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.

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All of the two-steppers (30)

Zac Gallen, AZ (at SF, vs. SD)
Drew Smyly, ATL (vs. CIN, at WAS)
Matt Harvey, BAL (vs. DET, at BOS)
Alec Mills, CHC (vs. MIL, at MIA)
Jake Arrieta, CHC (vs. MIL, at MIA)
Luis Castillo, CIN (at CLE, at PHI)
Sonny Gray, CIN (at CLE, at PHI)
J.C. Mejía, CLE (vs. CIN, at DET)
Triston McKenzie, CLE (vs. CIN, at DET)
Jon Gray, COL (at HOU, at SF)
Lucas Giolito, CHW (at MIN, vs. NYY)
Casey Mize, DET (at BAL, vs. CLE)
Carlos Hernández, KC (vs. NYY, vs. STL)
José Suarez, LAA (at TOR, vs. HOU)
Max Scherzer, LAD (at PHI, at NYM)
Zach Thompson, MIA (at SD, vs. CHC)
Freddy Peralta, MIL (at CHC, at PIT)
Charlie Barnes, MIN (vs. CWS, vs. TB)
Carlos Carrasco, NYM (vs. WAS, vs. LAD)
Jameson Taillon, NYY (at KC, at CWS)
Frankie Montas, OAK (at CLE, at TEX)
Chase Anderson, PHI (vs. LAD, vs. CIN)
Steven Brault, PIT (vs. STL, vs. MIL)
Joe Musgrove, SD (vs. MIA, at AZ)
Logan Gilbert, SEA (vs. TEX, vs. TOR)
Kevin Gausman, SF (vs. AZ, vs. COL)
Luis Patiño, TB (at BOS, at MIN)
Kolby Allard, TEX (at SEA, vs. OAK)
Steven Matz, TOR (at LAA, at SEA)
Paolo Espino, WAS (at NYM, vs. 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.

Zac Gallen, AZ (at SF, vs. SD)
Luis Castillo, CIN (at CLE, at PHI)
Sonny Gray, CIN (at CLE, at PHI)
Triston McKenzie, CLE (vs. CIN, at DET)
Jon Gray, COL (at HOU, at SF)
Lucas Giolito, CHW (at MIN, vs. NYY)
Casey Mize, DET (at BAL, vs. CLE)
José Suarez, LAA (at TOR, vs. HOU)
Max Scherzer, LAD (at PHI, at NYM)
Zach Thompson, MIA (at SD, vs. CHC)
Freddy Peralta, MIL (at CHC, at PIT)
Carlos Carrasco, NYM (vs. WAS, vs. LAD)
Jameson Taillon, NYY (at KC, at CWS)
Frankie Montas, OAK (at CLE, at TEX)
Joe Musgrove, SD (vs. MIA, at AZ)
Logan Gilbert, SEA (vs. TEX, vs. TOR)
Kevin Gausman, SF (vs. AZ, vs. COL)
Luis Patiño, TB (at BOS, at MIN)
Steven Matz, TOR (at LAA, at SEA)

The run-and-hides (6)

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.

Alec Mills, CHC (vs. MIL, at MIA)
Jake Arrieta, CHC (vs. MIL, at MIA)
J.C. Mejía, CLE (vs. CIN, at DET)
Charlie Barnes, MIN (vs. CWS, vs. TB)
Chase Anderson, PHI (vs. LAD, vs. CIN)
Kolby Allard, TEX (at SEA, vs. OAK)

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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.