It’s the final week of the first half of the fantasy baseball season. If you’re still paying attention to your team, that’s a good sign.
It will only get harder from here on out, especially with fantasy football creeping into the window soon.
Before we get a break, here’s the best two-start pitchers for this week.
Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies, SP
I rode Nola hard in the early season last year with a roster filled with duds at starting pitching. He produced, and then fell off the face of the planet.
Finally, it appears that he’s back. While scuffling to a start in the early season, his June had moments of brilliance, where he pitched deep into games, limited earned runs and threw strikeouts.
Finding pitchers who can do that while on the waiver wire this late in the season is like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. In five June outings, he had 35 strikeouts, with 17 of those coming in his last two starts. And in those last two starts, he went 14 innings and allowed three earned runs.
He had one bad start in June out of five, so it appears his consistency is getting better. He has Pittsburgh and San Diego on tap for this week, two of the worst offenses in Major League Baseball. If you can get him on the waiver wire, he’s a must add this week.
Jameson Taillon, Pittsburgh Pirates, SP
Taillon has become not just a short-term rental, but a long-term option for fantasy baseball owners.
However, he’s still not owned in more than 35 percent of leagues on ESPN, which allows some people the opportunity to get a great two-start play this week from Taillon.
He matches up with Philadelphia and the Chicago Cubs this week, two offenses that didn’t fare well in June. The Phillies were the worst offense during the month, while the Cubs were knocking on the door at being a bottom-10 offense.
At this point, it doesn’t really matter who the opposition is when Taillon is on the mound. He’s established himself as a reliable starter, going at least five innings in each of his four starts since returning from the disabled list in June. During that span, he’s allowed zero earned runs twice, and at most, four earned runs.
He’s not great in the strikeouts department, but he’s generally in line for a win and will keep your roster’s ERA down.
