Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers: Week 8 (Kershaw, Sale, Strasburg, & More)
A couple of elite lefties lead the way for the Week 8 slate in fantasy baseball this week. However, a third southpaw gets a tough task. Find out who below.
Probable two-start pitchers:
Wei-Yin Chen, MIA (vs. TB, @ ATL)
Bartolo Colon, NYM (@ WAS, vs. LAD)
Mike Clevinger, CLE (@ CWS, vs. BAL)
Johnny Cueto, SF (vs. SD, @ COL)
R.A. Dickey, TOR (@ NYY, vs. BOS)
Nathan Eovaldi, NYY (vs. TOR, @ TB)
Brandon Finnegan, CIN (@ LAD, @ MIL)
Doug Fister, HOU (vs. BAL, @ LAA)
Rich Hill, OAK (@ SEA, vs. DET)
Gio Gonzalez, WAS (vs. NYM, vs. STL)
Derek Holland, TEX (vs. LAA, vs. PIT)
Ian Kennedy, KC (@ MIN, vs. CWS)
Clayton Kershaw, LAD (vs. CIN, @ NYM)
Tom Koehler, MIA (vs. TB, @ ATL)
John Lackey, CHC (@ STL, vs. PHI)
Matt Latos, CWS (vs. CLE, @ KC)
Francisco Liriano, PIT (vs. ARI, @ TEX)
Shelby Miller, ARI (@ PIT, vs. SD)
Matt Moore, TB (@ MIA, vs. NYY)
Jimmy Nelson, MIL (@ ATL, vs. CIN)
Ricky Nolasco, MIN (vs. KC, @ SEA)
Jake Odorizzi, TB (@ MIA, vs. NYY)
Mike Pelfrey, DET (vs. PHI, @ OAK)
Drew Pomeranz, SD (@ SF, @ ARI)
David Price, BOS (vs. COL, @ TOR)
Chris Rusin, COL (@ BOS, vs. SF)
Chris Sale, CWS (vs. CLE, @ KC)
Ervin Santana, MIN (vs. KC, @ SEA)
Stephen Strasburg, WAS (vs. NYM, vs. STL)
Julio Teheran, ATL (vs. MIL, vs. MIA)
Chris Tillman, BAL (@ HOU, @ CLE)
Nick Tropeano, LAA (@ TEX, vs. HOU)
Vincent Velasquez, PHI (@ DET, @ CHC)
Edinson Volquez, KC (@ MIN, vs. CWS)
Michael Wacha, STL (vs. CHC, @ WAS)
Adam Wainwright, STL (vs. CHC, @ WAS)
Taijuan Walker, SEA (vs. OAK, vs. MIN)
Cream of the crop:
Clayton Kershaw, LAD (vs. CIN, @ NYM)
Maybe Dave Roberts shouldn't have messed with the Dodgers rotation. Kershaw was slated to pitch twice in Week 7, however Mike Bolsinger was pulled up to pitch on May 18th, which pushed everyone back in the rotation.. The Dodgers went on to lose four-straight, including two-of-three to San Diego. That move also deprived us of a Kershaw/Syndergaard showdown this week. On the bright side, Kershaw continues to punch out batters. He's tallied at least 10 strikeouts in six-consecutive starts. His first outing this week is at home. Kershaw is 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA at Dodger Stadium this season with 54 Ks in 40 innings of work.
Chris Sale, CWS (vs. CLE, @ KC)
After back-to-back complete games, Sale will get two divisional foes in Week 8. Sale has won in every outing in 2016 and hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in his last seven performances.
Stephen Strasburg, WAS (vs. NYM, vs. STL)
It's a Strasburg/Harvey ticket on Tuesday in D.C. and it's the Nat who's pitching like an ace this season. Stras has struck out at least 10 batters in two of the past three starts, including his last outing which was against the Mets (6 IP, 1 ER, and 10 Ks). He also threw against the Cardinals already in 2016: 7 IP, 2 ER, and 9 Ks.
Potential bargains:
Julio Teheran, ATL (vs. MIL, vs. MIA)
Teheran gets two favorable matchups in Week 8. In the past week, the Brewers and Marlins are two of the top three teams with the most strikeouts in the past seven days. It doesn't help that both clubs have struggling stars. Ryan Braun missed four games with a stiff back and Giancarlo Stanton has struck out 17 times in his last 21 at-bats.
Tom Koehler, MIA (vs. TB, @ ATL)
His team's offense has been tough to watch, but Koehler is pitching well. He's allowed two earned runs or less in three-straight starts, and five of the last six games. Koehler also gets the Braves, which helps.
Avoid at all costs:
Francisco Liriano, PIT (vs. ARI, @ TEX)
Normally, being left-handed has plenty of strengths and advantages in the pitching world, but not when you face these two teams. The Diamondbacks and Rangers are both in the top seven in regards to team batting averages against southpaws.
Chris Rusin, COL (@ BOS, vs. SF)
Not only does Rusin pitch in Colorado (4.97 ERA at home this season), but he must also travel to hitter-friendly, and pitcher-abusing, Boston this week.
