Flaherty is off to a rough start

Some of the biggest names in baseball are scheduled to make two starts each during Week 8, including Paul Skenes. There are also other two-start pitchers who it might be best to avoid in fantasy. Let’s highlight five pitchers who are projected to take the mound twice each and discuss what their matchups could mean for their fantasy returns.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers: vs. SF, at LAA

Yamamoto had another quality start in his last outing, allowing three runs and recording eight strikeouts over six innings against the Astros. He has logged at least six innings in six of his seven starts and he didn’t allow more than three earned runs in any of them. His strikeout rate is just 23.5%, but that should be on the rise sooner rather than later. For his career, his strikeout rate is 28.3%.

As far as matchups go, it doesn’t get much better than what is on the horizon for Yamamoto. The Giants have been dreadful in the hitting department, recording the worst OPS in baseball. The Angels are more dangerous, but they have also struck out the most times in the majors. Yamamoto has the potential to carry fantasy managers next week.

Zach Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies: at BOS, at PIT

Wheeler hasn’t looked limited since returning from thoracic outlet syndrome. He has pitched at least five innings in all three of his starts, allowing three or fewer runs each time. In his last start, he worked his way up to 98 pitches. Also encouraging was that he hit 96 mph on his fastball in that outing.

Before getting hurt last season, Wheeler was one of the most reliable starting pitchers in fantasy. He hasn’t finished with a WHIP above 1.08 since 2020 and he has posted an ERA below 3.00 in five of the last six seasons. Now that he is healthy again, he should be started with confidence in all fantasy formats, regardless of his matchups. It is worth nothing, though, that the Red Sox have the third-worst OPS in baseball. The Pirates are also tied for the fourth-most strikeouts, so these matchups do work in Wheeler’s favor.

Freddy Peralta, New York Mets: vs. DET, vs. NYY

Peralta had a difficult matchup against the Rockies at Coors Field in his last outing. Although he only recorded one strikeout, he threw five scoreless innings. Not much has gone right for the Mets this season, but the addition of Peralta has had promising initial returns. Through eight starts, he has a 3.12 ERA and a 3.68 xERA. His strikeout rate is only 23.2%, but that should increase as the season moves along and finish closer to his career mark of 29.6%.

Facing the Tigers and Yankees in the same week isn’t exactly ideal. The Yankees have been particularly productive at the plate, scoring the second-most runs. Working in Peralta’s favor is that the Yankees have the 10th-most strikeouts in baseball, while the Tigers rank 15th in that category. There’s no reason to consider benching Peralta based on these matchups.

Jack Flaherty, Detroit Tigers: at NYM, vs. TOR

Flaherty had a season-high 10 strikeouts against the Red Sox in his last outing, but he also gave up four runs (two earned) over five innings. He has a bloated 1.65 WHIP for the season because he has walked 26 batters over 34 innings. His 5.56 ERA isn’t helping fantasy managers, and his 4.77 xERA confirms that he has pitched poorly.

Flaherty is a big name who had success in the past. With all the injuries that the Tigers have within their starting rotation, he’s not going to lose his job anytime soon. Matchups against the Mets and Blue Jays might seem great because both teams rank inside the bottom-five in baseball in runs scored. However, with how wild Flaherty has been, it’s still probably best to avoid him in fantasy, outside of the deepest of leagues.

Andre Pallante, St. Louis Cardinals: at ATH, vs. KC

Pallante often lives on the edge. He has a 1.37 WHIP through seven starts this year and a 1.41 WHIP for his career. What’s dangerous about him allowing so many baserunners is that he doesn’t make up for it by recording a bunch of strikeouts. His career strikeout rate is just 16.3%. That also means he usually isn’t worth the risk in fantasy, given his limited upside.

A start against the Athletics at their hitter-friendly home park could be a recipe for disaster. Following their .765 home OPS last season, the A’s have a .791 OPS there this year. Left-handed pitchers have limited them to a .658 OPS, but they have a .771 mark against righties. The start against the Athletics alone is a reason to not even consider streaming Pallante in Week 8.

Mike Barner has been covering fantasy sports since 2007. His work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, SportsLine and RotoWire. Mike was also a finalist for the 2018 FSWA Basketball Writer of the Year award. Follow Mike on Twitter @rotomikebarner.