Two-Start Starters: Week 18

Welcome to the 18th 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 Cade Cavalli, 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

• Chris Sale, at 37, is still one of the best pitchers in the sport.  2.06 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, elite strikeout and walk rates while averaging just under 6 IP a start
• Payton Tolle looks like he’s being pushed back a day due to Ranger Suarez returning to the rotation.  Regardless, he deserves a spot in the lineup every week.
• Chase Burns might not win the Cy Young, but his sophomore season has exceeded the lofty expectations at this point, pitching to a 2.42 ERA and 1.11 WHIP and leading the league with 12 wins in his 19 starts.
• Justin Wrobleski is in line for a rare two-start week as the Dodgers presumably return to a 5-man rotation until Ohtani’s ready to pitch again.  Wrobleski’s thrown 6+ IP in his last 5 starts and has struck out 27 over his last 3. While the fastball velocity did fall to 93.9 mph in his last outing against the Phillies, he still generated 7 whiffs on the pitch.
• Zack Wheeler was outdueled by Wrobleski in his last start, but is still the dominant pitcher we’ve come to expect from him since signing with the Phillies. Over his last 3 starts: 20 IP, 11 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 33 (!!) Ks.
• Gerrit Cole has pitched much better in his previous two starts, but was hurt by the home run.  He’s looked much more similar to the Cy Young winner, and is up to a 25.2% strikeout rate on the season.  The home runs are a problem, but he’s limiting baserunners and striking out hitters at an elite rate again while pitching deep into games

• Kyle Bradish has been quietly very productive over his last 10 games, pitching to a 2.95 ERA, 1.16 WHIP over 61 IP. While the walk rate over that period (9.3%) is still above his career average (8.5%), he’s been pitching deep into games, throwing 6+ innings in 5 of his last 6 starts.
• Sandy Alcantara leads the league in IP, and while his K% is the second-lowest of his career (18.4%), we can expect 6 relatively quality innings from him. He’s really embraced the three-fastball approach recently and, before his last outing against the Astros, was generating at least a strikeout per inning in the three prior, which could increase the upside.
• Max Fried looked phenomenal in his first start since May, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 7 over 5 innings in just 57 pitches.  Fried’s still building back up, which is why he’s in this tier, but after dominating the Pirates (who have been the second-best offense in the sport since June 1st), I’m not too concerned about his ability to still pitch at least 5 innings on a limited pitch count.
• Michael King has been exceptional over his last four starts, allowing just 5 ER over 23 IP, allowing 26 baserunners and striking out 20.  He faces the Giants and Rockies at home, and should have no issues continuing his strong run.
• George Kirby has produced exceptional results since June 10th.  Over his 6 starts, he’s pitched to a 2.61 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, while striking out 40 over 38 IP.
• Cade Cavalli (STOW), outside of a clunker against the Pirates where he didn’t have much working for him, has pitched 6+ IP in 5 starts while allowing under a baserunner an inning while striking out 42 over 31 IP.

• Merrill Kelly and Brandon Pfaadt could be worth consideration against the Guardians over the weekend, but I don’t have confidence in them to navigate the Pirates lineup currently.
• Gage Jump has electric stuff, but the results have struggled to follow.  He faces a red-hot Red Sox team and a Tigers team fighting to justify a playoff push in Sacramento…in the summer heat. He’s good for over a strikeout an inning, but the quality of the innings can fluctuate.
• Jake Bennett has been phenomenal for the Red Sox, pitching to a 2.58 ERA and 0.94 WHIP thanks to a 3.9% walk rate this season.  The reason he’s in this tier is that he’s still a rookie and has to pitch in Sacramento before facing a dangerous Dodgers lineup.
• David Peterson has benefited from the improved defense behind him, but the strikeouts limit his upside. The Cardinals tagged him for 10 runs on July 3rd, and the realistic ceiling is probably 5-6 innings with a few baserunners, a few strikeouts, and a few runs
• Colin Rea has more strikeout upside than Peterson and is the better option of the two.  He’s not exceptional, but 5-6 innings with 2 or 3 ER and a strikeout per inning is a reasonable expectation.
• Brady Singer is similar to Kelly/Pfaadt in that I wouldn’t trust him against the Pirates –especially pitching at home — but there is some potential streaming value for daily leagues against the Guardians.  He’s quietly pitched to a 3.14 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with just under a strikeout per inning over his last 10 starts (57.1 IP).
• Noah Schultz didn’t walk anyone in either of his last two starts (which is great), but allowed 5 ER on 11 hits over 3.2 IP against the Rangers. He’ll face a Yankees offense that hasn’t been good for a while now in his first start of the week before taking on the Rays over the weekend.
• Keider Montero has bounced between reliever and starter roles, but in his last start he threw 81 pitches, so there shouldn’t be any workload concerns.  He’s worth consideration against the Orioles, but I’m looking for better options in Sacramento.
• Tatsuya Imai has been up and down.  He just pitched 6 innings of 1-run ball while striking out 8, but in the two starts prior, he totaled 5 innings with 5 strikeouts and 7 ER. He’s a high-ceiling, low-floor option.
• Bailey Ober is a higher-floor option for this week with favorable matchups against the Royals and at the Mariners. For the most part, the Twins seem happy to get 5 innings from him and turn it over to the bullpen regardless of the pitch count.  He won’t strike out the world, but misses bats at a higher rate than his stuff implies he should.
• Christian Scott has a 28.8% strikeout rate this season.  However, he’s averaging under 5 innings a start over his last 10 outings.  Atlanta’s offense has struggled since June 1st while the Marlins have excelled.  If you don’t have concerns about innings, he’ll help the strikeout numbers.
• Bubba Chandler was finally efficient in a start! He completed 6.1 innings on just 84 pitches, allowing 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5 against…the Yankees.  It’s still a positive sign after failing to complete 5 innings in his two outings prior.  At this point, expecting him to become the dominant arm we were hoping for seems like a stretch; expecting 5-6 innings average innings and a strikeout per inning would suffice, but there is still blowup potential which lowers his floor.
• Landen Roupp has been a fine pitcher for the Giants this season, pitching to a 3.93 ERA and 1.24 WHIP while striking out just under a quarter of the batters he faces. In this tier, he’s one of the more reliable options this week, providing a higher floor with a decently high ceiling as well.
• Michael McGreevy will use his kitchen sink arsenal and find success as he has returned 13 quality starts in 19 outings this season.  He has a 2.92 ERA and 1.10 WHIP, but his FIP (4.14) and xERA (4.82) suggest he’s been lucky.  The ceiling is capped by a 16.6% strikeout rate, but pitching at home before facing a Blue Jays team that has the lowest wRC+ since June 1st isn’t a bad schedule by any means.
• Kumar Rocker pitched well against a dangerous White Sox lineup, completing 5 shutout innings of 1-hit ball (2 walks) while striking out 6 on just 75 pitches.  However, it wouldn’t be surprising if this is his best start of the season.  He’s a higher upside option in deeper leagues.
• Walbert Ureña has a 30.3% CSW% over his last 10 outings, and while there’s some risk he can struggle with walks, he’s done well at limiting the damage.  Before his last outing (where he was sitting 99!), the velocity was trending down, which, coupled with the control issues, gives me cause for concern.
• Brandon Sproat has struggled with his pitch count recently.  Pitching in San Francisco against the Giants with the 15th-best wRC+ against RHP and against the Angels, who do the majority of their damage against LHP (24th in wRC+ vs RHP), is a good spot to right the ship.  The four-seamer has struggled in his last two outings, providing sub-20 % CSW despite being his second most used pitch.  The potential is there; he just needs to put it together.

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!