Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers: Week 2 (Scherzer, Kluber, Price, & More)
The first week of fantasy baseball is coming to an end. If you lost the first week of the head-to-head matchup, or you're at the bottom of the roto standings, fear not. There is still plenty of time to recover. The list of aces does drop from Week 1 to Week 2, but that doesn't mean that there isn't some quality arms available.
Let's get to the probables and suggestions for the second week of the regular season...
Probable two-start pitchers:
Andrew Cashner, SD (@ PHI, vs. ARI)
Jhoulys Chacin, ATL (@ WAS, @ MIA)
Tyler Chatwood, COL (vs. SF, @ CHC)
Patrick Corbin, ARI (@ LAD, @ SD)
Jarred Cosart, MIA (@ NYM, vs. ATL)
Mike Fiers, HOU (vs. KC, vs. DET)
Brandon Finnegan, CIN (@ CHC, @ STL)
Yovani Gallardo, BAL (@ BOS, @ TEX)
Kyle Gibson, MIN (vs. CWS, vs. LAA)
Gio Gonzalez, WAS (vs. ATL, @ PHI)
Sonny Gray, OAK (vs. LAA, vs. KC)
Derek Holland, TEX (@ SEA, vs. BAL)
Hisashi Iwakuma, SEA (vs. TEX, @ NYY)
Ubaldo Jimenez, BAL (@ BOS, @ TEX)
Taylor Jungmann, MIL (@ STL, @ PIT)
Corey Kluber, CLE (@ TB, vs. NYM)
Jon Lester, CHC (vs. CIN, vs. COL)
Colby Lewis, TEX (@ SEA, vs. BAL)
Kenta Maeda, LAD (vs. ARI, vs. SF)
Collin McHugh, HOU (vs. KC, vs. DET)
Kris Medlen, KC (@ HOU, @ OAK)
Matt Moore, TB (vs. CLE, vs. CWS)
Charlie Morton, PHI (vs. SD, vs. WAS)
Juan Nicasio, PIT (@ DET, vs. MIL)
Jonathon Niese, PIT (@ DET, vs. MIL)
Aaron Nola, PHI (vs. SD, vs. WAS)
Bud Norris, ATL (@ WAS, @ MIA)
MIchael Pineda, NYY (@ TOR, vs. SEA)
David Price, BOS (vs. BAL, vs. TOR)
Carlos Rodon, CWS (@ MIN, @ TB)
Jeff Samardzija, SF (@ COL, @ LAD)
Aaron Sanchez, TOR (vs. NYY, @ BOS)
Anibal Sanchez, DET (vs. PIT, @ HOU)
Max Scherzer, WAS (vs. ATL, @ PHI)
James Shields, SD (@ PHI, vs. ARI)
Noah Syndergaard, NYM (vs. MIA, @ CLE)
Nick Tropeano, LAA (@ OAK, @ MIN)
Justin Verlander, DET (vs. PIT, @ HOU)
Michael Wacha, STL (vs. MIL, vs. CIN)
Chris Young, KC (@ HOU, @ OAK)
Cream of the crop:
Max Scherzer, WAS (vs. ATL, @ PHI)
On Opening Day, Scherzer didn't record a win, but his Nationals did, 4-3 against the Braves. This week, he'll face Atlanta again, but this time in Washington. In that first outing, he struck out seven batters in seven innings. As for Scherzer's second start, last year he was 3-0 against the Phillies in four games (1.50 ERA). He also punched out 30 Phillies in 30 innings of work.
David Price, BOS (vs. BAL, vs. TOR)
For the first time in his career, Price will take the mound in Fenway Park as the home pitcher. His dominance in that ballpark is remarkable: 6-1 with a 1.95 ERA in 11 outings. This week, Price will get two starts in Boston and, though he faces two tough lineups, he should continue to perform well on Yawkey Way.
Corey Kluber, CLE (@ TB, vs. NYM)
The Tribe will be grateful to play in a dome and have a guaranteed game in Tampa Bay. They already had one home and road game PPD'd. They've also played in snow/cold for all four of their games in 2016. In his career, Kluber is 4-0 with a 2.02 ERA in domes. His second opponent, the Mets, have a combined .192 batting AVG this season (third-worst).
Michael Wacha, STL (vs. MIL, vs. CIN)
It was a less-that-stellar start for Wacha's 2016 campaign. He was rocked to the tune of four earned runs on 10 hits against the Pirates on the road. On the bright side, Wacha returns home for two starts in Week 2. In his career, Wacha is 14-4 with a 2.69 ERA at Busch Stadium. He will also face a team that he has the greatest success against, the Reds. In 57.2 innings, he is 5-1 with a 1.87 ERA when Cincinnati is in the opposing dugout.
Potential bargains:
Juan Nicasio, PIT (@ DET, vs. MIL)
He's only owned in 45 percent of leagues at FOX Sports and that number will only grow going into a two-start week. Nicasio was able to carry his spring success into his first start of 2016: 6 IP, 7 K, and 1 ER. Though he's never faced the Tigers, Nicasio is 2-0 with a 1.20 ERA against the Brewers. The current group of Milwaukee players are 4-29 (.138 AVG), including Ryan Braun's 1-for-5 (.200 AVG), with two strikeouts, career numbers.
Aaron Nola, PHI (vs. SD, vs. WAS)
Nola notched eight strikeouts in his first start of the season. While the Padres piled on the runs in Colorado, they were unable to score before the series in Coors Field. Last year, Nola had two starts against San Diego: 1-0 (2.77 ERA) and 12 strikeouts in 13 innings of work.
Avoid at all costs:
Colby Lewis, TEX (@ SEA, vs. BAL)
The daily fantasy baseball community smiles whenever Lewis takes the mound. Left-handed bats feast off of Lewis' pitches. In his first start of 2016, Robinson Cano and Leonys Martin hit a homer off of Lewis. He'll get the Mariners, again, as well as the Orioles (Chris Davis is 4-for-8 with two HRs against Lewis).
Bud Norris, ATL (@ WAS, @ MIA)
Norris is not a road warrior. Last year, he was 2-8 with a 6.70 ERA on the road. In 99 away games, he is 24-44 with a 5.29 ERA. The Nationals faced Norris last Wednesday: 7 IP and 3 ER.
Jeff Samardzija, SF (@ COL, @ LAD)
The Shark has two away games on the schedule this week. One of which is at Coors Field. The Rockies lead all of baseball with 12 home runs in 2016.
