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Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers for Week 12
After one of the weakest two-start schedules of 2016, this one promises to be nearly as strong as the opening week for fantasy baseball. I wouldn't be surprised if any of the eight names listed in the top-tier category below walked away with some serious hardware at the conclusion of the 2016 season.
Let's get to the probables!
Probable two-start pitchers:
Chad Bettis, COL (@ NYY, vs. ARI)
Clay Buchholz, BOS (vs. CWS, @ TEX)
Madison Bumgarner, SF (@ PIT, vs. PHI)
Jhoulys Chacin, LAA (@ HOU, vs. OAK)
Patrick Corbin, ARI (@ TOR, @ COL)
Johnny Cueto, SF (@ PIT, vs. PHI)
Jose De La Rosa, COL (@ MIA, vs. ARI)
Anthony DeSclafani, CIN (@ TEX, vs. SD)
Tyler Duffey, MIN (vs. PHI, @ NYY)
Jose Fernandez, MIA (vs. COL, vs. CHC)
Doug Fister, HOU (vs. LAA, @ KC)
Jaime Garcia, STL (@ CHC, @ SEA)
Kevin Gausman, BAL (@ TEX, vs. TB)
Miguel Gonzalez, CWS (@ BOS, vs. TOR)
Sonny Gray, OAK (vs. MIL, @ LAA)
Jason Hammel, CHC (vs. STL, @ MIA)
Jeremy Hellickson, PHI (vs. ARI, @ SF)
Derek Holland, TEX (vs. BAL, vs. BOS)
Nate Karns, SEA (@ DET, vs. STL)
Ian Kennedy, KC (@ NYM, vs. HOU)
Clayton Kershaw, LAD (vs. WAS, @ PIT)
John Lackey, CHC (vs. STL, @ MIA)
Jeff Locke, PIT (vs. SF, vs. LAD)
Shelby Miller, ARI (@ PHI, @ COL)
Aaron Nola, PHI (vs. MIN, @ SF)
Bud Norris, ATL (@ MIA, vs. NYM)
James Paxton, SEA (@ DET, vs. STL)
Mike Pelfrey, DET (vs. SEA, vs. CLE)
Luis Perdomo, SD (@ BAL, @ CIN)
Chris Sale, CWS (@ BOS, vs. TOR)
Hector Santiago, LAA (@ HOU, vs. OAK)
Drew Smyly, TB (@ CLE, @ BAL)
Stephen Strasburg, WAS (vs. LAD, @ MIL)
Noah Syndergaard, NYM (vs. KC, @ ATL)
Josh Tomlin, CLE (vs. TB, @ DET)
Justin Verlander, DET (vs. SEA, vs. CLE)
Tyler Wilson, BAL (vs. SD, vs. TB)
Steven Wright, BOS (vs. CWS, @ TEX)
Cream of the crop:
Clayton Kershaw, LAD (vs. WAS, @ PIT)
The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner is making a serious case for number four. Currently, Kershaw is 10-1 with a 1.58 ERA. Only one other pitcher has an ERA under 1.75 -- Jake Arrieta (last year's Cy Young winner). Kershaw has notched double-digit strikeouts in three of the past four games and nine of the past 11 outings.
Chris Sale, CWS (@ BOS, vs. TOR)
Surprisingly, Sale hasn't tallied double-digit Ks in a single start this year. In 2015, Sale recorded at least 10 punchouts in all six performances in June (13 for the season). Though he faces two tough offenses in Week 12, Sale has already silenced the Blue Jays' bats: 8 IP, 1 ER, and 6 Ks on April 26th.
Jose Fernandez, MIA (vs. COL, vs. CHC)
Fernandez is already a great starting pitcher, but when he's in front of the home crowd at Marlins Park, he's somehow even better. This year, Fernandez is 6-1 with a 2.06 ERA and he's a career 23-1 with a 1.53 ERA at home. This week, he'll host both the Rockies and the Cubs.
Noah Syndergaard, NYM (vs. KC, @ ATL)
It will be a World Series rematch this week as the Mets host the defending champs. Last year, Thor started in New York's only win against Kansas City (Game 3). Syndergaard was also dominant in his first start of the year, which happened to be against the Royals, too: 6 IP, 0 ER, and 9 Ks.
Stephen Strasburg, WAS (vs. LAD, @ MIL)
Stras is unbeaten in 2016 (10-0) and has struck out at least 10 batters in four of the last six starts. The Brewers have the second-highest strikeout total in baseball and that number will only grow with Strasburg on the bump.
Madison Bumgarner/Johnny Cueto, SF (@ PIT, vs. PHI)
As the Giants make their biannual World Series run, teams must cringe when they must face both of these arms in a series. For Week 12, the state of Pennsylvania will curse California as the Mad Bum and Crazy Cueto take on the Pirates and Phillies. Both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have lost nine of the past 10 games and seeing these sub-2.15 ERA pitchers will not improve their collective moods.
Steven Wright, BOS (vs. CWS, @ TEX)
This Boston pitcher doesn't get near the amount of recognition that he deserves. If you scroll down the ERA leaders list for 2016, you'll see six NL pitchers at the top before you get to the first AL arm ... and that appendage belongs to Wright (2.22 ERA). He has won five straight games and has allowed more than three earned runs in a start only once this season.
Potential bargains:
Tyler Wilson, BAL (vs. SD, vs. TB)
The Baltimore sophomore was phenomenal in his last outing. Wilson shut down the highest-scoring team in baseball, the Red Sox: 8 IP, 0 ER, and 6 Ks. This week, Wilson will get two teams in the top five of strikeout-leading clubs, Padres and Rays.
Jhoulys Chacin, LAA (@ HOU, vs. OAK)
With so many aces, I had to take a long look through the deck to find a wild card. While Chacin has allowed nine combined earned runs in his last two starts, he's also known for having great performances (9 IP, 1 ER, and 10 Ks against Detroit on May 30th). Houston has the most whiffs and the A's have scored the fifth-fewest runs in 2016. Chacin might be a pleasant surprise when Week 12 comes to a close.
Avoid at all costs:
Miguel Gonzalez, CWS (@ BOS, vs. TOR)
Before facing Chris Sale, Boston and Toronto will look to get their batting practice on Gonzalez. In his last outing, Gonzalez allowed seven earned runs on eight hits and walked four batters in 3.1 innings of work against Detroit. On April 25, Toronto tallied 11 hits and scored five earned runs off of Gonzalez.
Jeff Locke, PIT (vs. SF, vs. LAD)
It's been a rough past two starts for Locke as he's allowed 18 earned runs in 8.2 innings of work. Though he's been a much better pitcher at home, Locke will face a Giants' offense that has scored 42 runs in the past week (fifth-most) and has a .304 team batting average (third-best). Both clubs also know how to feast off of left-handed pitching.
