2014 Fantasy Baseball: Week 26 Two-Start Pitchers and Streamers
Well, we made it. It’s finally the last week of the 2014 regular season. Hopefully I’ve helped you somewhere along the way, and I’ve really enjoyed interacting with you all on Twitter. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you all next spring training.
I don’t know and won’t pretend to know what several teams might do later in the week regarding postseason rotations, etc. So I’ll just list what I know for now in terms of starting dates and pitchers set for two starts. I will put an asterisk by starts that may not happen, and the rankings will favor the pitchers who are more likely to make both starts.
As usual, there are several two-start pitchers who qualify for the streaming portion of this article. You should definitely pick up any of the two-starters you want to stream. If you have any questions about these starters, other pitchers or general fantasy baseball questions hit me up on Twitter.
Must-Starts
- Johnny Cueto – Tue vs. MIL, Sun vs. PIT
- Felix Hernandez – Tue at TOR, Sun vs. LAA*
- Alex Wood – Tue vs. PIT, Sun at PHI
- Mike Fiers – Tue at CIN, Sun vs. CHC
- Cole Hamels – Tue at MIA, Sun vs. ATL
- Carlos Carrasco – Mon vs. KC, Sun vs. TB
- Jeff Samardzija – Mon vs. LAA, Sat at TEX
- Alex Cobb – Tue at BOS, Sun at CLE
- Francisco Liriano – Mon at ATL, Sat at CIN
- Madison Bumgarner – Tue at LAD, Sun vs. SD*
- Adam Wainwright – Mon at CHC, Sun at ARI*
- Zack Greinke – Tue vs. SF, Sun vs. COL*
- Derek Holland – Mon vs. HOU, Sat vs. OAK
- Tanner Roark – Tue vs. NYM, Sun vs. MIA
- Jake Peavy – Mon at LAD, Sat vs. SD
- David Price – Tue vs. CWS, Sun vs. MIN*
Start in 12-teamers
- Gerrit Cole – Tue at ATL, Sun at CIN
- Sonny Gray – Tue vs. LAA, Sun at TEX
- James Paxton – Mon at TOR, Sat vs. LAA
- Yordano Ventura – Tue at CLE, Sun at CWS
- Danny Duffy – Mon at CLE, Sat at CWS
- Michael Pineda – Mon vs. BAl, Sat at BOS
- Brandon McCarthy – Tue vs. BAL, Sun at BOS
- R.A. Dickey – Tue vs. SEA, Sun vs. BAL
Deep-league starts
- Henderson Alvarez – Tue vs. PHI, Sun at WSH
- Josh Collmenter – Mon at MIN, Sun vs. STL
- Bartolo Colon – Tue at WSH, Sun vs. HOU
AL-/NL-Only starts
- Kyle Hendricks – Tue vs. STL, Sun at MIL
- Dan Haren – Mon vs. SF, Sat vs. COL
- Aaron Harang – Mon vs. PIT, Sat at PHI
- Wei-Yin Chen – Mon at NYY, Sun at TOR
- J.A. Happ – Mon vs. SEA, Sat vs. BAL
- C.J. Wilson – Mon at OAK, Sun at SEA
Pitchers to avoid
Top streaming options available in at least 50 percent of ESPN leagues
Danny Salazar – Tuesday vs. Kansas City – Salazar’s ceiling is very high, but he’s also capable of a stinker easily. However, he’s struck out at least seven in four of his last six starts. He’s actually pitched pretty well since returning to the rotation in the last month. The Royals rank 21st in wOBA against righties, and they have very little power to combat them, too.
Jorge De La Rosa – Tuesday at San Diego – Not much upside here, but a safe play against a bad offense. He should give you a quality start and five or six strikeouts.
Edinson Volquez – Thursday vs. Atlanta – The Braves have the second worst offense against righties, and Volquez has eight quality starts in his last nine. He’s struck out at least five in each of his last five starts.
Jose Quintana – Thursday vs. Kansas City – Quintana has been on fire in his last four, allowing just five runs with 29 strikeouts and four walks.
Yusmeiro Petit – Thursday vs. San Diego – Since joining the rotation August 28, Petit has started five times and registered 38 strikeouts to just four walks.