The Double Dip: Fantasy baseball 2-start pitchers for the week

We’re back again for this week’s fantasy baseball Double Dip — highlighting pitchers making two starts in a week. Some of the plays may be obvious — you don’t need a 1,000-word soliloquy highlighting why it’s a good idea to start Jacob deGrom twice. You just do it. 

But volume is key, especially two-start-pitcher volume. This column aims to identify all the two-start hurlers, the ones that are no-brainers, the ones that are avoids, and most importantly, focus on the tough-to-call decisions. 

Each week, I’ll do my best to highlight some of those tricky arms and what could come your way.

All of the two-steppers (37)

1. Taylor Widener, AZ (vs SF, at SD)
2. Madison Bumgarner, AZ (vs SF, at SD)
3. Max Fried, ATL (at STL, vs WAS)
4. Jorge López, BAL (at NYY, vs TB)
5. Garrett Richards, BOS (at DET, at TOR)
6. Zach Davies, CHC (at COL, vs CWS)
7. Tyler Mahle, CIN (vs MIN, vs PIT)
8. Zach Plesac, CLE (at TOR, vs DET)
9. Sam Hentges, CLE (at TOR, vs DET)
10. Kyle Freeland, COL (vs CHC, vs MIA)
11. Dylan Cease, CHW (vs KC, at CHC)
12. Wily Peralta, DET (vs BOS, at CLE)
13. Lance McCullers, HOU (at LAD, vs MIN)
14. Kris Bubic, KC (at CWS, at STL)
15. Shohei Ohtani, LAA (at TEX, at LAD)
16. Jesús Luzardo, MIA (vs NYM, at COL)
17. Braxton Garrett, MIA (vs NYM, at COL)
18. Kenta Maeda, MIN (at CIN, at HOU)
19. Tylor Megill, NYM (at MIA, at PHI)
20. Taijuan Walker, NYM (at MIA, at PHI)
21. Andrew Heaney, NYY (vs BAL, vs SEA)
22. Gerrit Cole, NYY (vs BAL, vs SEA)
23. Zack Wheeler, PHI (at WAS, vs NYM)
24. Max Kranick, PIT (at MIL, at CIN)
25. Chad Kuhl, PIT (at MIL, at CIN)
26. Chris Flexen, SEA (at TB, at NYY)
27. Yusei Kikuchi, SEA (at TB, at NYY)
28. Anthony DeSclafani, SF (at AZ, at MIA)
29. Johnny Cueto, SF (at AZ, at MIA)
30. J.A. Happ, STL (vs ATL, vs KC)
31. Michael Wacha, TB (vs SEA, at BAL)
32. Dane Dunning, TEX (vs LAA, at OAK)
33. Jordan Lyles, TEX (vs LAA, at OAK)
34. Robbie Ray, TOR (vs CLE, vs BOS)
35. Steven Matz, TOR (vs CLE, vs BOS)
36. Josiah Gray, WAS (vs PHI, at ATL)
37. Patrick Corbin, WAS (vs PHI, at ATL)

The no-brainers (19)

This group should definitely be in your starting lineup — whether it’s due to matchup or just sheer brilliance, don’t overthink this one. As it gets longer in the season, you are more willing, in most instances, to chase that volume. Now, each situation may be unique — if you have outstanding ratios, you may want to be a bit more careful about damaging your ratios.

1. Max Fried, ATL (at STL, vs WAS)
2. Tyler Mahle, CIN (vs MIN, vs PIT)
3. Kyle Freeland, COL (vs CHC, vs MIA)
4. Dylan Cease, CHW (vs KC, at CHC)
5. Wily Peralta, DET (vs BOS, at CLE)
6. Lance McCullers Jr., HOU (at LAD, vs MIN)
7. Shohei Ohtani, LAA (at TEX, at LAD)
8. Braxton Garrett, MIA (vs NYM, at COL)
9. Kenta Maeda, MIN (at CIN, at HOU)
10. Tylor Megill, NYM (at MIA, at PHI)
11. Taijuan Walker, NYM (at MIA, at PHI)
12. Andrew Heaney, NYY (vs BAL, vs SEA)
13. Gerrit Cole, NYY (vs BAL, vs SEA)
14. Zack Wheeler, PHI (at WAS, vs NYM)
15. Chad Kuhl, PIT (at MIL, at CIN)
16. Chris Flexen, SEA (at TB, at NYY)
17. Yusei Kikuchi, SEA (at TB, at NYY)
18. Anthony DeSclafani, SF (at AZ, at MIA)
19. Johnny Cueto, SF (at AZ, at MIA)
20. Robbie Ray, TOR (vs CLE, vs BOS)

The run-and-hides (13)

This group should only be started out of pure desperation — the volume is nice, and it definitely could end up working out for you, but starting these hurlers is a real gamble. 

1. Madison Bumgarner, AZ (vs SF, at SD)
2. Jorge López, BAL (at NYY, vs TB)
3. Zach Davies, CHC (at COL, vs CWS)
4. Sam Hentges, CLE (at TOR, vs DET)
5. Kris Bubic, KC (at CWS, at STL)
6. Jesús Luzardo, MIA (vs NYM, at COL)
7. Max Kranick, PIT (at MIL, at CIN)
8. J.A. Happ, STL (vs ATL, vs KC)
9. Michael Wacha, TB (vs SEA, at BAL)
10. Dane Dunning, TEX (vs LAA, at OAK)
11. Jordan Lyles, TEX (vs LAA, at OAK)
12. Steven Matz, TOR (vs CLE, vs BOS)
13. Josiah Gray, WAS (vs PHI, at ATL)
14. Patrick Corbin, WAS (vs PHI, at ATL)

The meat-and-potatoes (5)

This group is one that takes a bit more thinking — the volume is nice, but the matchup could be tricky. Is it worth taking the risk on a questionable start for what could be some juicy fantasy goodness? Let’s dig in and find out.

And since they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I am going to use a similar rating scale that Clay Link and Todd Zola do over at Rotowire — if I was playing in five fantasy baseball leagues, how many would I feel comfortable starting this hurler? Using that as our barometer, we should be able to appropriately deem the risk and reward that’s available if you choose to start this arm. Keep in mind — your league and team context are always key. I’m using a 12-team NFBC Online Championship format as my primary backdrop.

• Taylor Widener, AZ (vs. SF, at SD 17%) — TWO LEAGUES OUT OF FIVE
• Garrett Richards, BOS (at DET, at TOR, 36%) — TWO 
• Tyler Mahle, CIN (vs MIN, vs PIT) — THREE 
• Zach Plesac, CLE (at TOR, vs DET) — FOUR
• Kyle Freeland, COL (vs CHC, vs MIA) — THREE