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Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, mas, mothers, mommies, grandmas, step-moms, mothers-in-law, and other assorted mother-figures out there in the world today. If you’re “mom” to someone, no matter the details, then you’re a pretty damn special person and deserve to be celebrated today.

An especially Happy Mother’s Day to the moms in my life: my wife, Heather; my mom, Julie; and my mother-in-law, Nancy.

OK, mushy stuff aside, let’s take a look at this week’s two-start pitchers!

This week’s Point of Reference (in other words, the best one-start pitcher of the week) is Shane McClanahan, who would slot in pretty evenly between Charlie Morton and Hunter Greene, and probably would just sneak into the last spot in The Top Shelf this week.

There aren’t any huge surprises, to me, in this week’s tables, but if I know my loyal readers, they’ll be sure to let me know in the comments if they disagree. So, 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 10:05am 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
Framber Valdez, HOU CHC(MO) OAK(SU)
Kevin Gausman, TOR NYY(TU) BAL(SU)
Justin Verlander, NYM TB(TU) CLE(SU)
Lance Lynn, CHW CLE(TU) KC(SU)
Clayton Kershaw, LAD MIN(TU) @STL(SU)
Jordan Montgomery, STL MIL(TU) LAD(SU)
Pablo Lopez, MIN @LAD(MO) @LAA(SU)
Jesus Luzardo, MIA WSH(TU) @SF(SU)
Shane Bieber, CLE @CHW(TU) @NYM(SU)
Freddy Peralta, MIL @STL(MO) @TB(SU)
Charlie Morton, ATL @TEX(MO) SEA(SU)
Shane McClanahan, TB MIL(FR) Point of Reference

Notes

  • Yes, Justin Verlander has the red-hot Rays this week, but the Ageless Wonder cannot be doubted. Play him, obvs.
  • This is the first week when I’ve placed the Point of Reference in the tables here, so just as a reminder, Shane McClanahan is not a two-start pitcher this week, but he’s here to make it clear how many pitchers are “better than” the best one-starter because they get to go twice.

 

The Well

Pitcher First Start Second Start
Hunter Greene, CIN @COL(MO) NYY(SU)
Grayson Rodriguez, BAL LAA(MO) @TOR(SA)
Josiah Gray, WSH @MIA(TU) DET(SU)
Alek Manoah, TOR NYY(MO) BAL(SA)
Merrill Kelly, ARI @OAK(MO) @PIT(SU)
Michael Wacha, SD KC(MO) BOS(SU)
Alex Wood, SF PHI(MO) MIA(SU)
Bailey Falter, PHI @SF(MO) CHC(SU)
Jack Flaherty, STL MIL(MO) LAD(SA)
George Kirby, SEA @BOS(MO) @ATL(SU)
Domingo German, NYY @TOR(TU) @CIN(SU)

Notes

  • After Hunter Greene and Grayson Rodriguez, there is a definite dropoff here. Player beware.

 

The Bar Mat

Pitcher First Start Second Start
Dane Dunning, TEX ATL(MO) COL(SU)
Patrick Corbin, WSH NYM(MO) DET(SA)
Chase Silseth, LAA @BAL(MO) MIN(SU)
Jameson Taillon, CHC @HOU(MO) @PHI (SU)
Noah Syndergaard, LAD MIN(MO) @STL(SA)
Dean Kremer, BAL LAA(TU) @TOR(SU)
Kyle Muller, OAK ARI(MO) @HOU(SU)
Jhony Brito, NYY @TOR(MO) @CIN(SA)
Brad Keller, KC @SD(MO) @CHW(SU)
Yonny Chirinos, TB @NYM(TU) MIL(SU)
Connor Seabold, COL CIN(MO) @TEX(SU)

Notes

  • I liked Kyle Muller early in the season, but he’s come crashing back to earth and has to pitch away to the Astros this week. Houston, we have a problem.