This week’s fantasy baseball pitchers with two starts has only three five star pitchers, but has plenty of back end options with two and three stars.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Merrill Kelly: Monday vs PHI, Sunday @ LAD TWO STARS

Kelly allowed seven earned runs in back to back games and will be hard to trust going forward.

Atlanta Braves

Mike Soroka: Monday @ MIN, Saturday @ MIA FOUR STARS

Max Fried: Tuesday @ MIN, Sunday @ MIA FOUR STARS

Both Soroka and Fried have had a good season and are proving to be the future of the Braves rotation. At this point in the season, they should be started in almost all fantasy leagues.

Baltimore Orioles

Gabriel Ynoa: Monday vs NYY, Sunday vs HOU ONE STAR

Ynoa is stepping in for the injured John Means but should be avoided at all costs.

Boston Red Sox

Rick Porcello: Monday vs KC, Saturday vs LAA TWO STARS

Andrew Cashner: Tuesday vs KC, Sunday vs LAA TWO STARS

Porcello allowed seven home runs since the All-Star break, three of those coming in his last outing. He, however, has won the four games prior to last while allowing multiple runs in each of those. Don’t expect him to continue winning games while allowing this many runs.

The Red Sox acquired Cashner on July 13 and he has allowed 18 earned runs in four starts since. Cashner might be better left in free agency.

Chicago Cubs

Kyle Hendricks: Monday vs OAK, Saturday @ CIN FOUR STARS

Jon Lester: Tuesday vs OAK, Sunday @ CIN FOUR STARS

It’s possible that Hendricks is a five-star pitcher, however, he seems to be somewhat strikeout dependent. Both Oakland and Cincinnati are ranked third and 10th for fewest strikeouts, respectively. Hendricks should pitch well but it’s hard to tell if he’s not striking batters out.

Lester comes in at four stars after allowing nine hits and five earned runs against the Cardinals. This seems to be just a rough start expect Lester to return to normal and pitch well this week.

Chicago White Sox

Lucas Giolito: Monday @ DET, Saturday vs OAK THREE STARS

Dylan Cease: Tuesday @ DET, Sunday vs OAK TWO STARS

Giolito had an amazing May and June but has sputtered of late making this pick hard. Giolito has the stuff to return to form and showed that in his previous game against the Mets. He is a three-star pitcher until he shows consistency.

Cease has four straight losses even though his performances haven’t been the worst. His ERA sits at 6.43 but his FIP is only at 5.22. Not good but he is better than what his current numbers are so there is hope he can contribute to fantasy.

Cincinnati Reds

Luis Castillo: Monday vs LAA, Sunday vs CHC FIVE STARS

Castillo has been stellar all year and should be started without a doubt.

Cleveland Indians

Aaron Civale: Monday vs TEX, Saturday @ MIN TWO STARS

Zach Plesac: Tuesday vs TEX, Sunday @ MIN FOUR STARS

Civale has one start at the MLB level and he flashed potential going six innings and allowing two hits and three walks while striking out six. It’s a small sample size but when looking at his minor league numbers it’s clear he can pitch well. His record sits at seven wins, one loss with a 2.35 ERA. He’s worth a shot in deeper leagues.

Plesac allowed four earned runs in a win against the Astros. He has done well otherwise and is only owned in 37.3 percent of ESPN leagues. He is worth an add and could contribute in the fantasy baseball playoffs.

Colorado Rockies

German Marquez: Tuesday @ HOU, Sunday @ SD THREE STARS

Marquez is currently injured after leaving the last game early due to cramping. He may not be able to start and has a tough matchup in the Astros anyway. If Marquez plays on Tuesday he could be in trouble and might be worth benching even while on a tear.

Detroit Tigers

Spencer Turnbull: Monday vs CHW, Saturday vs KC THREE STARS

Daniel Norris: Tuesday vs CHW, Sunday vs KC THREE STARS

Turnbull is returning from the injured list after pitching 3.2 innings in a rehab appearance on July 30. He struck a total of seven batters and could be in for a big turnaround after a slumping second half. There is positives in how he performed earlier in the season when he put together a really strong April and May.

Norris is coming off impressive back to back starts and should be able to keep it rolling against two of the weaker offenses in the league.

Kansas City Royals

Mike Montgomery: Monday @ BOS, Saturday @ DET ONE STAR

Jakob Junis: Tuesday @ BOS, Sunday @ DET TWO STARS

Montgomery hasn’t gone past the fifth inning this year and will have a hard time at Boston who are second in on-base percentage. He should remain in free agency for his first start, however, if he does well he could be worth an add for Saturday.

It’s difficult to trust Junis after he’s been inconsistent all season. After pitching a few solid outings he’ll allow 10 earned runs over the next two. Something that has been holding him back is the home run ball. He allows for 1.63 HR/9. Similarly to Montgomery, Junis is a bench candidate versus the Red Sox but could be streamed on the weekend versus the Tigers.

Los Angeles Angels

Patrick Sandoval: Monday @ CIN, Sunday @ BOS ONE STAR

The Angels placed Griffin Canning on the injured list Sunday, and called Sandoval up to pitch Monday. Sandoval will not open the game on Monday at Cincinnati but will come in during the second or third innings as the primary pitcher. He has unimpressive numbers throughout the minors in 2019 and is not worth an add.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Tony Gonsolin: Monday vs STL, Sunday vs ARI TWO STARS

Gonsolin has two appearances in the MLB this year, one was good and the other was pretty bad. St. Louis is one of the hottest offenses lately and Gonsolin could really struggle. Only take a risk if in dire need of points this week.

