Two-Start Starters: Week 8

Welcome to the eighth 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 Christian Scott, 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

• Dylan Cease, Bryan Woo, and Nolan McLean take the mound twice this week, always a good sign for fantasy (and real life) managers
• Jacob Misiorowski left his last start with leg cramps, but he also pitched into the 7th inning.  He hasn’t allowed a run in three starts (18.1 IP)
• Shota Imanaga has been dominant for the Cubs this season; his 2.32 ERA is right in line with his 2.24 xERA and 2.86 FIP.  His K% is up to 28% on the year, and he’s allowing under a baserunner an inning (0.90 WHIP).
• Will Warren probably isn’t the Yankee starter you were expecting to see in this tier, but he’s been phenomenal this season. He’s dominated righties (.276 wOBA, 27.0% K-BB%), and faces a Blue Jays team that has a wRC+ of 96 on the season, and a Rays team that relies on chaos rather than slug to score.

• Ryne Nelson has an ERA of 5.40, but his WHIP is only 1.16, and his K% and BB% are both better than those of an average starter.  He’s been hurt by a brutal 1.80 HR/9 and faces two teams whose offenses don’t strike fear in the opposing team.  He’s also been much better in May, pitching to a 2.33 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, and 22.2% K-BB% over 19.1 IP.
• Robbie Ray had his first bad start of the year against the Dodgers on Wednesday. That will happen sometimes against the Dodgers, so I’m not too concerned.  He strikes out almost 25% of the batters he faces, and his main struggles have come with allowing HRs (1.8 HR/9).  He faces a D-backs team that is 24th in HR, and faces a White Sox team whose two best power hitters are lefties.
• Parker Messick has been even better than his rookie season.  His K% is up to 28.3%, his WHIP is just under 1 (0.99), thanks to a strong 6.8% BB%.  The two lineups he faces this week are carried by their lefties, who Messick has limited to a .225 wOBA this season.
• Christian Scott (STOW) has thrown more pitches in each outing this season, and I expect him to eclipse 5 innings in each start this week after finishing his last two just shy of qualifying for a win.  He’s struck out more than a batter per inning and boasts an impressive 28.6% K%.  His 12.9% BB% is heavily inflated by his first outing, where he walked 5 in 1.1 innings.  In his last three outings, he’s walked 4 batters over 14.1 IP.
• Trevor Rogers struggled against the Yankees in his return from the injured list.  He faces a Rays offense that lacks power and has had much more success against lefties this season (.251 wOBA against) than righties (.390 wOBA against).
• Michael King would’ve been in the set-and-forget tier if he weren’t facing an offense like the Dodgers in his first start.  The BB% and K% are both worse than his career averages, but he’s still had success (2.63 ERA, 1.09 WHIP).
• Mitch Keller is a high-floor, low-ceiling pitcher who can go deep in games.  He has an above-average BB% but below-average K%, and excels at keeping the ball in the ballpark (8.8% HR/FB%, 0.51 HR/9). Of his 9 starts, only 3 have been less than 6 IP.
• Shane McClanahan just needs to start going deeper in games, but that’s more of a Rays thing than a Shane thing.  Regardless, four straight scoreless starts (21.2 IP, 15 baserunners, 23 K) is really good.  The Yankees’ offense found success against Trevor Rogers, but McClanahan is a better pitcher right now, and they’re having trouble offensively.
• Sonny Gray faces a Twins and Royals team that is 16th and 18th in wRC+ against righties, respectively.  The twins have a 23.9% K% against righties on the season, which should help Sonny, who doesn’t strike hitters out (15.1% K%).  Sonny won’t walk hitters and is coming off solid starts against the Tigers and the Phillies.
• Nick Lodolo faces a Phillies team whose offense is driven by Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper before facing the Cardinals.  Lodolo’s had some struggles in his first two starts, but struck out 37.5% of the lefties in his last start, and should continue to improve with each outing.
• Framber Valdez looked a lot more like the pitcher we’ve grown accustomed to against the Mets, finishing with 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 7 K.  He can go deep into games, and while he’s not as consistent with racking up strikeouts, there are games where he’ll strike out over one hitter per inning.

