Finding two-start pitchers in week 9 will be more difficult than most. There’s not many great options, but the options who may deliver will be easy to find on the fantasy baseball waiver wire.
Here’s my favorite two-start pitchers for week 9 in fantasy baseball.
Eric Lauer, SP, San Diego Padres
If you’re worried about finding two-start pitchers on the waiver wire, then Lauer is your man. Virtually no one will roster Lauer.
And for the most part, that’s for good reason. He’s a rookie, who has shown inconsistency this season. Just look at his four starts this May to understand the frustration that Lauer provides. Two of his four starts have yielded 10 earned runs in seven innings of work.
The other two starts featured 12 innings of work and allowing just one earned run.
Obviously, I’m looking for the good Lauer to show up this week for his two starts. What I do love about Lauer is that he has the chance to be good, especially when he toes the rubber against Miami on Monday and Cincinnati later in the week.
The Marlins are a good team to pick on for two starts in a week, with Miami being by far the worst offensive team in Major League Baseball. Even if he’s off, I’m not sure the Marlins can truly make him pay. Cincinnati is a much better offense than the Marlins, but the Reds still rank in the bottom half of MLB in runs scored and team batting average.
Lauer won’t light up the strikeouts category (although he did have seven strikeouts in his last outing), but he can offer the opportunity at two quality starts. Go with the good matchups when picking up Lauer this week.
Marco Gonzales, SP, Seattle Mariners
It’s a bit surprising that Gonzales has such little traction in fantasy baseball, but that should be a boon to owners this week looking to get a couple of quality starts.
Gonzales hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last two starts and has given up just seven hits in his last 12 2/3 innings on the mound. He has some drawbacks, which is likely the reason he’s only owned in six percent of leagues on ESPN.com.
The two starts before this recent stretch saw Gonzales give up eight earned runs over 12 innings of work. That’s not great, but the chance of an ultimate blow-up really isn’t there. That’s a key ingredient in finding a good two-start pitcher.
Gonzales matches up with Texas and Tampa Bay this week, two teams that have their problems. The Rangers can score runs, but have the second-worst batting average in Major League Baseball. The Rays can hit for average, but can’t score runs, ranking 21st in run production in MLB.
It’s tough to find strikeouts on the waiver wire and Gonzales won’t be that guy to provide your lineup with production in that category. However, he should contribute in ERA, WHIP and quality starts, so he’s worth an add on the waiver wire in week 9.
