At a key time in the fantasy baseball calendar, we are unfortunately saddled with possibly the worst two-start pitcher group of the season. In fact, once we get past the top option, every other hurler may be best left for those in deep formats. On the hitting side, managers should load up on Rockies for the first half of the week.
Two-Start Pitchers (listed in order of preference)
Zac Thornton, Mets, 20% (vs. MIL, vs. HOU): Thornton continues to establish himself as a reliable major league rotation member and now sits at 3-4 with a 3.04 ERA and 1.13 WHIP after nine starts. The rookie struck out seven Padres in his most recent outing, which is a great sign from someone whose only weakness thus far has been an inability to accumulate whiffs. He unfortunately has a pair of matchups against top-10 teams in OPS versus righties, but at least both starts will take place at his pitcher-friendly home park.
Andrew Alvarez, Nationals, 7% (vs. COL, vs. MIA): Although Alvarez has enjoyed his best stretch of the season during August (2.42 ERA, 0.90 WHIP), the advanced stats (16:8 K:BB ratio, .169 BABIP) don’t back up his success. In fact, the left-hander’s strikeout rate this month (6.5 K/9) is notably lower than his season-long mark (8.3). Alvarez deserves credit for consistency, as he has allowed more than three earned runs in just one of his 19 appearances. However, most of his outings last less than five innings. He has reasonable matchups and the two-start options are poor this week, which makes him worth consideration as a low-floor, low-ceiling option in deeper formats.
Max Scherzer, Blue Jays, 6% (vs. KC, vs. SEA): After enjoying three consecutive strong starts, Scherzer faltered (4 IP, 7 ER) last time out. The outing wasn’t quite as bad as the stat line indicates, as a pair of misplayed fly balls by Jesús Sánchez ruined the right-hander’s chances. Scherzer wouldn’t normally rank as a viable two-start option, but he has had enough success of late to warrant consideration for two home starts against teams that rank 22nd (Royals) and 30th (Mariners) in runs scored.
Seth Lugo, Royals, 24% (@ TOR, @ CLE): Lugo opened the second half by posting a 2.37 ERA and 1.00 WHIP over three starts, but his 10:6 K:BB ratio in those outings showed that he hadn’t truly turned around a poor season. Sure enough, the 36-year-old came crashing back to earth with a 7.48 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in his past four outings. Lugo has favorable matchups this week, as the Blue Jays (28th) and Guardians (26th) sit near the bottom of baseball in runs scored. That’s the only reason to select him over those who trail him on this list.
Jose Urquidy, White Sox, 4% (vs. TEX, @ MIN): The oft-injured Urquidy came out of nowhere on August 19 to strike out eight White Sox over six shutout innings. Prior to that outing, he had produced an 8.10 ERA and 2.20 WHIP over 10 innings this season, after logging 2.1 frames last year and missing all of 2024. Managers who are desperate in deep formats can hope that the 31-year-old found something sustainable last time out, but the most likely answer is that he managed to turn the clock back for a couple hours and won’t be able to sustain that success.
Merrill Kelly, Diamondbacks, 34% (vs. CHC, @ SF): Here is Kelly’s ERA by month this season, starting with April: 9.20, 3.49, 7.31, 1.95, 8.24. His monthly win totals have been equally instable: 1, 4, 0, 3, 0. While his results have fluctuated, his skills have been consistently below average, including a 1.8 HR/9 rate, 4.0 BB/9 rate and 5.9 K/9 rate. Only managers who are desperately chasing wins should give a chance to this innings eater with a 5.37 ERA.
Kumar Rocker, Rangers, 10% (@ CWS, @ MIL): A former phenom, Rocker has established little this season beyond cementing his status as a full-time major leaguer. The right-hander has been the definition of an innings eater, going 4-10 with a 4.46 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 109:48 K:BB ratio. His ERA has risen in each month since he posted a 3.38 mark in April, topping out at 6.75 in August. Given that he’s facing a pair of division leaders, this doesn’t seem like the week he turns things around.
Chris Bassitt, Orioles, 6% (@ STL, @ ATH): Bassitt has made two starts since returning from over two months on the IL, logging a 9:4 K:BB ratio, 4.09 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. The 37-year-old has struggled to keep the bases clean throughout the season (1.62 WHIP), which is not surprising from an aging pitcher who has always had to overcome limited velocity. He will open the week against a Cardinals offense that ranks 29th in OPS at home, before finishing up against an Athletics lineup that leads the majors in the same category. The second outing is enough to scare everyone away.
One-Start Streamers
In order, here are the best streamers for the week, with their start date and Yahoo roster rate in brackets.
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Randy Vazquez vs. PIT (Wednesday, 13)
Favorable Monday-Thursday hitting matchup
Rockies @ Nationals: Major League Baseball has a light schedule over the next four days, with few teams playing four games. Fortunately for fantasy managers who need to stream hitters, the Rockies (5.54 ERA) and Nats (4.68 ERA) are set to meet up for four contests. Sure, the series won’t take place at Coors Field, but Washington has a hitter-friendly venue, and the lack of skilled hurlers should lead to offensive fireworks. The Nats are starting right-handers in three games, which makes Mickey Moniak (33%), Zac Veen (12%), Cole Carrigg (22%) and TJ Rumfield (33%) fine options.
Abimelec Ortiz (17%) is the top Washington hitter to add, and those in shallow leagues should ensure that Daylen Lile (67%) is in their active lineup.
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