May 29, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani throws against the Washington Nationals in the first inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
With the Friday/Saturday/Sunday following the All-Star break, I decided not to write a two-start pitchers piece because some fantasy baseball leagues carry those three days into one long head-to-head week.
Now, the confusion sets in. Is this Week 16? Week 17? So, to avoid conflicts, I'll just start labeling these posts with the timeline involved.
Probable two-start pitchers:
Chase Anderson, MIL (vs. ARI, vs. PIT)
Jake Arrieta, CHC (@ CWS, vs. SEA)
Chad Bettis, COL (@ BAL, @ NYM)
Matt Cain, SF (vs. CIN, vs. WAS)
Bartolo Colon, NYM (vs. STL, vs. COL)
Patrick Corbin, ARI (@ MIL, @ LAD)
Jorge De La Rosa, COL (@ BAL, @ NYM)
Anthony DeSclafani, CIN (@ SF, @ SD)
Jerad Eickhoff, PHI (@ MIA, @ ATL)
Brian Flynn, KC (vs. LAA, @ TEX)
Yovani Gallardo, BAL (vs. COL, @ TOR)
Jaime Garcia, STL (@ NYM, @ MIA)
Matt Garza, MIL (vs. ARI, vs. PIT)
Gio Gonzalez, WAS (@ CLE, @ SF)
Miguel Gonzalez, CWS (vs. CHC, @ MIN)
Lucas Harrell, ATL (@ MIN, vs. PHI)
Jeremy Hellickson, PHI (@ MIA, @ ATL)
Kyle Hendricks, CHC (@ CWS, vs. SEA)
Felix Hernandez, SEA (@ PIT, @ CHC)
Ian Kennedy, KC (vs. LAA, @ TEX)
Dallas Keuchel, HOU (vs. NYY, @ DET)
Tom Koehler, MIA (vs. PHI, vs. STL)
Jeff Locke, PIT (vs. SEA, @ MIL)
Kyle Lohse, TEX (vs. OAK, vs. KC)
Carlos Martinez, STL (@ NYM, @ MIA)
Daniel Mengden, OAK (@ TEX, @ CLE)
Jake Peavy, SF (vs. CIN, vs. WAS)
Martin Perez, TEX (vs. OAK, vs. KC)
Michael Pineda, NYY (@ HOU, @ TB)
Drew Pomeranz, BOS (vs. DET, @ LAA)
Colin Rea, SD (@ TOR, vs. CIN)
Aaron Sanchez, TOR (vs. SD, vs. BAL)
Ervin Santana, MIN (@ ATL, vs. CWS)
Hector Santiago, LAA (@ KC, vs. BOS)
James Shields, CWS (vs. CHC, @ MIN)
Tyler Skaggs, LAA (@ KC, vs. BOS)
Noah Syndergaard, NYM (vs. STL, vs. COL)
Chris Tillman, BAL (vs. COL, @ TOR)
Justin Verlander, DET (@ BOS, vs. HOU)
Steven Wright, BOS (vs. DET, @ LAA)
Cream of the crop:
Jake Arrieta, CHC (@ CWS, vs. SEA)
We get interleague action between the two Chicago clubs this week. Arrieta starts in Game one. His strike out total has dipped and now Arrieta has a 9.57 K/9 (16th in baseball). However, that ERA is holding strong at 2.60. Also, he is 2-1 in five career starts against the White Sox. AFter that series, the Cubs get to host an AL team, Seattle. While Arrieta has to face a DH in his first start, he'll fortunately face a swinging pitcher in his second outing.
Felix Hernandez, SEA (@ PIT, @ CHC)
Speaking of Seattle, King Felix is on the road for both of his starts this week and both are against NL squads. In his career, Hernandez is 20-9 with a 2.75 ERA in interleague matchups.
Noah Syndergaard, NYM (vs. STL, vs. COL)
He's struck out eight batters in two of the past three performances. Syndergaard also gets two home starts this week. In 2016, Thor is 5-2 with a 2.30 ERA at Citi Field and has struck out 81 batters in those 62.2 innings.
Potential bargains:
Anthony DeSclafani, CIN (@ SF, @ SD)
Fantasy owners need to start paying attention to DeSlafani. He's only owned in 59 percent of FOX Sports leagues. This season, he is 5-0 with a 2.50 ERA. He's also struck out at least six batters in three of the past four games. This week, DeSclafani gets two pitcher-friendly ballparks and one very friendly offense: San Diego. He faced the Padres on June 26th: 8 IP, 0 ER, and 5 Ks.
Jeremy Hellickson, PHI (@ MIA, @ ATL)
Hellickson had a hell of a performance against the Marlins in his last outing: 8 IP, 1 ER, and 8 Ks. This week, Hellickson gets them for what will be his fourth time of the year. He is 2-0 with a 2.79 ERA in the three previous starts.
Avoid at all costs:
Kyle Lohse, TEX (vs. OAK, vs. KC)
DFS players had a big smile on their face when Lohse returned to action in July. In his two starts this season, Lohse has allowed 13 earned runs. With both of Lohse's games in Texas this week, look for the baseball to soar out of the park. Stack accordingly.
Yovani Gallardo, BAL (vs. COL, @ TOR)
On the bright side, he doesn't have to travel to Coors Field. However, that's the only positive note for Gallardo this week. He still has to face two power-hitting offenses, especially Toronto. Though Gallardo had success against the Blue Jays earlier in the year, that was at home. He is 1-2 with a 6.94 ERA in his seven road starts this season.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.