Miami Marlins

Sandy Alcantara: Monday @ NYM, Saturday vs ATL ONE STARS

Jordan Yamamoto: Tuesday @ NYM, Sunday vs ATL TWO STARS

Alcantara has been terrible as of late. The Mets just scored 13 runs on Sunday and could easily repeat making Alcantara a one star.

Yamamoto is a two-star this week and was close to being a one-star if not for him outperforming Alcantara recently. Although not by much.

Milwaukee Brewers

Jordan Lyles: Monday @ PIT, Sunday vs TEX THREE STARS

Lyles did well in his debut for the Brewers by going five innings, earning the win, striking out four and allowing one earned run. His next start comes against a Pirates team ranked 24th in runs scored since the All-Star break. Lyles has a chance to win another game for his new team and maybe fantasy owners as well.

Minnesota Twins

Jake Odorizzi: Monday vs ATL, Saturday vs CLE THREE STARS

Jose Berrios: Tuesday vs ATL, Sunday vs CLE FOUR STARS

Odorizzi is good enough to be a four-star but it’s hard to think he’ll perform like one this week. Although he is in the midst of his best season Odorizzi has been stumbling since late June. He should still be started but don’t expect him to perform as well as normal.

Berrios has been on fire lately pitching seven innings in each of the last two games striking out 19. Berrios should be started in every fantasy league.

New York Yankees

Masahiro Tanaka: Monday @ BAL, Saturday @ TOR THREE STARS

What stands out the most from his previous starts are the low strikeouts and high walk numbers. Luckily for Tanaka and the Yankees the Orioles strikeout plenty and walk rarely. Toronto walks more but strikes out just as much as Baltimore. Tanaka could have a big week and should be started.

New York Mets

Jacob deGrom: Monday vs MIA, Sunday vs WSH FIVE STARS

deGrom has been the best pitcher in baseball since the All-Star break and looks to push the Mets into playoff contention.

Oakland Athletics

Chris Bassitt: Monday @ CHC, Sunday @ CHW THREE STARS

The Cubs have been raking lately making it hard to play a pitcher against them. However this late in the season fantasy managers need points and wins any way they can get them, which leads to starting Chris Bassitt this week. His WHIP is a low 1.17 and has the ability to strike batters out while going deep in the game.

Philadelphia Phillies

Vince Velasquez: Monday @ ARI, Saturday@ SF TWO STARS

Jake Arrieta: Tuesday @ ARI, Sunday @ SF THREE STARS

Velasquez has been striking more batters out recently but could be limited in his innings. The most he’s pitched this season is five and 2/3 and after playing the outfield over the weekend he might not throw as much as normal. Both these teams can hit as well so be careful with Velasquez.

Arrieta hasn’t had any spectacular games this season and isn’t in line for any either. But even if he’s not spectacular Arrieta still has some solid games that are useful to fantasy managers.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Dario Agrazal: Monday vs MIL, Sunday @ STL TWO STARS

Agrazal gets an unlucky draw by playing against division rivals in both matchups this week. Agrazal has limited fantasy value due to a low strikeout rate and he should not be trusted against two top hitting teams.

San Diego Padres

Dinelson Lamet: Tuesday @ SEA, Sunday vs COL THREE STARS

Lamet has been the definition of average this year although he tends to dip below average at times. Seattle is tied for third-fewest runs scored since the All-Star break and could allow for a decent fantasy outcome from Lamet.

Seattle Mariners

Wade LeBlanc: Tuesday vs SD, Sunday vs TB THREE STARS

LeBlanc has had some decent games and sits in the same boat as Lamet in terms of being average as of late. San Diego is tied with the Mariners for third-fewest runs scored since the All-Star break.

San Francisco Giants

Jeff Samardzija: Monday vs WSH, Saturday vs PHI FOUR STARS

Samardzija has been better on the road than at home which is odd for San Francisco. He is only owned in 24.4 percent of ESPN leagues but should be owned in more due to his recent performances.

St. Louis Cardinals

Michael Wacha: Monday @ LAD, Sunday vs PIT ONE STAR

Wacha is unspectacular and should be left in free agency.

Tampa Bay Rays

Charlie Morton: Monday vs TOR, Sunday @ SEA FIVE STARS

Morton has put together an excellent season so far and should continue doing so.

Texas Rangers

Mike Minor: Monday @ CLE, Sunday @ MIL THREE STARS

Minor might be a surprise three-star selection, however, when looking at his numbers of late it’s not hard to tell why. He’s allowed eight home runs his last four games and at least four earned runs in each of those. Minor has four stars and five-star potential but needs to break out of the slump.

Toronto Blue Jays

Jacob Waguespack: Monday @ TB, Saturday vs NYY TWO STARS

Trent Thornton: Tuesday @ TB, Sunday vs NYY TWO STARS

Waguespack hasn’t done anything to rate him higher on this list. he’s had multiple two strikeout games, limiting his fantasy appeal. He faces two tough teams and could struggle.

Unlike Waguespack, Thornton has actually shown promise in some of his starts but it’s hard to start anybody versus the Rays and Yankees.

Washington Nationals

Erick Fedde: Monday @ SF, Sunday @ NYM ONE STAR

Fedde hasn’t been able to string together good games all year and he should continue being left in free agency.

Featured image courtesy of Getty Images

You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from great TGH writers!