Welcome to the 15th 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 Joey Cantillo, 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
- Payton Tolle has been an ace for the Red Sox this season and would have a spot in my lineup any week regardless who he’s facing.
- Tarik Skubal is so back. Yes it was against an inept Yankees offense, but in his last three starts he has 9, 9, and 8 K’s, and in his last two his WHIP was under 1.00.
- Max Meyer earned the Ace Gonna Ace tag from Nick this week. To make his two-step even better, he faces two struggling offenses.
- Cam Schlittler has looked shakey recently, but the stuff is still overpowering. He incorporated more curveblls against the Tigers and did start to see some success after that nightmare first.
- Cristopher Sánchez has only red on his PitcherList page and is first in many categories. His success is being overshadowed by Misiorowski, Burns, and probably partially that this is what we come to expect of him.
- Zack Wheeler got roughed up in his last outting, but still had 10 strikeouts on 22 whiffs. These starts happen, if it becomes a trend we’ll get concerned.
- Shane McClanahan is still being protected by the Rays (longer rest in between starts, limiting his pitch count), but wheen he pitches he produces and will pitch at the Trop this week, where the Rays are 31-12.
- Kevin Gausman looked like himself again against the Mets after two bad starts. He now faces off against the Giants and Padres in two pitcher friendly parks.
- Joey Cantillo (STOW) struggled with walks in his last start but that hasn’t been a major issue outside of that outing. He was able to still limit the Rangers to 2 runs over 5 innings, and has allowed just 5 ER over his last 4 starts (24 IP)
- Dustin May had poor results in his last two starts, but the stuff and locations weren’t as bad as you would guess looking at the statline. His 3.32 xERA and 3.37 FIP are notably better than his 4.80 ERA, I’m willing to keep riding with him.
- MacKenzie Gore has been up and down this season. He needs to avoid the bad inning, and he’s a much better pitcher at home (2.49 ERA, 3.66 FIP, .252 wOBA, 22.6 K-BB%) than on the road (5.81 ERA, 3.66 FIP, .338 wOBA, 11.3 K-BB%)
- Cade Cavalli is probably only making one start this week due to a looming suspension for his actions in his last outing against the Red Sox. In that start though he was dominant. The velocity was up and if that becomes the expectation rather than the exception, expect him to keep climbing up the rankings.
- Paul Skenes saw his velocity dip, and his ERA starts with a 3. However, the K% and BB% are still elite, and the FIP and xERA are notably better than his ERA. Navigating the Piratese defense has been a challenge as well, but don’t bench him yet.
- Reynaldo López might find hismelf in the Most Likely tier in future weeks if the velocity stays up while his pitch count increases. He finished his last outing at 69 pitches as he’s building back up, but we’re probably at least two starts away from the pitch count hovering around where we want it.
- Shane Baz goes deep in games (8th in IP) but the quality has been elusive. He’s allowed an ER in every startthis season, and has a 12 K-BB% on the year.
- Matthew Boyd allowed 8 hits and 3 ER against the Padres with just two strikeouuts. That’s not reassuring when considering the Padres are 25th in wRC+ vs LHP this season. His upside is also limited by his pitch count as he’s thrown 76 pitches in both starts since coming off the IL.
- Andrew Abbott has two starts at home…in the summer heat…that’s scary. He can’t afford to walkk 5 again against the hot Phillies and Cubs offenses.
- Noah Schultz is back…and the control issues are still very apparent. We’ll happily take 7 strikeouts and 14 whiffs on 87 pitches, but the 4 walks over 4.1 (and 14% walk rate on the season) we can live without. Low floor, not a super high ceiling at the moment.
- Mike Burrows doesn’t have the upside/whiff potential to inspire confidence against a strong Nationals offense, but hee’s an intriguing streamer option at the Rangers in Arlington.
- Shane Drohan has been effective in his recent outings and seems good for ~5 innings with ~1K per inning. Anything more than that would be a plesant surprise
- Freddy Peralta against the Braves is a pass for me. It’s been 18 starts and expecting him to right the ship at this point is a tough sell until he gives us a reason to believe that. That being said, the Red Sox are awful against RHP, and I’d consider him against them even with the struggles he’s had.
- Will Warren prior to his last start had a 0 K-BB% against LHH since May 15th. They’ve become a problem and maybe using the changeup as much as he did against the Tigers is the solution. However, I’m cautious trusting him until he proves these issues are resolved, eespecially against a team like the Nationals who have CJ Abrams, James Wood and Luis García Jr..
- Michael McGreevy is elite at limiting walks, but not great at striking hitters out. He’ll rely on his kitchen sink arsenal and the defense behind him for success.
- Ian Seymour is at the top of this tier for me this week. Both the Yankees and Mariners offenses ahve struggled over the past two weeks, and the sweeper and changeup are legitimate weapons.
I’m looking for better options on the 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!
