Welcome to the 13th edition of the 2026 two-start pitcher rankings!
Each week, I’ll break down all the projected two-start starters into four tiers: Set and Forget, Most Likely Start, Questionable, and Avoid. Set-and-Forget starters are simply that; get them in your lineup and shift your focus to other positions. The Most Likely tier includes players with a mix of skill and matchups that make them almost certainly two-start plays, though they carry some elevated risk compared to the top tier. Questionable starters are those best suited for daily lineup leagues, where you can bench them against the tougher of their two opponents; they’re more situation-dependent in weekly leagues. Finally, the Avoid tier includes the pitchers who should remain on your bench or the wire.
I will also be highlighting one Two-Start Streamer of the Week. The criteria for a streamer will be a rostered rate under 50% in Yahoo & ESPN leagues. The streamer of the week for this upcoming week is Andre Pallante, and he will have (STOW) next to his name.
As a friendly reminder, the projected starters are just that, projections, and are subject to change
- Gavin Williams has excelled at missing bats this year, and there is no reason to doubt him now.
- Hunter Brown returned and checked off most of the boxes you’d want to see. He threw 92 pitches, striking out 7 and allowing only 6 baserunners over 5.2 innings.
- Carlos Rodón is back to striking out hitters. He’ll face the Tigers, who are 8th in K%, before facing an uninspiring Red Sox offense.
- Nolan McLean looked like the pitcher we thought we were drafting in his last start. The ceiling is too high not to run out there, especially against the Cubs, who have struggled in recent weeks.
- Jesús Luzardo still has an elite strikeout and a strong walk rate. His ERA is still notably higher than his xERA and FIP, indicating there’s still positive regression to come. He’s reliable for innings as well.
- Drew Rasmussen might be the most underrated pitcher in the sport. He’s allowed just 1 run over his last 3 starts (21 innings) while striking out 29 and walking just 1.
- Kyle Bradish has struggled with walks this season, with a walk rate of 11.7%. In his last outing, he struck out 12 Mariners over 7.2 innings thanks to a sinker he was dotting. The breaking stuff is crucial to his success. I really like him against the Angels this week, and I’d start him against a dangerous Nationals offense.
- George Kirby benefits from a few factors this week. Two of those major factors are Oneil Cruz and José Ramírez, who, unfortunately for the sport of baseball, will miss time due to injuries.
- Shane McClanahan oddly struggled with walks against the Dodgers. It’s safe to assume his command will be back to what we’re accustomed to going forward. Despite those 5 walks, he was able to limit the Dodgers to just 2 ER.
- Trey Yesavage oddly struggled in three of his four starts leading up to his game against the Red Sox, in which he dominated them, allowing 3 ER over 7.1 Innings on just 4 hits with 6 Ks. Two of those ER and hits came in the eighth inning; his stat line would’ve looked much better if he had been pulled after 7.
- Foster Griffin has been great this year. Don’t bench him and his kitchen sink now.
- Merrill Kelly is a desperate start until he gives us a reason to believe otherwise. His 4.5% K-BB, 1.5 WHIP, and 7.59 xERA are tough to swallow. He’ll give you length, but that’s not always a good thing if he’s getting hit around.
- Eduardo Rodriguez (2.45 ERA) is heavily outperforming his xERA (4.62) and FIP (4.14). He struggled two starts ago in Cincinnati, and the K’s and BB’s are trending in the wrong direction, but he’s been getting results this season, and riding the hot hand isn’t unreasonable.
- Sonny Gray doesn’t strike out hitters like he used to, but he’s been limiting home runs and is an efficient innings eater. The matchups are a bit daunting, pitching in Colorado and against a Yankees offense that’s still potent without Aaron Judge.
- Edward Cabrera is at the bottom of this tier for me this week. He very well could be hurt again and miss a start, and he’s only cleared 5 innings once in his previous 5 starts.
- Anthony Kay’s kryptonite this season has been the homerun. He faces a Guardians team (without José Ramirez) and a Royals team that ranks 25th and 24th in home runs this season. It’s fair to expect 5 innings with 4 or 5 Ks, at least.
- Framber Valdez no longer has the ceiling he once had, but expecting a minimum of 5 innings with around a hit per inning isn’t the worst option. The strikeouts come in bunches as well.
- Casey Mize struggled against Houston in his return from injury. I’d see how the stuff looks (especially the splitter) against the Yankees and re-evaluate as a streaming option against the Astros.
- Michael Wacha doesn’t have the strikeout upside, and for better or worse, the Royals aren’t afraid to let him battle through it. His WHIP has consistently been over 1.3 in his past 4 starts, in which he’s allowed 3 ER, 4 ER (twice), and 6 ER.
- Zebby Matthews against the Dodgers is something I’d recommend avoiding. Against the Rockies? Maybe? The strikeouts haven’t been there in June, and he’s allowed more than one baserunner an inning in his last 4 starts, making the lack of strikeouts a bit more concerning in that there is a heavier reliance on batted ball luck to get out of trouble.
- Michael King has a lefty issue in June, highlighted by an abysmal 2.7% K-BB this month. The path ahead features the Dodgers and Braves, who have a plethora of lefties that give everybody headaches.
- Andre Pallante (STOW) has been on a good run since his May 17th start, with only one poor outing over that 6-start stretch. He’s limited hits and can be relied on for just under a strikeout per inning. Playing both his games at home this week helped his case for STOW.
- Kumar Rocker might be a candidate in deeper leagues. The stuff has taken a step back this year, and the best case for him is 5-6 innings, 6-8 baserunners, a few runs, and maybe a strikeout an inning? While that isn’t awful, there will be outings like his last one against the Twins, where he allows 6 ER over 3.1.
- Jack Leiter is in a similar boat to Rocker, except he has much better stuff. The issue with Jack is that he’s more likely to give up 4+ ER than he is to allow 3 or fewer. The ceiling is higher, but we’ve rarely seen him touch it this season, and the floor is lower than Rocker’s.
- Shane Bieber is scheduled to make his season debut this week. Let’s see how he looks against the Astros both from an execution and pitch-count perspective, and re-evaluate before his Rangers start.
I’m looking for better options on days these pitchers start. There’s not much to say about any of them here, but I’m happy to elaborate on any of the two-start starters this week! Just reply to Nick’s post with the article on Twitter/X and I’ll answer any questions!
