a 4.4% BB% over his last eight starts, dating back to early July. That K-BB% is quite useful and supports the great WHIP he's put up. That first matchup is one of the best you can find in the league right now, and he has shown the ability to navigate tougher lineups as well like the Braves. He's my top two-start streamer for next week.
Nick Pivetta, Boston Red Sox - 36% Rostered
Scheduled starts: vs. NYY, vs. KC
These two matchups are pretty good with the Yankees sputtering outside of the best hitter to ever live, 2022 Aaron Judge. Pivetta is not to be trusted, but I can call him "solid" for next week. He's given up up more than two earned runs just once in his last five starts, but the strikeouts have been down lately with just nine strikeouts and eight walks over his last three starts. I'm not promising anything great here, and I really prefer Falter – but Pivetta is worth considering.
Risky Two-Start Pitcher Streamer Picks
Hunter Brown, Houston Astros - 35% Rostered
Scheduled starts: @ DET, vs. OAK
It was an encouraging big league debut for Brown last week as he threw six scoreless innings against the Rangers. That has him lined up for another Monday start, which would make him a two-start pitcher with elite matchups. We need to check to make sure his start doesn't get bumped up to Sunday before adding him, but he is certainly an exciting young pitcher facing minor league level lineups in week 23.
Alex Cobb, San Francisco Giants - 43% Rostered
Scheduled starts: vs. ATL, vs. LAD
This is a brutal stretch of the schedule for Cobb, who just got beaten up by the Dodgers last week and now has to turn around and them again along with the tough Braves lineup. That said, Cobb has recently thrown seven scoreless innings against the full-strength Phillies lineup, 6.1 pretty strong innings against the Dodgers, and five scoreless against the Twins. He has also posted a strikeout rate in the mid-twenties and the guy keep the ball on the ground so, so well. The WHIP won't be good in these spots, but he's certainly a desperation two-start option if you need some innings and strikeouts.
Michael Kopech, Chicago - 3% Rostered
Scheduled starts: vs. COL, @ DET
Great matchups slated here, but Kopech is just getting back up to speed. He threw just 3.2 innings in his first start off the IL, and it didn't go well. I'm not really ready to jump back in on Kopech yet -– but I get it if you want to take a stab at him with these soft opponents.
Kris Bubic, Kansas City Royals - 3% Rostered
Scheduled starts: @ MIN, @ BOS
Two straight outings exceeding six innings while giving up just five earned runs. The strikeouts are bad, the walks can be bad as well, so there's a ton of risk here. The matchups also aren't ideal, but there are certainly worse pitchers in the league than Bubic.
Mike Minor, Cincinnati Reds - 2% Rostered
Scheduled starts: vs. PIT, @ STL
He has pitched a lot better recently, although he still hasn't pitched well, per se. He's held his last three opponents under three runs over 19 innings and has a recent start of seven innings with seven strikeouts. The Pirates are an elite matchup for anybody right now, but that Cardinals start probably won't go how you like.
Luis Cessa, Cincinnati Reds - 1% Rostered
Scheduled starts: vs. PIT, @ STL
He has functioned mostly as a reliever this yar, but on September 2nd he threw five innings – a season-high. The Reds have nine games next week, so they really need some guys to cover some innings. That has me believing he could throw 10-12 innings for you next week, and that should result in some strikeouts if nothing else.
Stay Away from these Two-Start Pitchers
Cody Morris, Cleveland Guardians - 1% Rostered
Scheduled starts: vs. LAA, vs. MIN
Glenn Otto, Texas Rangers - 3% Rostered
Scheduled starts: @ MIA, @ TB
Ken Waldichuk, Oakland Athletics - 9% Rostered
Scheduled starts: @ TEX, @ HOU
Ryne Nelson, Arizona Diamondbacks - 2% Rostered
Scheduled starts: vs. LAD, vs. SD
Zach Thompson, Pittsburgh Pirates - 2% Rostered
Scheduled starts: @ CIN, @ NYM
Bryse Wilson, Pittsburgh Pirates - 1% Rostered
Scheduled starts: @ CIN, @ NYM
Xzavion Cury, Cleveland Guardians - 1% Rostered
Scheduled starts: vs. LAA, vs. MIN
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