Two Start Cookie Shop: April 1-7

Hi, everyone! I’m Jeremy, but my friends call me the Latch-Key Kid. Does that have to do with my last name? Yes. Is it because when I came home from school my parents were still at work and so I was left to fend for myself for a couple hours? Also yes. But that’s how it was for a lot of kids in the 90s! Our parents were doing their best!

Anyway, your old, familiar guide to the week’s two-start pitchers is under new management. The bar has been replaced by a bakery, because I don’t know anything about serving drinks, but I do know about baking cookies. Regardless, the goal remains the same: helping you identify which pitchers are making two starts this week and whether or not you should use them.

To help make sense of who you ought to start in the upcoming week and who you’re better off leaving to someone else, we’ll file everyone under one of a few different categories. The categories are based on my own personal views of various cookie types. You might disagree, but be aware, doing so would make you wrong. As to the pitchers within each category? Well, on that front I can suggest, but the choice, and consequences, are yours alone.

**DISCLAIMER**

Teams are increasingly cagey (read: obnoxious) about announcing probable starters more than a day or two in advance, but that is particularly the case here at the start of the season. What follows are our projections at time of writing as to who will be making two-starts this week, but weather and secretive managers mean they are just that: projections. To stay as up-to-date as possible, consult Rudy Gamble’s invaluable Streamonator.

Disclaimer given, away we go!

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Must Start)

They’re safe. They’re reliable. They’re comforting. They are kings of the cookie world for a reason. A warm, freshly baked chocolate chip cookie just makes you feel happy. Sort of like getting to set your rosters knowing you get two starts this week from these guys.

• Yuck. This is what happens when the opening weekend is only four days long, and multiple teams only play three games. Ragans on regular rest would line up for two starts. However, if the Royals decide to keep everyone going in order, which would not be surprising, it would be Alec Marsh pulling double duty, and you’ll find him listed below. (I hear Rudy Gamble’s Streamonator is incredibly useful for staying up-to-date on this sort of thing.)

Sugar Cookies (Should Start)

They’re fine. They’re not really anyone’s favorite, and they often need help from other additions, but they get the job done well enough. You could certainly do worse than having these guys in your lineup, but don’t expect it to be remarkable.

• Snell is on the active roster, so he will be starting. However, the combination of his lack of preseason buildup and facing the buzzsaw that is the Dodgers’ lineup means I would personally be incredibly hesitant to put in my lineup.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (Could Start)

These aren’t for everyone. And even if you are inclined to like them, you don’t know for sure what to expect when you get one. Will it be chewy and flavorful? Will you chip your tooth because it’s as hard as a rock? Who knows! These are the pitchers that may be a pleasant surprise, or they could ruin your week. Tread lightly.

• Is Michael Wacha a pitcher you should plan on relying on? No. Is the Baltimore matchup one you should be optimistic about? Also no. But is the White Sox lineup so anemic that it makes him a tempting start anyway? I think so! Especially so in a points league, where the ratio damage Baltimore inflicts isn’t as severe and lasting as in roto.
• If you want to avoid Pepiot because of that Texas matchup, it is entirely understandable. It’s not a play for the faint of heart. Usually the same could be said for a game in Colorado, but have you seen the Rockies? It’s still a risk, but not quite as scary as most years. He’s in this tier for a reason.
• Streamonator is not a fan of Crochet this week. A matchup against the Braves is certainly not one I’d usually suggest you pursue for a pitcher’s second career start. However, Crochet looked nasty all spring, and carried it over to opening day. He may not last for many innings, but his stuff is so good I’d find it hard to not use him and see what happens.

Fortune Cookies (Do Not Start)

Yeah, they’re technically cookies. If you’re truly desperate for something sweet they might work in a pinch, but they aren’t anything you go actively searching for. Hold on, what does that little slip of paper say? “Bad times are heading your way.” Oh. Okay, then.

• If Ragans pitches on Tuesday, Marsh will only have one start. If he does make two, it’s unfortunate that the Baltimore matchup is so bad, because streaming against the White Sox is going to produce a lot of happy days for people this season. They are a cookie matchup. (See what I did there?)