Now that the second half is well under way, starting rotations are a little more settled.
A lot of guesswork went into these rankings Friday, but I updated them midday Sunday with a little more confidence.
(At least as much as I can have, given the nature of the task. Predicting how a team's starting pitchers will line up a week in advance is an invitation for failure, and thus, the two-start rankings in any week are subject to change.)
Doesn't change the fact that it's an awful week for two-start pitchers, with many of the standbys -- Marcus Stroman, J.A. Happ, Ivan Nova and Julio Teheran -- suffering from miserable matchups. Eduardo Rodriguez would seem like a risky choice after missing the last six weeks with a knee injury, but given the alternatives, he's almost a no-brainer.
If you're feeling adventurous, Nos. 13-22 all offer some measure of upside, but there's so much risk attached to that group that, in most cases, it's not worth chasing the extra start this time around.
Your opponent is working with the same limitations, after all. This week may be one of those where you each make do with fewer starts.
Two-start pitchers for Week 16 | ||||||||
Rank | Pitcher | Start 1 | Start 2 | |||||
1 | Clayton Kershaw, LAD | at CHW | vs. ATL | |||||
2 | Stephen Strasburg, WAS | at CIN | at ARI | |||||
3 | Robbie Ray, ARI | at CIN | vs. WAS | |||||
4 | Jon Lester, CHC | at ATL | vs. STL | |||||
5 | Lance McCullers, HOU | vs. SEA | at BAL | |||||
6 | Jason Vargas, KC | vs. DET | vs. CHW | |||||
7 | Marcus Stroman, TOR | at BOS | at CLE | |||||
8 | J.A. Happ, TOR | at BOS | at CLE | |||||
9 | Eduardo Rodriguez, BOS | vs. TOR | at LAA | |||||
10 | Ivan Nova, PIT | vs. MIL | at COL | |||||
11 | Julio Teheran, ATL | vs. CHC | at LAD | |||||
12 | Michael Wacha, STL | at NYM | at CHC | |||||
13 | Jake Odorizzi, TB | at OAK | vs. TEX | |||||
14 | Matt Moore, SF | vs. CLE | vs. SD | |||||
15 | Zack Wheeler, NYM | vs. STL | vs. OAK | |||||
16 | Sean Newcomb, ATL | vs. CHC | at LAD | |||||
17 | Dylan Bundy, BAL* | vs. TEX | vs. HOU | |||||
18 | Dinelson Lamet, SD | at COL | at SF | |||||
19 | Ariel Miranda, SEA | at HOU | vs. NYY | |||||
20 | Jared Eickhoff, PHI | at MIA | vs. MIL | |||||
21 | Adam Wainwright, STL | at NYM | at CHC | |||||
22 | Tyson Ross, TEX | at BAL | at TB | |||||
23 | Scott Feldman, CIN* | vs. WAS | vs. MIA | |||||
24 | Brent Suter, MIL* | at PIT | at PHI | |||||
25 | Jordan Zimmermann, DET | at KC | at MIN | |||||
26 | Travis Wood, KC* | vs. DET | vs. CHW | |||||
27 | Junior Guerra, MIL | at PIT | at PHI | |||||
28 | Tom Koehler, MIA | vs. PHI | at CIN | |||||
29 | Josh Tomlin, CLE | at SF | vs. TOR | |||||
30 | Luis Cessa, NYY | at MIN | at SEA | |||||
31 | Daniel Gossett, OAK | vs. TB | at NYM | |||||
32 | Andrew Cashner, TEX | at BAL | at TB | |||||
33 | German Marquez, COL | vs. SD | vs. PIT | |||||
34 | Matt Boyd, DET | at KC | at MIN | |||||
35 | Rafael Montero, NYM* | vs. STL | vs. OAK | |||||
36 | Adalberto Mejia, MIN* | vs. NYY | vs. DET | |||||
37 | Ty Blach, SF | vs. CLE | vs. SD | |||||
38 | Miguel Gonzalez, CHW | vs. LAD | at KC | |||||
39 | Chris Tillman, BAL | vs. TEX | vs. HOU | |||||
40 | Sal Romano, CIN | vs. ARI | vs. MIA | |||||
41 | Sam Gaviglio, SEA* | at HOU | vs. NYY | |||||
42 | Luis Perdomo, SD* | at COL | at SF | |||||
43 | Chad Kuhl, PIT | vs. MIL | at COL |
*RP-eligible