Fantasy Baseball Week 27 arrives with a warning, not a promise. CBS Sports published its final edition of the two-start pitcher rankings, and the lead is a warning about their reliability, not their existence.
The column opens with a grave tone that turns out to be exactly that. The writer says he is abandoning the usual boilerplate intro to issue a grave warning about the list itself. Then he explains why the list is unreliable.
The Problem With Final-Day Starts
The issue is simple. Many of these pitchers are scheduled to start on the last day of the regular season. On that day, a team has no tomorrow. It can throw caution to the wind and do whatever it feels like.
The writer is not saying a team will start someone on short rest. He is saying a bullpen game or a spot starter becomes possible. Why not?
But the bigger problem, he argues, is the pitcher most likely to lose his second start is the one on a team with a tomorrow — a team resetting its rotation for the playoffs. If a team has already secured its spot before the final day, and one of its top hurlers is scheduled to go, the team will almost surely pick someone else.
Who Is In Danger
The list singles out Zack Wheeler, Max Fried and Kevin Gausman as the pitchers most in danger of losing their second start. Cristian Javier, Nick Martinez and Robbie Ray are also mentioned as candidates.
If you would not be comfortable getting just one start from one of these pitchers, the advice is blunt: do not use him at all.
The Slate For Week 27
The full list of two-start pitchers for Fantasy Week 27 runs through September 27. The column notes that the rankings will be updated Sunday for any changes.
| Week | Date Range |
|---|---|
| Week 27 | Sept. 21-27 |
What To Actually Do
The column’s core advice is skepticism. Use the list as a starting point, then filter out anyone whose second start looks shaky.
The key question is comfort. If you cannot stomach a single start from a player you were counting on for two, the safer move is to sit him entirely.
The final-day risk is real. The playoffs reset is real. The two-start pitcher rankings are real, but only until they are not.
Check the list, read the warnings, and make your call.
Source material: “Fantasy Baseball Week 27 Preview: Two-start pitcher rankings highlight Kevin Gausman, Robbie Ray,” CBS Sports.
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