Hello there, and Happy Pagan Spring Equinox / Fertility Festival to those who celebrate! I’m also being told there is another holiday today that only kinda involves bunnies and eggs, and so a Happy Easter to a bunch of you, too! But of course, the most important thing about today is that it’s a Sunday during baseball season, and therefore, time for a visit to the Two-Start Dive Bar!
There are so many excellent pitchers double-dipping this week, it truly is an embarrassment of riches… but it’s an easy answer to be like, “yeah man, start Gerrit Cole in his two-start week”… the hard part is trying to decide between, say, Kyle Gibson and Miles Mikolas (here’s a hint: only one of them has a start at Coors this week).
The Top Shelf is going to read like every Best Ball active roster for the teams lucky enough to have these guys. As for the rest of the offerings at the Bar, why don’t you and I dive right in?
Pitchers’ projected starts for the next week are sourced from Rudy Gamble’s Streamonator as of the update at 10:45am Eastern.
The bold pitchers below are the most extreme version of each section. The best of the Top Shelf, the safest of the Well, the worst of the Bar Mat.
The Top Shelf
| Pitcher | First Start | Second Start |
|---|---|---|
| Gerrit Cole, NYY | @CLE(TU) | MIN(SU) |
| Max Scherzer, NYM | SD(MO) | @OAK(SU) |
| Dylan Cease, CHW | @MIN(MO) | BAL(SU) |
| Luis Castillo, SEA | @CHC(MO) | COL(SU) |
| Aaron Nola, PHI | MIA(TU) | @CIN(SU) |
| Shane McClanahan, TB | BOS(TU) | @TOR(SU) |
| Shane Bieber, CLE | NYY(MO) | @WSH(SU) |
| Framber Valdez, HOU | @PIT(MO) | TEX(SU) |
| Sandy Alcantara, MIA | @PHI(MO) | ARI(SU) |
| Yu Darvish, SD | @NYM(MO) | MIL(SU) |
| Alek Manoah, TOR | DET(TU) | TB(SU) |
| Julio Urias, LAD | @SF(MO) | CHC(SU) |
| Corbin Burnes, MIL | @ARI(TU) | @SD(SU) |
| Zac Gallen, ARI | MIL(MO) | @MIA(SU) |
| Grayson Rodriguez, BAL | OAK(TU) | @CHW(SU) |
Notes
- I don’t think I’ve ever published a Top Shelf with 15 pitchers on it, but hey, there’s a first time for everything.
- You can argue the ordering if you want, but it’s pointless. Every pitcher on here is a must-start, and if you somehow have enough of them that you don’t have an active lineup spot for someone on this list, you’re a mo^$%rf@#$!ng a$%^@#e and I hate you with every fiber of my being. And I will not help you choose.
The Well
| Pitcher | First Start | Second Start |
|---|---|---|
| Logan Webb, SF | LAD(MO) | @DET(SU) |
| Pablo Lopez, MIN | CHW(TU) | @NYY(SU) |
| Andrew Heaney, TEX | KC(MO) | @HOU(SU) |
| Kyle Gibson, BAL | OAK(MO) | @CHW(SA) |
| Kenta Maeda, MIN | CHW(MO) | @NYY(SA) |
Notes
- This week features many highs and many lows, and therefore, very few names here in the middle. Most of these guys have a good start / rough start pairing, but they’re mostly worth running out there.
The Bar Mat
| Pitcher | First Start | Second Start |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Strahm, PHI | MIA(MO) | @CIN(SA) |
| Miles Mikolas, STL | @COL(TU) | PIT(SU) |
| JP Sears, OAK | @BAL(MO) | NYM(SU) |
| Domingo German, NYY | @CLE(MO) | MIN(SA) |
| Roansy Contreras, PIT | HOU(MO) | @STL(SA) |
| Graham Ashcraft, CIN | @ATL(MO) | PHI(SA) |
| Nick Pivetta, BOS | @TB(MO) | LAA(SU) |
| Bryce Elder, ATL | CIN(MO) | @KC(SU) |
| Steven Matz, STL | @COL(MO) | PIT(SA) |
| Mitch Keller, PIT | HOU(TU) | @STL(SU) |
| Zack Greinke, KC | @TEX(MO) | ATL(SU) |
| German Marquez, COL | STL(MO) | @SEA(SU) |
| Matt Manning, DET | @TOR(TU) | SF(SU) |
| Drew Smyly, CHC | SEA(MO) | @LAD(SU) |
| Patrick Corbin, WSH | @LAA(MO) | CLE(SU) |
| Luis Cessa, CIN | @ATL(TU) | PHI(SU) |
| Wade Miley, MIL | @ARI(MO) | @SD(SA) |
| Josh Fleming, TB | BOS(MO) | @TOR(SA) |
Notes
- Woof. This week giveth, and this week taketh away. Hopefully you’re not relying on too many of these guys… the ones in bold are projected by Rudy’s Streamonator to net negative dollar value over their two starts this week. Caveat potator.
