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The upcoming trade deadline is already starting to wreak havoc on our pool of two-start pitchers for Fantasy Week 18 (Aug. 1-7), and there could be more tumult to come. With their acquisition of Andrew Cashner and Colin Rea, the Marlins had to juggle their rotation, taking a projected second start away from Adam Conley and giving it to Tom Koehler. This is not necessarily bad news for Conley owners (or good news for Koehler owners), because that second start is against the Rockies at Coors Field. Then again, the first start at the Cubs isn't exactly a bargain either.
This is likely to be the first of many trades to impact major league rotations, so even more than usual, it will pay to choose your two-start additions carefully. There is no particular reason to doubt that Archie Bradley will make both of his scheduled starts, so he is one of the better waiver wire targets. His start next weekend against the Brewers in particular makes him a relatively safe bet, given that they strike out frequently and will likely no longer feature Jonathan Lucroy in their lineup at that point.
Dylan Bundy has been impressive during his short stay in the Orioles' rotation, and his recent success could make him harder to claim. However, Bundy is not without risk, given his strong flyball tendencies. He starts off the week with a home outing against the Rangers, who boast the majors' third-highest home run-to-flyball ratio on the road, according to FanGraphs.
From a fan's perspective, one matchup we hope doesn't change is the showdown between Stephen Strasburg and Madison Bumgarner on Aug. 7. Then again, from a Fantasy owner's perspective, it's frustrating to know only one at most can get a win. Despite the scheduled matchup, I've ranked them as the top two starters with a pair of scheduled outings this week.
Note: * denotes RP eligibility in CBSSports.com Head-to-Head leagues.
| | |||
| RANK | PITCHER | START 1 | START 2 |
| 1 | Stephen Strasburg, WAS | at ARI | vs. SF |
| 2 | Madison Bumgarner, SF | at PHI | at WAS |
| 3 | David Price, BOS | at SEA | at LAD |
| 4 | Jacob deGrom, NYM | vs. NYY | at DET |
| 5 | Carlos Carrasco, CLE | vs. MIN | at NYY |
| 6 | Danny Salazar, CLE | vs. MIN | at NYY |
| 7 | Yu Darvish, TEX | at BAL | at HOU |
| 8 | Chris Archer, TB | vs. KC | vs. MIN |
| 9 | Gerrit Cole, PIT | at ATL | vs. CIN |
| 10 | Lance McCullers, HOU | vs. TOR | vs. TEX |
| 11 | Marcus Stroman, TOR | at HOU | at KC |
| 12 | Danny Duffy, KC* | at TB | vs. TOR |
| 13 | Matt Shoemaker, LAA | vs. OAK | at SEA |
| 14 | Jason Hammel, CHC | vs. MIA | at OAK |
| 15 | Masahiro Tanaka, NYY | at NYM | vs. CLE |
| 16 | Jaime Garcia, STL | at CIN | vs. ATL |
| 17 | Sonny Gray, OAK | at LAA | vs. CHC |
| 18 | Archie Bradley, ARI | vs. WAS | vs. MIL |
| 19 | James Paxton, SEA | vs. BOS | vs. LAA |
| 20 | Dylan Bundy, BAL* | vs. TEX | at CHW |
| 21 | Matt Moore, TB | vs. KC | vs. MIN |
| 22 | CC Sabathia, NYY | at NYM | vs. CLE |
| 23 | Jon Gray, COL | vs. LAD | vs. MIA |
| 24 | Jimmy Nelson, MIL | at SD | at ARI |
| 25 | Kyle Gibson, MIN | at CLE | at TB |
| 26 | Brandon McCarthy, LAD | at COL | vs. BOS |
| 27 | Doug Fister, HOU* | vs. TOR | vs. TEX |
| 28 | Yordano Ventura, KC | at TB | vs. TOR |
| 29 | R.A. Dickey, TOR | at HOU | at KC |
| 30 | Eduardo Rodriguez, BOS | at SEA | at LAD |
| 31 | Mike Foltynewicz, ATL | vs. PIT | at STL |
| 32 | Zach Eflin, PHI* | vs. SF | at SD |
| 33 | Tom Koehler, MIA | at CHC | at COL |
| 34 | Anibal Sanchez, DET | vs. CHW | vs. NYM |
| 35 | Tyler Duffey, MIN | at CLE | at TB |
| 36 | Logan Verrett, NYM* | vs. NYY | at DET |
| 37 | Cody Reed, CIN | vs. STL | at PIT |
