Fantasy Baseball: Andrew Heaney, Michael Lorenzen top list of two-start pitching options
This is far from a banner week for two-start pitchers in fantasy baseball, with one appealing option and a second man who can be started in many leagues. Those who can’t grab Andrew Heaney or Michael Lorenzen may want to look at the best one-start options, as there are at least a half-dozen who deserve attention. On the hitting side, there are plenty of easy streamers to grab from the Marlins and Rockies, who will open the week with four games at Coors Field.
Two-Start Pitchers (listed in order of preference)
Andrew Heaney, 21% (@CWS, vs. OAK)
Managers who look past Heaney’s 4-13 record will see that he is the best two-start option this week. The southpaw rarely goes deep into games, but he has a solid 9.1 K/9 rate and should produce a double-digit strikeout total over two favorable starts. He has outstanding win potential against the 31-100 White Sox, and he should maintain low ratios against an A’s offense that ranks 25th in runs scored.
Michael Lorenzen, 23% (@CLE, @HOU)
Since joining the Royals at the trade deadline, Lorenzen has continued a season-long pattern of achieving greater success than his peripherals would suggest. The veteran righty has gone 2-0 with a 1.99 ERA in four starts with his new team, enjoying a .231 BABIP that has allowed him to overcome an unimpressive 16:9 K:BB ratio.
Lorenzen's matchups are fairly difficult next week, as he will face two division leaders who are slightly above average in runs scored. He is best left for those in deep roto formats or head-to-head leagues.
Brant Hurter, 1% (@CWS, vs. BOS)
After following an opener in his past four outings, Hurter will work as a traditional starter this week. The southpaw has logged helpful fantasy stats (3.57 ERA, 0.79 WHIP) and an impressive 17:1 K:BB ratio, and he has terrific win potential in his matchup against the White Sox. The 25-year-old was far from dominant in the minors, and his second matchup is a challenging one, which will keep him out of most roto lineups. Hurter’s greatest streaming appeal this week is as a reliever in head-to-head formats.
Mitchell Parker, 18% (vs. NYY, vs. CHC)
Parker has been one of baseball’s least consistent pitchers of late. The southpaw has allowed a total of three earned runs in four of his past five starts. The other outing was a nine-run disaster in Philadelphia. Prior to those five outings, Parker gave up 11 earned runs over 3.2 innings in a two-start stretch. The start against the Yankees is less intimidating than it first appears, as their high-scoring offense has been average against lefties. But there is still enough risk with Parker to stay away in most formats.
Cooper Criswell, 1% (vs. TOR, @DET)
After spending nearly a month in the bullpen, Criswell jumped back into Boston’s rotation and held Houston to one run over 4.2 innings on August 21. The right-hander has finished six innings in just two of his 14 starts this year, but he should be able to throw five frames, as he has been stretched back out to the point where he threw 79 and 80 pitches in his past two outings. His matchups are favorable — two clubs with losing records and below average offenses — but they aren’t appealing enough to get Criswell (4.41 ERA, 1.34 WHIP) into many lineups.
Kyle Gibson, 29% (vs. SD, @NYY)
After enjoying a respectable start to the season, the wheels have come off for Gibson this summer. He produced a 4.91 ERA in five July starts and has logged a 5.48 ERA thus far in August. In Gibson’s defense, his rates of strikeouts, walks and homers have remained consistent all season, with BABIP and strand rate fluctuations mostly driving his inconsistency. Two starts against top-10 offenses are enough to keep him on waivers in all leagues.
Yariel Rodríguez, 8% (@BOS, @MIN)
Rodríguez has struggled with the big inning during his rookie year, which has led to plenty of inconsistency en route to producing a 4.40 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He should log a double-digit strikeout rate this week, but his matchups against two top-10 offenses are intimidating enough to keep him on waivers in most leagues. Adding to Rodríguez’s lack of appeal is that he has lasted five innings in just five of 14 starts.
One-Start Streamers
In order, here are the best streamers for the week, with their start date and Yahoo! roster rate in brackets.
David Peterson @CWS (Friday, 35)
José Quintana @CWS (Saturday, 18)
Jeffrey Springs @SEA (Tuesday, 42)
Simeon Woods Richardson vs. ATL (Tuesday, 19)
Zebby Matthews vs. TOR (Saturday, 20)
Cody Bradford vs. OAK (Saturday, 36)
DJ Herz vs. CHC (Saturday, 13)
Joey Estes @TEX (Saturday, 12)
Ryne Nelson vs. NYM (Thursday, 37)
Matthew Boyd vs. PIT (Saturday, 17)
Martín Pérez @TB (Saturday, 23)
Aaron Civale vs. SF (Thursday, 36)
David Festa vs. ATL (Wednesday, 11)
Javier Assad @WSH (Sunday, 39)
More MLB news
Favorable Monday-Thursday hitting matchups
Marlins @ Rockies
Both sides of this matchup could score plenty of runs in a four-game series at hitter-friendly Coors Field that involves two of baseball’s worst pitching staffs. The Marlins can offer plenty of widely available options, including Jonah Bride (15%), Jesús Sánchez (4%), Connor Norby (18%) and Derek Hill (1%). Brendan Rodgers (22%) leads the Rockies options, which include Michael Toglia (34%) and Charlie Blackmon (6%)
Royals @Guardians, @ Astros
The Royals will face some quality pitchers but remain a good volume play by virtue of having five games over the next five days. There are several Royals to consider, including MJ Melendez (22%), Paul DeJong (9%), Freddy Fermín (11%) and Kyle Isbel (1%).
