Here are the two-start pitchers for Week 9 (5/30-6/5) in fantasy baseball. Over the weekend, many games were rained out which led to several doubleheaders and postponements. Obviously, this had a huge effect on pitching rotations. So it’s going to be super important this week that you consistently monitor the probable starting pitchers grid here at Fangraphs. Let’s take a look at the two-start pitchers for Week 9!
Must-Start: These pitchers should be started regardless of match-up. They are a must-start in all leagues until further notice.
Should-Start: These pitchers should start in most leagues. However, these pitchers are not elite and are more subject to variance in performance.
Questionable: Only start these pitchers if you are in a very deep roto league, deep points leagues, desperate for counting stats, or feeling lucky.
Sit: Do not start these pitchers.
Week 9 Two-Start Pitchers
Must Start
| Pitcher | ERA | Start 1 | Start 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Lauer | 2.31 | @ CHC | SD |
| Framber Valdez | 2.83 | @ OAK | @ KC |
| Julio Urias | 2.49 | PIT | NYM |
| Kevin Gausman | 2.25 | CHW | MIN |
| Logan Webb | 3.54 | @ PHI | @ MIA |
| Lucas Giolito | 2.63 | @ TOR | @ TB |
| Walker Buehler | 2.91 | PIT | NYM |
| Zac Gallen | 2.22 | ATL | PIT |
Eric Lauer is 5-1 with 2.31 ERA, 3.08 SIERA, and 55 strikeouts over 46.2 innings. Most impressively, Lauer’s 23.0 K-BB% ranks 9th in baseball sandwiched between the 8th-ranked Gerrit Cole (23.7%) and the 10th-ranked Tarik Skubal (22.7%). Lauer takes on the struggling Chicago Cubs and the San Diego Padres next week. Cubs rank 15th in wRC+ vs lefties while the Padres rank 9th.
Framber Valdez has six consecutive quality starts going into his two-start week on the road against the Oakland Athletics (19th in wRC+) and Kansas City Royals (22nd in wRC+). His 30.4 hard-hit percentage (89th percentile) and 1.9 barrel percentage (97th percentile) both demonstrate that he is doing a great job limiting hard contact. On the season, he has a 3.34 SIERA but do not expect many strikeouts. He has only a 19.0 strikeout percentage. With the Astros having another great offensive year, he has a great chance to get you two wins for the week.
Jordan Montgomery has done a marvelous job staying away from hard contact and not walking hitters across his first 46.1 innings. The Yankees lefty has a 3.70 SIERA but his expected stats suggest regression is coming as he has a .270 xBA (29th percentile) against him. The Los Angeles Angels will be a tough matchup but he should cruise against the Detroit Tigers.
Should Start
| Pitcher | ERA | Start 1 | Start 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Ashby | 2.91 | @ CHC | SD |
| Adam Wainwright | 3.12 | SD | @ CHC |
| Cal Quantrill | 3.42 | KC | @ BAL |
| Drew Rasmussen | 2.68 | @ TEX | CHW |
| Jordan Montgomery | 3.30 | LAA | DET |
| Kyle Wright | 2.68 | @ ARI | @ COL |
| Luis Castillo | 4.35 | @ BOS | WAS |
| Martin Perez | 1.60 | TB | SEA |
| Pablo Lopez | 2.04 | @ COL | SF |
| Paul Blackburn | 1.70 | HOU | BOS |
| Tarik Skubal | 2.44 | MIN | @ NYY |
Drew Rasmussen is quietly having a stellar start to the 2022 season. Rasmussen is 5-1 with a 2.68 ERA, 3.31 SIERA, and a 0.98 WHIP in 43.2 innings. He added a cutter to his arsenal this year and has severely decreased his 4-seam fastball usage from 65.0% in 2021 to 31.8%. Now he throws his cutter (34.3%), fastball (31.8%), and slider (31.6%) basically an equal amount of time. Rasmussen takes on the Texas Rangers (27th in wRC+) and the Chicago White Sox (28th in wRC+) next week. On paper, both are superb matchups.
Kyle Wright currently ranks 17th in baseball with a 20.0 K-BB%. In 53.2 innings this year, Wright has a career-high 28.4 K% with a 3.17 SIERA. The 26-year-old from Vanderbilt has two road matchups next week as he plays the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies. The Diamondbacks are awful and obviously, Coors is always risky, but he’s been great so far this season so I’m not worried.
Questionable
| Pitcher | ERA | Start 1 | Start 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Morton | 5.28 | @ ARI | @ COL |
| Dylan Bundy | 4.54 | @ DET | @ TOR |
| George Kirby | 4.50 | BAL | @ TEX |
| Kyle Hendricks | 5.20 | MIL | STL |
| Ranger Suarez | 4.74 | SF | LAA |
| Rich Hill | 3.86 | BAL | @ OAK |
George Kirby hasn’t been able to find the magic in his last two outings as he did in his first two starts. The 24-year-old rookie has given up nine earned runs over his last two starts. On the bright side, he has walked only 2.4% of batters. Kirby does have two favorable matchups next week but I would only start him if you are in a 15-team league or deeper.
Sit
| Pitcher | ERA | Start 1 | Start 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beau Brieske | 5.04 | MIN | @ NYY |
| Cody Poteet | 2.42 | @ COL | SF |
| David Peterson | 2.16 | WSN | @ LAD |
| Drew Smyly | 4.08 | MIL | STL |
| Erick Fedde | 3.55 | @ NYM | @ CIN |
| Glenn Otto | 4.91 | TB | SEA |
| Jake Junis | 2.76 | @ PHI | @ MIA |
| Jon Heasley | 4.73 | @ CLE | HOU |
| Kyle Bradish | 7.31 | SEA | CLE |
| Kyle Gibson | 3.94 | SF | LAA |
| Nick Martinez | 3.86 | @ STL | @ MIL |
| Patrick Corbin | 6.30 | @ NYM | @ CIN |
| Ryan Feltner | 5.40 | MIA | ATL |
| Ryan Yarbrough | 3.98 | @ TEX | CHW |
| Trevor Williams | 4.37 | WAS | @ LAD |
| Tyler Wells | 4.30 | @ BOS | CLE |
| Zach Plesac | 5.40 | KC | @ BAL |
| Zach Thompson | 5.50 | @ LAD | ARI |
Zach Plesac has two outstanding matchups next week as he takes on the Kansas City Royals at home and the Baltimore Orioles in the newly fortified Camden Yards. However, he is still a sit for me because of his 6.26 xERA and his inability to get strikeouts. Don’t give in to temptation. Sit him.