Brown having breakout season

We prepare to close out the month of May with a busy schedule in Week 10. Lots of games means a variety of two-start pitchers to consider. Let’s highlight five starters who are scheduled to take the mound twice each and discuss what their matchups might mean for the fantasy baseball value.

Hunter Brown, Houston Astros: vs. ATH, vs. TB

Brown is coming off his worst performance of the season, giving up five runs over five innings against the Rays. He allowed three home runs, which was a lot for him considering he had given up a total of two home runs across his first nine starts. Even with that bad outing in mind, Brown has a 2.04 ERA this season that is backed by a 2.80 xFIP. His 30.6% strikeout rate is on pace to be the highest mark of his career.

Facing the Athletics and Rays can be difficult when a pitcher has to play in those home parks. The Athletics are playing in a minor league stadium, while the Rays are playing at the Yankees spring training stadium. Both are good hitting environments. Brown will dodge both this week with his two starts coming in Houston. Look for him to continue to churn out dominant stat lines.

Clay Holmes, New York Mets: vs. CWS, vs. COL

Holmes has settled into the starting rotation for the Mets after spending most of his career as a reliever. He has thrown at least 90 pitches and logged at least six innings in each of his last four starts. In three of those outings, he allowed three or fewer runs. His ERA checks in at 3.13 and it is supported by his 3.54 xFIP.

Holmes has an excellent opportunity to continue his recent run of success with two favorable matchups in Week 10. The White Sox and Rockies are tied for the second-fewest runs scored in baseball. The White Sox have the worst OPS in baseball, while the Rockies have the third-worst OPS. Holmes could even provide some additional strikeouts, considering that the Rockies have struck out the most times in baseball.

Hayden Birdsong, San Francisco Giants: at DET, at MIA

After making 16 starts for the Giants last season, Birdsong began this year coming out of the bullpen. He performed well in the role, not allowing a run in eight of his 11 appearances. With Jordan Hicks struggling, the Giants decided to demote him to the bullpen and elevate Birdsong into the starting rotation. In his first start, Birdsong allowed one unearned run and had four strikeouts over five innings against the Royals.

The best part about Birdsong starting last season was his 27.9% strikeout rate. An improvement he has shown this season has been lowering his walk rate to 8.3%. Last season, he had a 13.7% walk rate. The Tigers have struck out the fifth-most times in baseball, so Birdsong could be productive in that department during his first start in Week 10. His second outing will be against a Marlins team that ranks inside the bottom-10 in baseball in runs scored. Don’t hesitate to put Birdsong into your starting fantasy lineup.

Andrew Heaney, Pittsburgh Pirates: at ARI, at SD

Heaney has pitched well for the Pirates, allowing two or fewer runs in seven of his 10 starts. However, his 4.32 xFIP indicates that he hasn’t pitched nearly as well as his 2.91 ERA would lead people to believe. He has also paired a lowly 18.3% strikeout rate with a 9.2% walk rate. With his lack of strikeouts, he should only be viewed as a viable streaming option in fantasy baseball when he has a favorable matchup.

Two bad matchups await Heaney in Week 10. The Diamondbacks have scored the fifth-most runs in baseball. They also have a .815 OPS in Arizona. The Padres already do a great job of making contact, recording the fewest strikeouts in baseball. This is not the week to take a chance on streaming Heaney.

Nick Martinez, Cincinnati Reds: at KC, at CHC

Martinez has recorded five straight quality starts. In four of those outings, he allowed one or no runs. However, it’s worth noting that three of those starts came against the Astros, White Sox and Pirates. All three of those teams rank inside the bottom half of baseball in runs scored. Martinez also has just an 18.7% strikeout rate this season. For his career, he has a 16.9% strikeout rate.

Much like Heaney, Martinez should only be viewed as a streaming option in fantasy when he has a good matchup. The Royals aren’t a bad matchup, but the Cubs are a horrendous matchup because they have scored the most runs in baseball. These are also two good contact teams with the Cubs ranking 19th and the Royals ranking 29th in strikeouts. Despite his recent run of success, this is a week to stay away from Martinez.

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.