Another short list of names in a week when only eight teams are scheduled to play seven games, but the names are for the most part pretty good.
Six true aces at the top, another five pitchers who are more or less must-start, and then favorable enough matchups for fringe guys like Jon Gray and Zach Davies.
The two most interesting names out there for the sleeper seekers of the world are Adbert Alzolay, who impressed in a four-inning debut Thursday, and Brad Keller, who had put together a nice run of three quality starts of seven-plus innings before a seven-run disaster last time out. Favorable matchups at Cleveland and Toronto make Keller worth a roll of the dice this time. It's not entirely clear if Alzolay will be the one making the starts this week or if he'll piggyback Tyler Chatwood again, but two long relief appearances in which he's most likely to be the pitcher of record should be good enough, given the upside.
Beyond them are some riskier plays like Andrew Heaney, Ross Stripling and Marco Gonzales who are probably best left for points leagues, where a poor start does less damage. You'll find the full breakdown of Week 14 (June 24-30) two-start pitchers below.
Must-starts, all formats | | | |
1 | Max Scherzer, WAS | at MIA | at DET |
2 | Gerrit Cole, HOU | vs. PIT | vs. SEA |
3 | Zack Greinke, ARI | vs. LAD | at SF |
4 | Lucas Giolito, CHW | at BOS | vs. MIN |
5 | Blake Snell, TB | at MIN | vs. TEX |
6 | Clayton Kershaw, LAD | at ARI | at COL |
7 | Kyle Gibson, MIN | vs. TB | at CHW |
8 | Madison Bumgarner, SF | vs. COL | vs. ARI |
9 | Robbie Ray, ARI | vs. LAD | at SF |
10 | Zach Eflin, PHI | vs. NYM | at MIA |
11 | Max Fried, ATL | at CHC | at NYM |
Sleepers | | | |
12 | Jon Gray, COL | at SF | vs. LAD |
13 | Zach Davies, MIL | vs. SEA | vs. PIT |
14 | Adbert Alzolay, CHC | vs. ATL | at CIN |
15 | Brad Keller, KC* | at CLE | at TOR |
Better left for points leagues | | | |
16 | Andrew Heaney, LAA | vs. CIN | vs. OAK |
17 | Jake Arrieta, PHI | vs. NYM | at MIA |
18 | Ross Stripling, LAD* | at ARI | at COL |
19 | Marco Gonzales, SEA | at MIL | at HOU |
20 | Jon Lester, CHC | vs. ATL | at CIN |
21 | Trevor Richards, MIA | vs. WAS | vs. PHI |
22 | Julio Teheran, ATL | at CHC | at NYM |
23 | Steven Matz, NYM | at PHI | vs. ATL |
24 | Trevor Williams, PIT | at HOU | at MIL |
25 | Chris Bassitt, OAK | at STL | at LAA |
No thanks | | | |
26 | Adam Plutko, CLE | vs. KC | at BAL |
27 | Drew Pomeranz, SF* | vs. COL | vs. ARI |
28 | Aaron Sanchez, TOR | at NYY | vs. KC |
29 | Jesse Chavez, TEX | at DET | at TB |
30 | Jeff Hoffman, COL* | at SF | vs. LAD |
31 | Jordan Zimmermann, DET | vs TEX | vs. WAS |
*RP-eligible | ^expected to follow opener | | ||