Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers: Week 4 (Kershaw, Sale, Zimmermann, & More)
There are some stellar starting pitchers on the Week 4 slate for fantasy baseball. Some of whom have back-to-back contests at home. Here are the list of probables, along with suggestions...
Probable two-start pitchers:
Chris Archer, TB (vs. BAL, vs. TOR)
Chad Bettis, COL (vs. PIT, @ ARI)
Madison Bumgarner, SF (vs. SD, @ NYM)
Wei-Yin Chen, MIA (@ LAD, @ MIL)
Gerrit Cole, PIT (@ COL, vs. CIN)
John Danks, CWS (@ TOR, @ BAL)
Jorge De La Rosa, COL (vs. PIT, @ ARI)
Nathan Eovaldi, NYY (@ TEX, @ BOS)
Doug Fister, HOU (@ SEA, @ OAK)
Jaime Garcia, STL (@ ARI, vs. WAS)
Kevin Gausman, BAL (@ TB, vs. CWS)
Kendall Graveman, OAK (@ DET, vs. HOU)
Zack Greinke, ARI (vs. STL, vs. COL)
Cole Hamels, TEX (vs. NYY, vs. LAA)
Kyle Hendricks, CHC (vs. MIL, vs. ATL)
Rich HIll, OAK (@ DET, vs. HOU)
Raisel Iglesias, CIN (@ NYM, @ PIT)
Ubaldo Jimenez, BAL (@ TB, vs. CWS)
Ian Kennedy, KC (@ LAA, @ SEA)
Clayton Kershaw, LAD (vs. MIA, vs. SD)
Tom Koehler, MIA (@ LAD, @ MIL)
Jeff Locke, PIT (@ COL, vs. CIN)
Carlos Martinez, STL (@ ARI, vs. WAS)
Shelby Miller, ARI (vs. STL, vs. COL)
Tommy Milone, MIN (vs. CLE, vs. DET)
Jimmy Nelson, MIL (@ CHC, vs. MIA)
Mike Pelfrey, DET (vs. OAK, @ MIN)
Drew Pomeranz, SD (@ SF, @ LAD)
Rick Porcello, BOS (@ ATL, vs. NYY)
David Price, BOS (@ ATL, vs. NYY)
Garrett Richards, LAA (vs. KC, @ TEX)
Joe Ross, WAS (vs. PHI, @ STL)
Danny Salazar, CLE (@ MIN, @ PHI)
Chris Sale, CWS (@ TOR, @ BAL)
James Shields, SD (@ SF, @ LAD)
Ross Stripling, LAD (vs. MIA, vs. SD)
Marcus Stroman, TOR (vs. CWS, @ TB)
Noah Syndergaard, NYM (vs. CIN, vs. SF)
Julio Teheran, ATL (vs. BOS, @ CHC)
Vince Velasquez, PHI (@ WAS, vs. CLE)
Taijuan Walker, SEA (vs. HOU, vs. KC)
Matt Wisler, ATL (vs. BOS, @ CHC)
Jordan Zimmermann, DET (vs. OAK, @ MIN)
Cream of the crop:
Clayton Kershaw, LAD (vs. MIA, vs. SD)
The most dominant pitcher in the game gets two starts at home this week. While at Dodger Stadium, Kershaw has racked up a 64-28 record with a 2.07 ERA. The Padres have struck out the fifth-most times this season (159 Ks) and Miami only has five wins. Kershaw could throw Eephus pitches all day and get two wins in Week 4.
Noah Syndergaard, NYM (vs. CIN, vs. SF)
Thor gets two turns in the Mets rotation this week. Both contests are at home. At Citi Field, Syndergaard is 7-2 with a 2.37 ERA. He is also 2-0 (1.72 ERA) in his only two outings against the Reds.
David Price, BOS (@ ATL, vs. NYY)
The ERA is off to a rough start for Price as a member of the Red Sox (7.06 ERA in four games). However, that stat should improve after his two-start slate in Week 4. First, Price heads to Atlanta where he is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA. Then he faces the Yankees who have the second-worst team batting average on the road (.210 AVG).
Chris Sale, CWS (@ TOR, @ BAL)
He's on the road for two tough matchups this week, but Sale is cruising through his opponents this season. He is 4-0 (1.80 ERA) and hasn't allowed an earned run in his last two performances. Though he travels to two parks with offenses who rake, Sale tends to keep the ball in the yard. In 37 combined innings at Camden Yards and the Rogers Centre (20 IP in Baltimore, 17 in Toronto), Sale has allowed only three total homers.
Jordan Zimmermann, DET (vs. OAK, @ MIN)
San Francisco might be upset that the Mad Bum didn't make it on this list, but I've got to give credit to the Z-Mann. He's the only starting pitcher who has made an appearance in at least three games and hasn't allowed an earned run. Also, Minnesota has the fourth-most Ks as a team (163 strikeouts).
Potential bargains:
Drew Pomeranz, SD (@ SF, @ LAD)
Pomeranz probably won't win any of his games this week because he's facing Bumgarner and Kershaw. However, wins aren't everything. In his three starts in 2016, Pomeranz has allowed no more than two earned runs in a start and has struck out at least seven batters in each performance.
Ross Stripling, LAD (vs. MIA, vs. SD)
This season, Stripling has a 2.65 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. As I mentioned in Kershaw's write-up, the Padres are prone to punchouts and the Marlins struggle to win games.
Avoid at all costs:
Jeff Locke, PIT (@ COL, vs. CIN)
His Pirates travel to Colorado where the Rockies have hit 12 home runs in eight games this year. In his last outing, Locke allowed eight earned runs to San Diego.
Chad Bettis, COL (vs. PIT, @ ARI)
Simply put, Bettis pitches in the two most hitter-friendly ballparks this week: Colorado and Arizona.
