Two Start Pitchers: Week of June 27 - July 3

When streaming starting pitching in fantasy baseball, especially in leagues with moves limits, knowing who the two-start pitchers are is valuable information to have. Each week we will give you the rundown on who is in line for a big week and give you one option which is poised to make for a great streaming option for the week.

Week 13 is not for the faint of heart. With only a handful of aces and tons questionable choices marking two starts this week, anyone adverse to gambling may find themselves on the short end of their matchups this week. Some of the more widely owned pitchers (Chris Archer, Adam Wainwright, Jeff Samardzija) are hard to trust completely, while there are more than a few wire options that have been masters on the mound recently. Let's start by look at one of the most intriguing plays this week.

Daniel Mengden (@SF, PIT)

In 11 starts between Double and Triple-A this year, Mengden has been lights out. He held a 1.19 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 68.1 IP. With the A's struggling, there was no better time than now to call up the 2014 fourth-round pick. While he sports three losses and is still searching for his first MLB victory, the 23-year-old righty has performed admirably so far in his big league career.

In 18 IP, he has a 3.00 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, with 21 punchouts. Opponents are also slashing a reasonable .246/.316/.406. In his last two outings, Mengden has walked only two batters while striking out 16. While the numbers have been good so far, this week will be the real test. As a fly ball pitcher, Mengden is susceptible to the home run ball. While he may be facing two of the better hitting clubs in the NL, they are also two of the more power adverse clubs in the majors. The Pirates rank 23rd in home runs, while the Giants rank second to last with only 62 homers in 75 games.

Available in over 85 percent of Yahoo! and ESPN leagues, the A's youngster makes for a great pickup in all those streaming heavy leagues.

Aces

Jake Arrieta (@CIN, @NYM)

Corey Kluber (@ATL, @TOR)

Jon Lester (@CIN, @NYM)

Noah Syndergaard (@WAS, CHC)

On May 25, Arrieta and the Cubs tied the MLB record with Chicago winning 23 straight games Arrieta started. Since then, though, the Cubs are 2-3 in their ace's past five starts, despite the righty holding a 1.80 ERA and a 12.01 K/9 rate...Syndergaard left this last start on June 20 with an elbow issue. While an MRI came back clean, Thor is still in danger of missing his June 27 start, with Logan Verrett making a spot start. For now, he is still scheduled to make two starts in Week 13, but keep an eye out on Monday night.

Lineup Locks

Trevor Bauer (@ATL, @TOR)

Cole Hamels (@NYY, @MIN)

Matt Harvey (@WAS, CHC)

Jose Quintana (MIN, @HOU)

Matt Shoemaker (HOU, @BOS)

Michael Wacha (@KC, MIL)

Once a highly thought of prospect, Bauer has been nothing more than an average pitcher the last two seasons. His unspectacular 4.38 ERA and 1.35 WHIP over 329 IP earned the 25-year-old near-bust status. Over his last four starts, though, the third overall pick in the 2011 draft has re-emerged. With four quality starts allowing two or fewer ER and three of them nine plus strikeout performances, the Indians starter is a must play this week, especially with the Braves on the schedule....From May 8 to June 4, Wacha was unownable in fantasy. He had an 8.38 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, and a 0-4 record in six starts. In the three starts since, he has returned to the pre-season expectations with three quality starts, a 2.11 ERA, and .164 BA against. With two favorable matchups this week, Wacha has returned from the fantasy grave to be a must start again.

Solid Starts

Chris Archer (BOS, DET)

Scott Kazmir (@PIT, COL)

Collin McHugh (@LAA, CWS)

Tanner Roark (NYM, CIN)

Joe Ross (NYM, CIN)

CC Sabathia (TEX, @SD)

Julio Urias (@MIL, COL)

Adam Wainwright (@KC, MIL)

Back-to-back quality starts against the Cardinals and Angels have gotten our confidence building in McHugh. In both outings, he made it into the seventh inning and allowed only two runs or less. With another matchup against L.A., followed up by the slumping White Sox, the Astros righty is in line for a good week...After posting eight straight starts allowing two runs or less, Sabathia blew up against the Rangers his last time out. The husky southpaw gave up six runs in only 4.1 IP. He also was forced to leave that start with an injured ankle. All indications point to the Yankees starter making his next start without any issues...In all six of Urias' starts, he has failed to make it out of the sixth inning; mainly due to his 85 pitch limit. The 19-year-old is only guaranteed his Tuesday start at Milwaukee. Although with all the injuries to the Dodgers' rotation and the way the young lefty is pitching, 2.33 ERA and 13.01 K/9 rate in past four starts, L.A. needs to leave Urias in their rotation and so do you.

Not a Sure Thing

Danny Duffy (STL, @PHI)

Marco Estrada (@COL, CLE)

J.A. Happ (@COL, CLE)

Hisashi Iwakuma (PIT, BAL)

Francisco Liriano (LAD, @OAK)

Jeff Samardzija (OAK, @ARI)

Vincent Velasquez (@ARI, KC)

Matt Wisler (CLE, MIA)

Liriano has been scuffling this year as he has walked an average of 3.5 batters per start. His 49 walks this year is most given up in both leagues. Despite holding a 1.63 WHIP and 5.17 ERA, Liriano has a pair of favorable starts this week. With the Dodgers hitting .224 against lefties and the A's ranking 26th in runs scored, this could be the week the Pirates’ southpaw finally turns his season around...Lately, Samardzija has been getting blasted recently. In two of his last four starts, he has allowed six earned runs and three or more home runs. Even more troubling for fantasy owners, is the lack of strikeouts. In his 21.2 IP in June, the Shark has fanned only 11 batters...Velasquez will be activated from the DL on June 27, setting him up to make a pair of starts this week. Despite the two turns, you may want to look elsewhere as the young righty will likely be on a pitch cap. Factor in a turn at the launching pad in Arizona and the Phillies starter makes for a rough start this week.

Shot in the Dark

Adam Conley (@DET, @ATL)

Jon Gray (TOR, @LAD)

Robbie Ray (PHI, SF)

Blake Snell (BOS, DET)

Even with his 4.53 ERA, Ray has been a decent fantasy option all year, thanks in large part to his strikeouts. In 80.1 IP the Diamondbacks lefty has 93 Ks. He has been remarkably consistent in getting whiffs as well with eight starts of six or more strikeouts in his last nine starts. Fire him up this week as he faces the light-hitting Phillies and a Giants club who have the sixth most strikeouts against lefties in all of baseball....A standout pitcher in the minors, Snell has suffered some control issues in his limited major league career. In his last two starts, he has walked six total batters, compared to only six strikeouts in 10 IP. While the wildness is nothing new, the 23-year-old holds a 4.4 BB/9 rate in his minor league career; he will need to tone it down this week. Snell is facing two tough hitting squads, but he gets the convenience of facing them in a favorable environment, Tropicana Field.

No Thank You

John Gant (CLE, MIA)

Kyle Gibson (@CWS, TEX)

Kendall Graveman (@SF, PIT)

Junior Guerra (LAD, @STL)

John Lamb (CHC, @WAS)

Kris Medlen (STL, @PHI)

Ivan Nova (TEX, @SD)

Eduardo Rodriguez (@TB, LAA)

Dan Straily (CHC, @WAS)

Albert Suarez (OAK, @ARI)