• For weekly leagues, Reid Detmers has the added benefit of qualifying as a reliever.  He’s had struggles with walks in his last few starts, but he’s had a lot more success against lefties (.257 wOBA against) than righties (.324), and will face an A’s team whose key bats are left-handed. His K% is down from the last 3 seasons, but he’s also walking fewer hitters.
• JR Ritchie has been one of the luckiest pitchers of the year when comparing his 3.32 ERA to his 6.23 FIP.  This is driven by a horrid 16.1% BB% and exceptional (but unsustainable) 87.1% LOB%.  The Marlins were just Maddux’d by Bailey Ober, and he did have his best start of the season against the Nationals on April 23rd ( 7IP, 5H, 2ER, 2BB, 7K), however, I’d be cautious trusting him.
• I recently wrote about the in-season changes Matthew Liberatore could make to improve. However, he still needs to make some adjustments. Liberatore has the worst WHIP and K% of his career and is outperforming his xERA by a full run.  Against the Pirates in PNC is worth consideration because of the Cardinals’ defense and the park factor, but in Cincinnati is a pass from me.
• Zac Gallen limits walks and has a long leash.  That second part isn’t always good for fantasy purposes, and he’s struggled in his last three outings, allowing 7 ER in 4.2 IP against the Rangers, 4 ER in 6IP against the Pirates, and 6 ER in 3.2 IP against the Cubs.  The Giants have been playing better of late, but still have their flaws, and Gallen’s second start is against the Rockies away from Coors.  There’s a lot of risk involved with starting him (1.53 WHIP, 15% K%), but the matchups could be much worse.
• Max Meyer loves his sliders and sweepers, attacking both lefties and righties with the pitches.  The increased use of the sweeper (and corresponding reduction of the slider) has led to the best season of his career so far.  He has career bests in K% (26.6), WHIP (1.15), H/9 (7.2), HR/9 (0.76), HR/FB% (17.4%), and ERA/FIP (3.21/3.20).  The reason he’s questionable this week is that he has the challenge of navigating a dangerous Braves lineup and a Mets lineup that’s looked better in recent days.  Despite that, he’s my favorite option in this tier.
• Foster Griffin has been quite the waiver pickup.  He has two tougher matchups this week, taking on the Mets and Braves.  He’s a solid option, but given the small sample size of success, I’d look for other options before resorting to Griffin.
• Andrew Painter is limiting walks (7.0% BB%, but still has a 1.59 WHIP.  His fastball doesn’t miss bats (4.8% SwStr%, 185th among starters) despite averaging 96.5 mph (29th among starters).  He had success against Boston’s righties, attacking primarily with his slider and sweeper away (1o/29 pitches each), and sinkers inside while trying to dot his four-seamer away, but I’d like to see more consistency in his outcomes.  However, I’m not confident enough in him to rely on him in weekly leagues, even against the Reds away from home and the Guardians.
• MacKenzie Gore has been hurt by some poor luck (4.50 ERA, 3.48 xERA, 3.97 FIP) and is coming off a dominant outing against the D-backs.  His K% has been way down over his last three outings (15.5% K% in May, 31.5% K% in April), while his walk rate has remained mostly the same.  The lack of K’s heading into Coors is concerning, and then his weekend start is against an Angels team loaded with Righties.
• Chase Dollander left his outing against Pittsburgh in the second inning with his velocity down two ticks (after struggling in the first inning with his normal velocity). I wouldn’t expect him to make two starts this week, and if he does, I would like to see him look more like his pre-Pittsburgh self.
• Keider Montero made his debut on Nick’s top 100 this week and is an interesting streaming option.  Montero is another pitcher who doesn’t give up free passes (5.7%), but also is below average at striking hitters out (17.7% K%, SP average is 21.5%).  Montero has a phenomenal 0.99 WHIP, and his xERA (3.18) is lower than his ERA (3.65).  The value comes from his ability to go deep in games (4 starts of 6+ innings, only 2 starts > 5IP).  In QS leagues, he’s more intriguing.
• Noah Schultz is having command issues. He’s walked more hitters than he struck out in each of his last three starts.  He’s flashed his potential, but also comes with a low floor. Despite the good matchups, he’s struggling to throw strikes, which will lead to an early hook and bad ratios.
• Max Fried was pulled early due to an elbow injury. I wouldn’t expect him to make two starts next week, and I would be concerned with what it would look like if he does. At least we have an explanation for why he hasn’t looked like his 2025 self in May.  After finishing writing but before publishing, Fried was placed on the 15-day IL.
• Seth Lugo has struggled in 3 of his last 4 starts after a strong start to the season.  He’s a pitcher who relies on keeping hitters off balance with his kitchen sink arsenal. It’s not working too well right now.

• Of this list, I’m potentially intrigued by Braxton Garrett, who struggled in his 2026 debut and faces the Braves and Mets.  Not right now, but let’s re-evaluate the next time he’s eligible for a two-start week.