We’re getting to the point of the season where it’s difficult to tell if certain players can keep up the early season momentum or return back to earth.
That makes finding quality two-start pitchers necessary for fantasy owners, especially with the waiver wire still featuring players who are on a hot streak to start the season. Here’s two pitchers who should not only be available on your waiver wire, but should offer the best bets for producing solid two-start weeks this week.
Miguel Gonzalez, Chicago White Sox
The offense in Chicago is atrocious, but the starting pitching has been much better than advertised before the season began. The White Sox own the worst team batting average in Major League Baseball, but have combated that horrible play at the plate, with an ERA that leads the MLB. And Gonzalez has been a major contributor to that top-tier ERA.
Gonzalez was last seen going through an 88-pitch eight-inning outing against the New York Yankees, yielding one earned run. Gonzalez isn’t going to wow you with strikeouts (he has 15 strikeouts in three games this season), but he’s not walking many batters and limiting earned runs. He’s allowed only six earned runs in three starts and has gone at least six innings in two of those outings.
Gonzalez will take the mound Monday against a Kansas City team also unable to hit the ball. The Royals are hitting .209 as a team, good enough for the third-worst average in MLB. That should play well for Gonzalez, who will take on Kansas City at home with the Royals in the middle of a seven-game road trip. And it helps that Kansas City is riding a four-game losing streak.
Gonzalez will have a solid matchup to start the week and will then close it against a Detroit team that also is having a difficult time hitting the ball. The Tigers rank in the bottom-10 in batting average, giving way to Gonzalez’s ability to limit the opposition’s ability to hit the ball. Gonzalez is barely owned in fantasy leagues, so he should get your attention this week as a two-start pitcher.
Luis Severino, New York Yankees
He’s about as opposite as you can get with Gonzalez, but Severino offers you another opportunity at picking up two solid starts this week.
While Gonzalez has been stellar in limiting earned runs, Severino has been elite in the strikeout categories. Severino has 27 strikeouts through three starts this season, with 21 of those coming in the last two games. His strikeout to walk ratio is ridiculous at 27:2, but his ERA is keeping some fantasy owners away from him. He’s owned in about 50 percent of leagues and has given up at least three earned runs in two of three starts.
Most fantasy owners are likely shying away from him because his control can’t continue at this level. But we’ll hope he can keep it together for at least one more week with the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles on the schedule.
Both teams can hit the ball, but not at a level most anticipated before the season began. But this pick-up is all about Severino’s ability to record strikeouts. If he can be even near his recent level of dominance in the strikeout category, he’s worth a look on this week’s waiver wire.
