Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers: August 22-28
For those who try to balance fantasy baseball with fantasy football, this is the toughest time of the year. You are vying for a playoff spot in a head-to-head league, but also researching for your drafts. I'm here to help by providing you with the complete list of two-start pitchers for this week.
Probable two-start pitchers:
Chase Anderson, MIL (vs. COL, vs. PIT)
Chris Archer, TB (vs. BOS, @ HOU)
Homer Bailey, CIN (vs. LAD, @ ARI)
Chad Bettis, COL (@ MIL, @ WAS)
Archie Bradley, ARI (vs. ATL, vs. CIN)
Madison Bumgarner, SF (@ LAD, vs. ATL)
Dylan Bundy, BAL (vs. WAS, @ NYY)
Carlos Carrasco, CLE (@ OAK, @ TEX)
Andrew Cashner, MIA (vs. KC, vs. SD)
Doug Fister, HOU (@ PIT, vs. TB)
Mike Foltynewicz, ATL (@ ARI, @ SF)
Jaime Garcia, STL (vs. NYM, vs. OAK)
Kevin Gausman, BAL (vs. WAS, @ NYY)
Kyle Gibson, MIN (vs. DET, @ TOR)
Zack Godley, ARI (vs. ATL, vs. CIN)
Derek Holland, TEX (@ CIN, vs. CLE)
Hisashi Iwakuma, SEA (vs. NYY, @ CWS)
Scott Kazmir, LAD (@ CIN, vs. CHC)
Jon Lester, CHC (@ SD, @ LAD)
Reynaldo Lopez, WAS (@ BAL, vs. COL)
Kenta Maeda, LAD (@ CIN, vs. CHC)
Cody Martin, SEA (vs. NYY, @ CWS)
Jimmy Nelson, MIL (vs. COL, vs. PIT)
Jonathan Niese, NYM (@ STL, vs. PHI)
Ivan Nova, PIT (vs. HOU, @ MIL)
Michael Pineda, NYY (@ SEA, vs. BAL)
David Price, BOS (@ TB, vs. KC)
Anthony Ranaudo, CWS (vs. PHI, vs. SEA)
Danny Salazar, CLE (@ OAK, @ TEX)
Anibal Sanchez, DET (@ MIN, vs. LAA)
Tyler Skaggs, LAA (@ TOR, @ DET)
Blake Snell, TB (vs. BOS, @ HOU)
Stephen Strasburg, WAS (@ BAL, vs. COL)
Jameson Taillon, PIT (vs. HOU, @ MIL)
Andrew Triggs, OAK (vs. CLE, @ STL)
Yordano Ventura, KC (@ MIA, @ BOS)
Rob Whalen, ATL (@ ARI, @ SF)
Cream of the crop:
Madison Bumgarner, SF (@ LAD, vs. ATL)
It will be weird not seeing Clayton Kershaw vs. Bumgarner as the Giants travel to Los Angeles this week, and that's an added boost for the Mad Bum. He is winless in two starts against the Dodgers this year, both with Kershaw as the opposing pitcher. In his career, Bumgarner is 8-5 with a 2.40 ERA at Dodger Stadium.
Jon Lester, CHC (@ SD, @ LAD)
While Lester thrives at Wrigley, he'll welcome the change of scenery in San Diego this week. This will actually be his first time pitching at Petco Park, other than the 2016 All-Star game (0.2 IP, 1 BB). He'll also get the Dodgers this week. On June 1, Lester pitched a complete game against Los Angeles (9 IP, 1 ER, and 10 Ks).
Stephen Strasburg, WAS (@ BAL, vs. COL)
Just when you thought his outing against the Braves couldn't get any worse (5.1 IP, 6 ER), Strasburg followed it up with a stinker in Colorado (1.2 IP, 9 ER). This week, he'll have a shot at redemption as the Rockies travel to the D.C. area. This season, Stras has struck out 104 batters in 85.1 innings of work at home.
Potential bargains:
Dylan Bundy, BAL (vs. WAS, @ NYY)
Owned in less than 57 percent of FOX Sports fantasy baseball leagues, Bundy is the best fantasy free agent to add this week in the two-start world. Sure, his five earned run outing against Boston in his last start was rough, but Bundy has allowed two earned runs or less in three of the past four performances. He's also struck out at least seven batters in three of the past five starts.
Jameson Taillon, PIT (vs. HOU, @ MIL)
It's time to start buying, people. Taillon is available in over 50 percent of leagues at FOX Sports. He's allowed two earned runs or less in three of the past four games. Taillon has also tallied at least five Ks in four of the past five outings.
Avoid at all costs:
Homer Bailey, CIN (vs. LAD, @ ARI)
Bailey's had back-to-back solid outings for the Reds, but there are some great DFS targets to choose against him this week. First, Adrian Gonzalez is 10-for-23 (.435) with five home runs against Bailey. As for his start in Arizona, Rickie Weeks is 14-for-28 (.500) with two homers when Bailey is on the bump.
Jimmy Nelson, MIL (vs. COL, vs. PIT)
In three of his last four starts, Nelson has allowed six earned runs. Since the All-Star break, he is 1-6 with a 6.43 ERA. Also, his two-start week begins with a game against the second-highest scoring team in baseball, the Rockies.