Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers: Week 1 (Kershaw, Scherzer, Keuchel, & More)
The first pitch to the fantasy baseball season starts on Sunday in Pittsburgh and there are plenty of aces on the board. Below is the list of potential starters in Week 1 of the regular season along with some arms to start, possibly pick-up, and bench.
Throughout the 2016 baseball season, continue to check-in for your two-start fantasy pitcher needs.
Probable two-start pitchers:
Chris Archer, TB (vs. TOR, @ BAL)
Jake Arrieta, CHC (@ LAA, @ ARI)
Chad Bettis, COL (@ ARI, vs. SD)
Madison Bumgarner, SF (@ MIL, vs. LAD)
Johnny Cueto, SF (@ MIL, vs. LAD)
Jorge De La Rosa, COL (@ ARI, vs. SD)
R.A. Dickey, TOR (@ TB, vs. BOS)
Marco Estrada, TOR (@ TB, vs. BOS)
Sonny Gray, OAK (vs. CWS, @ SEA)
Zack Greinke, ARI (vs. COL, vs. CHC)
Cole Hamels, TEX (vs. SEA, @ LAA)
Matt Harvey, NYM (@ KC, vs. PHI)
Jeremy Hellickson, PHI (@ CIN, @ NYM)
Felix Hernandez, SEA (@ TEX, vs. OAK)
Rich Hill, OAK (vs. CWS, @ SEA)
Raisel Iglesias, CIN (vs. PHI, vs. PIT)
Scott Kazmir, LAD (@ SD, @ SF)
Clayton Kershaw, LAD (@ SD, @ SF)
Dallas Keuchel, HOU (@ NYY, @ MIL)
Corey Kluber, CLE (vs. BOS, @ CWS)
Francisco Liriano, PIT (vs. STL, @ CIN)
Shelby Miller, ARI (vs. COL, vs. CHC)
Jake Odorizzi, TB (vs. TOR, @ BAL)
Wily Peralta, MIL (vs. SF, vs. HOU)
Martin Perez, TEX (vs. SEA, @ LAA)
David Price, BOS (@ CLE, @ TOR)
Jose Quintana, CWS (@ OAK, vs. CLE)
Garrett Richards, LAA (vs. CHC, vs. TEX)
Tyson Ross, SD (vs. LAD, @ COL)
Chris Sale, CWS (@ OAK, vs. CLE)
Ervin Santana, MIN (@ BAL, @ KC)
Max Scherzer, WAS (@ ATL, vs. MIA)
Drew Smyly, TB (vs. TOR, @ BAL)
Marcus Stroman, TOR (@ TB, vs. BOS)
Masahiro Tanaka, NYY (vs. HOU, @ DET)
Julio Teheran, ATL (vs. WAS, vs. STL)
Chris Tillman, BAL (vs. MIN, vs. TB)
Justin Verlander, DET (@ MIA, vs. NYY)
Edinson Volquez, KC (vs. NYM, vs. MIN)
Adam Wainwright, STL (@ PIT, @ ATL)
Cream of the crop:
Clayton Kershaw, LAD (@ SD, @ SF)
He was likely the first pitcher drafted in your fantasy league and Kershaw will likely be listed in this section whenever he has two starts projected in one week. Though Kershaw is a better pitcher at home and has two road games this week, he's still dominant, especially against these two divisional foes. In his career, Kershaw is 4-2 with a 2.13 ERA in San Diego and 9-3 with a 1.16 ERA at San Francisco.
Max Scherzer, WAS (@ ATL, vs. MIA)
Potentially the second pitcher off the board in your fantasy draft also gets two turn in the rotation in Week 1. Last season, Mad Max was third in the K/9 rankings with a 10.86 K/9. Also in the 2015 season, Scherzer only faced the Braves once. Surprising, right? While Atlanta struck out the second-fewest as a team (1,107 Ks), Scherzer still tallied nine punch outs against them in his 8.1 innings of work. The Nationals ace was 3-1 (2.75 ERA) with 36 Ks in 36 innings last year against the Marlins.
Dallas Keuchel, HOU (@ NYY, @ MIL)
Obviously, since it's the first week of the season, there are a slew of aces scheduled to pitch. While I listed Kershaw and Scherzer, they are the ultimate cream of the crop. Now, instead of continuing with No. 1 pitchers (Sale, Bumgarner, Price, etc.), I'll wrap-up this section with a stud who had a phenomenal spring and is looking to carry-over his stats from great 2015 season. Yes, Keuchel was 15-0 at home and only 5-8 on the road last year. However, Keuchel pitched in four spring games (17 innings with 16 strikeouts) and didn't allow an earned run. If these two road starts go well, Keuchel could be in line for another All-Star season and potentially a second Cy Young Award.
Potential bargains:
Raisel Iglesias, CIN (vs. PHI, vs. PIT)
I'm not going to sugar-coat this, the Reds will have a difficult time winning games in 2016. However, Iglesias could be the lone bright spot in the Reds rotation. Last year, the ERA (4.15) and record (3-7) wasn't appealing, but he struck out 104 batters in 95.1 innings of work. Though Iglesias didn't qualify (pitchers need 162 innings), his 9.8 K/9 would've landed him eighth among his fellow SPs, between Liriano and Ross.
Jose Quintana, CWS (@ OAK, vs. CLE)
This was a pitcher that I tried to add on all of my fantasy baseball rosters. Consistency is key. In the past three years, Quintana has recorded at least 200 innings, a 3.40 ERA, and 173 Ks per season. Though his 2015 started rough (6.55 ERA in four starts during March/April games), Quintana was still a combined 2-1 with three earned runs in 29 innings of work against the Indians and A's in the entire season.
Avoid at all costs:
Wily Peralta, MIL (vs. SF, vs. HOU)
Last year, Peralta had a bad start to the campaign (0-3 with a 5.04 ERA). In his career, Peralta is 22-19 with a 4.16 ERA at home. Plus, his Brewers will likely be the underdog in both games. Peralta is slated to toe the rubber against Bumgarner in his first start, too. As for the Astros, Houston's offense scored the sixth-most runs (729 runs) in 2015.
Rich Hill, OAK (vs. CWS, @ SEA)
The 36-year-old had an unimpressive spring. In four starts, Hill produced a 11.25 ERA and walked 15 batters in 12 innings. Yet, he is still the No. 2 pitcher in the Oakland rotation. Hill also hoists a career 4.54 ERA. Plus, his opposing pitchers will be Quintana and Hernandez.
