MLB Fantasy Baseball 2019: Michael Pineda and Other Two-Start Pitchers

Which two-start pitchers are worth starting for your fantasy baseball team this week?

Week 4 of the fantasy baseball season is full of two-start pitchers. As of this writing, there are 36 starting pitchers making two starts this week (Monday to Sunday). However, not all of them are worth adding to your fantasy team.

Also, because it’s too close to the start time for the Monday games, I will be excluding them from this list. So guys like J.A. Happ, Jake Arrieta, Mike Minor and a few others won’t be mentioned after this sentence. That leaves us with 18 pitchers to choose from.

There are also a few starters that are no-brainers and should be in your starting lineup regardless. Pitchers like Carlos Carrasco, Walker Buehler and Cole Hamels fall into that category.

Now, with all of those conditions and caveats out of the way, here are the two-start pitchers I like for this week.

Michael Pineda, 4/23 @HOU, 4/28 vs. BAL

The Houston matchup is a scary one as they lead the league with a .271 average. However, he’s shown good control based on his 17.1 percent K-BB rate. The Astros haven’t reached 100 runs yet, so if he can limit damage, the offense should support him.

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Baltimore is usually a good matchup for pitchers. I’ve mentioned some of their hitters to add but as a whole, the lineup is pretty weak. It also helps that this game is at home instead of at Camden Yards. Pineda could walk away with two wins.

Brad Peacock, 4/23 vs. MIN, 4/28 vs. CLE

Peacock may not be long for the Astros rotation but he will be for this week. The Twins have some power, 33 home runs, and contact hitters, .274 average. He is another pitcher with a good K-BB rate, 19.7 percent.

The Indians did get back Francisco Lindor but the offense is still struggling. When guys like Tyler Naquin and Carlos Gonzalez are in the lineup, there are some easy outs. Peacock will get you good ratios with a few strikeouts to boot.

Kevin Gausman, 4/23 @CIN, 4/28 vs. COL

Gausman is a roller coaster of a pitcher. He could get you a quality start or leave after two innings and six runs. This is a good week to expect the good version of Gausman. The Reds have the worst league average and are 26th in runs scored. There are a lot of holes in this lineup.

The Rockies hit well at home but are bad on the road. They have a .199 average and eight home runs in 13 games away from Coors Field. If Gausman can limit the fly balls, he should have a good week.

Erik Swanson, 4/23 @SD, 4/28 vs. TEX

Swanson is my dark horse. The Mariners rookie has two good matchups this week. Taking on the Padres in Petco Park is a good start. They are hitting .220 with 36 runs scored in 13 home games. Only three hitters have an average over .280.

The Rangers offense is also void of consistency. Outside of Asdrubal Cabrera and Joey Gallo, they aren’t scoring runs. Those two have 14 home runs and 38 RBIs. The other seven batters combine for nine home runs and 52 RBIs, an average of 1.3 homers and 7.5 RBIs per batter.

Swanson has a higher-than-recommended HR/FB rate, but with these two lineups not known for crushing the ball like other teams, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Honorable Mention: CC Sabathia (4/23 @LAA, 4/28 @SF), Felix Pena (4/23 vs. NYY, 4/28 @KC)

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The pool is deep for two-start pitchers this week. There are 13 that I would classify as risky picks. They don’t have the cache like the top names but could surprise us with two good outings. Those in weekly leagues may not be as confident to start them.

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