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Week 1 lineups have barely locked, and we're already talking Week 2?
Yeah, that's what happens when the season begins on a Thursday. There's an awkward half-week that can be treated as either its own scoring period or combined with the first full week for an 11-day scoring period. The CBS standard is to treat it as its own scoring period, and thus, we have another lineup lock coming up Monday, which is officially known as Week 2.
To put a finer point on it, this article doesn't apply to you if your league has opted for the longer Week 1, and then when we put out our Week 3 sleeper pitchers, they'll actually be for your Week 2. The numbering will remain off for all future installments, but you'll know that when a new article comes out, it's for the week ahead, whatever number week that may be.
Anyway ... here are my sleeper pitchers for Week 2, presuming they apply to you. I've limited my selection to those rostered in less than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues, so if your pitching is strong, you shouldn't feel like you have to use any of them.
All information is up to date as of Sunday evening.
Drew Rasmussen originally looked like he'd make a start in the shortened Week 1 (March 27-30), but instead he lines up for two in Week 2, the first being a primo matchup against the Pirates. His superlative control and plus ground-ball skills have made him a standout in ERA regardless of his role, and his return to the rotation this year is genuine cause for excitement.
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Kris Bubic's spring was a mixed bag, but he showed significant strikeout potential as a reliever last year and hopes to apply that potential in his return to a starting role this year. The matchups are nothing special, but the upside in a two-start week makes him worth a roll of the dice.
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Chris Paddack's last couple spring starts saw his fastball play up with more induced vertical break and big swing-and-miss numbers. He's more of a curiosity than anything at this point, but since the first of his two starts is against the White Sox, there's a case for throwing caution to the wind and giving him a whirl.
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Reese Olson is a more proven Fantasy commodity than Chris Paddack, so the better-safe-than-sorry route would be to run him out there for his one start against the White Sox. But it is just the one start, which, particularly in a points league, may err on the side of being too cautious. Whatever, he's fine.
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Justin Verlander is healthy at the moment and was effective enough in spring training that we probably need to take him seriously when he's facing a lineup as weak as the Mariners.
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It's a boom-or-bust-type play. Kumar Rocker's final two spring appearances saw his strikeouts climb, but he accomplished this by eschewing his patented slider for a new, much slower curveball. It's just hard to say what you're getting from him at this point, but the upside in a two-start week is considerable.
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David Peterson's 2.90 ERA last year seemed pretty fake, but he's good at putting the ball on the ground and has a great lineup backing him up. A two-start week that opens against the Marlins seems like a fine time to stream him, if only in Head-to-Head points leagues.
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A.J. Smith-Shawver forced his way into the Braves' rotation plans with a big spring performance that saw his fastball and changeup both play up. Whether he's poised to make a leap this season is anyone's guess, but the Marlins lineup he'll be facing in Week 2 isn't so unlike the ones he was accustomed to facing in the minors.
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Casey Mize has long been a fail for Fantasy but attracted new attention this spring with a harder splitter that might be the swing-and-miss offering he's always lacked. How it plays in the regular season will be the ultimate test, but the Mariners make for a forgiving first taste.
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Cade Povich beat out Albert Suarez for the final spot in the Orioles rotation, showing improved command of the strike zone. This pick feels the most like a shot in the dark, but if you're intent on maxing out your number of starts, there's some upside here.
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