2026 Fantasy Baseball: Week 1 Two-Start Pitchers

The MLB season is finally back. We fantasy baseball managers have been researching and drafting to build a team we think will win us a fantasy league championship. The hard part is behind us; now we need to set lineups each week.

Throughout the season, I’ll be covering a series of pitchers who will receive two starts over the course of a week. These pitchers will be popular streaming options if your league allows free waiver-wire additions and they’re not already on a roster. In this series, I’ll go over the start/sit matchups I favor. It’s too early to share pitchers to sit since we haven’t seen any regular-season action, so fantasy managers shouldn’t consider sitting pitchers.

The first few weeks will be tough as we break down the data amid the many unknowns of a new season. In fantasy baseball, the first week is traditionally a week and a half, which means multiple pitchers on a team will be eligible to pitch twice. I’m not going to pick the obvious options, the aces on teams. So I’m going to write up the other pitchers I like most who start two games. You find FantraxHQ’s week one starting pitcher rankings here.

Two-Start Pitchers to Start for March 25-April 4th Fantasy Baseball

Edward Cabrera – Chicago Cubs (3/30 vs. Angels, 4/5 @ Guardians)

Cabrera makes his Cubs debut against the Los Angeles Angels. He’ll face familiar faces, although it’s been a limited number of plate appearances. The righty has faced seven Angels starters, but it’s only been 35 appearances, with Jorge Soler having 10 of those.

Cabrera has held Angels batters to a 0.167 batting average off him, including 13 strikeouts. He has had similar results regardless of which side of the plate the batter is on, so he has no glaring advantage over what side of the plate the batter is on.

The Cubs’ new pitcher has held the Guardians’ projected starters to a .238 batting average, but he has struck out only six batters over 21 plate appearances. With their three switch-hitters, Cabrera will likely face seven left-handed batters. Look for Cabrera to begin his Cubs debut strongly.

Cody Ponce – Toronto Blue Jays (3/30 vs. Rockies, 4/4 @ White Sox)

After four seasons pitching overseas, Ponce returns to MLB, and you couldn’t ask for any better opponents to get reacquainted with the American style of baseball. I do expect both the Rockies and White Sox to be improved teams, but they can’t be any worse, right?

He’s been impressive this spring with a 0.66 ERA over 13.2 innings while striking out 12 and only walking four. Ponce has brought back increased velocity and a new kick changeup. He also increased his groundball rate to 45.7 percent last season. If he can continue this success, look for a big season that should start with two solid performances.

Kyle Bradish – Baltimore Orioles (3/28 vs Twins, 4/4 @ Pirates)

Bradish has been a stud when he can stay healthy, but that’s the problem: he can’t stay healthy. He’s only pitched in 14 games over the last two seasons, but he looks to have a healthy start to the 2026 season, which begins against the Twins.

Minnesota is a team Bradish has limited experience against, with Byron Buxton (1-for-3), Royce Lewis (0-for-2), and Trevor Larnach (1-for-2). The Orioles’ righty is better against right-handed bats, but he will face five lefties (three switch hitters). However, this Twins lineup isn’t scary. This may be a down year for Minnesota.

The Pirates are more familiar with Bradish, with eight of the likely starters seeing the righty before. These hitters have hit a combined .281 (9-for-32), but have struck out nine times. Brandon Lowe has the most experience against Bradish as a former AL East opponent. He is 3-for-10 off Bradish and has struck out five times.

The right-handed pitcher also avoided competing against Paul Skenes. He will go up against Braxton Ashcraft, which should be a competitive game, but I’ll take the Orioles offense over the Pirates every day of the week.