Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitcher Streaming Options: April 22 – 28
Here are the top available streamers in fantasy baseball who will make two starts next week, headlined by Yusei Kikuchi and Reynaldo Lopez.
Streaming starting pitchers is a common strategy that often leads to success in fantasy baseball. For those unfamiliar with the concept, the idea is simply to pick up a “lesser” pitcher for an inviting matchup or two that is soon to come.
The strategy certainly comes with risk, as there is usually a good reason, or several, that a particular hurler is rostered at a lower rate in most leagues. Still, the gamble can pay off nicely if a fantasy baseball manager gets it right and their waiver add delivers.
The goal of this weekly article is to help fantasy baseball managers pinpoint some two-start streamers with favorable matchups for the following week of the 2024 MLB season. These suggestions should be able to help out in a variety of season-long formats, but they can be especially useful to gain an edge in weekly head-to-head leagues.
*** Each SP below was rostered in less than 60% of Yahoo leagues at time of writing
Next Week’s Best Two-Start SP Streamers
Yusei Kikuchi (TOR) – at KC, vs. LAD – 56%
Kikuchi has been mowing batters down at a stellar rate through the first few weeks of the campaign. The 32-year-old lefty turned in a mediocre performance in his first start of the season, but since then, in two starts against the Yankees and one versus his former team from Seattle, he has allowed just two total runs on 11 hits and five walks while registering 25 punchouts (37.9%) across 17.1 innings.
A couple of starts opposite the upstart Royals and potent Dodgers may not be the most inviting, but with the way Kikuchi has been dealing, he’s worth rolling with in just about any matchup right now. On top of currently ranking sixth in strikeout rate (33.0%) among all qualifying pitchers in the league, his 51.0 GB% and 84.9 avg EV have contributed to a promising 2.55 xFIP.
Reynaldo Lopez (ATL) – vs. MIA, vs. CLE – 51%
Lopez was suggested as an “add” in this week’s Waiver Wire article, but, since he has somehow yet to cross the rostered threshold for this list, the Atlanta righty is in play.
Everyone had Lopez marked down as the Braves’ ace this season, right? Well, that’s exactly what he’s been to this point. The starter-turned-reliever-turned-starter has logged exactly six frames in each of his first three outings this season, putting up a ridiculous 0.50 ERA to go with 0.94 WHIP, .177 AVG against, and 18-to-6 K/BB ratio.
Lopez is giving up a good bit of contact, but it’s mostly been of the weaker variety. The opposition has produced just a 9.3 LD% and only one barrel (2.3%) off of to this point. The Guardians have been swinging the bats well so far this year, but Lopez should be able to manage and the matchup against Miami is too good to pass up.
Zack Littell (TB) – vs. DET, at CWS – 43%
Littell was included in last week’s article for two starts during the current week, but, since the Rays did a little adjusting in their rotation, he ended up with just a single outing on his docket.
That start came Wednesday against the Angels. Though Littell gave up a season-high three runs on eight hits over 5.2 innings, it was still a solid effort for the most part, as he also struck out a season-high seven batters while walking none.
Overall this season, Littell is sporting a 2.14 ERA and 22-to-5 K/BB across 21 innings. His 1.33 WHIP is a bit high, but the 28-year-old righty has been very effective at pitching with runners on base and he does not hurt himself with walks (5.6%). His .361 BABIP is sure to even out if he’s able to keep inducing so much weak contact (27.4 HardHit%) while maintaining a solid K-rate (24.7%).
The matchups for Littell next week are slated to come opposite two of the current bottom-five scoring lineups in the league, so have at them.
Riskier Options to Consider
- Andrew Abbott (CIN) – vs. PHI, at TEX – 48%
- Lance Lynn (STL) – vs. ARI, at NYM – 37%
- Dane Dunning (TEX) – vs. SEA, vs. CIN – 25%
- Keaton Winn (SF) – vs. NYM, vs. PIT – 4%
Written by
Nate Miller is a feature writer at FantasyPros and Just Baseball. He has been an analyst in the fantasy sports industry for the past decade, covering…