Fantasy Baseball Week 12: Advice on two-start SPs, seven-game teams, more

Sloan Piva

Fantasy Baseball Week 12: Advice on two-start SPs, seven-game teams, more image

The final fantasy baseball week of June is almost here, and with it comes another important set of games. Whether you're in a daily roto league or a weekly head-to-head format, now is the perfect time to get ready for the upcoming seven-day slate. Let's look at the auto-starts and upside streams among two-start SPs for Week 12. We'll also look at each team's schedule and recommend a few hitters with favorable and/or seven- (and eight!) game schedules and point out the teams with just five games.

As always, these lists are subject to change, especially if inclement weather rears its ugly head.

Fantasy Baseball Week 12: Two-start SPs (must-starts)

Robbie Ray, Mariners  v. BAL v. OAK
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers @ COL v. SD
Martin Perez, Rangers @ KC @ NYM
Zack Wheeler, Phillies v. ATL v. STL
Tyler Anderson, Dodgers  @ COL v. SD
Charlie Morton, Braves  @ PHI @ CIN
Miles Mikolas, Cardinals v. MIA @ PHI
Adam Wainwright, Cardinals v. MIA @ PHI
Pablo Lopez, Marlins @ STL @ WAS

Robbie Ray suffered a couple bumpy ERA months at the start of the season, but he's back to Cy Young-contending form now. His June numbers: 2-1, 2.70 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 29 Ks. He has juicy matchups against the Orioles and Athletics — both at home — and should put up another dominant fantasy week ... Martin Perez keeps on rolling for the Rangers (sounds almost like a Tina Turner song!) with a sparkling 1.96 ERA and 1.13 WHIP on the season to go with 11 quality starts. He's not a big strikeout guy, but he's rock solid ... Buyer beware on Zack Wheeler, who got touched up against Texas on Wednesday and now faces two strong offenses ... Is Charlie Morton good again? The veteran has gone seven strong two games in a row and has a pretty alluring schedule ahead of him if he catches the Phillies on one of their bad days ... Miles Mikolas no-hitter watch vs. Miami, anyone? I like both him and Adam Wainwright for the surging Cards this upcoming week. 

Fantasy Baseball Week 12: Two-start SPs (sleepers & streamers)

George Kirby, Mariners v. BAL v. OAK
Frankie Montas, Athletics @ NYY @ SEA
Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays v. BOS v. TB
Jameson Taillon, Yankees v. OAK @ CLE
Jordan Montgomery, Yankees v. OAK @ CLE
Lucas Giolito, White Sox @ LAA @ SF
Luis Castillo, Reds @ CHC v. ATL
Keegan Thompson, Cubs v. CIN v. BOS

George Kirby has been dependable against below-average offenses lately, so dates with Baltimore and Oakland at home sound pretty appealing to me ... Frankie Montas pitched eight shutout innings against Seattle on Thursday — if not for a tough matchup in the Bronx, he'd probably be an auto-start ... Kevin Gausman has regressed in a major way since the summer baseballs started flying. He's relegated to this tier until further notice ... I like but don't love the middle of the Yankees rotation this week, partly because Cleveland has been on fire since late May ... Lucas Giolito and Luis Castillo, show us something and you'll get promoted! ... Keegan Thompson is my top stream of the week, and he's just 38-percent owned in standard mixed leagues. Over the past week, he's been the ninth-ranked player (12 IP, 16 Ks, 0.75 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, two QS). Scoop him up before it's too late!

Fantasy Baseball Week 12: Two-start SPs (one-and-done or forget 'em)

Triston McKenzie, Guardians v. MIN v. NYY
Luis Garcia, Astros @ NYM v. LAA
Zach Plesac, Guardians v. MIN v. NYY
Tarik Skubal, Tigers @ SF v. KC
Devin Smeltzer, Twins @ CLE v. BAL
Shane Baz, Rays v. MIL @ TOR
Sonny Gray, Twins @ CLE v. BAL
Michael Wacha, Red Sox @ TOR @ CHC
Paul Blackburn, Athletics @ NYY @ SEA
Eric Lauer, Brewers @ TB @ PIT
Ross Stripling, Blue Jays @ MIL v. TB
Chad Kuhl, Rockies v. LAD v. ARI
Jon Gray, Rangers @ KC @ NYM
Madison Bumgarner, D-backs v. SD @ COL
Dylan Bundy, Twins @CLE v. BAL
Tyler Wells, Orioles @SEA @MIN
Erick Fedde, Nationals v. PIT v. MIA
Jose Quintana, Pirates @ WAS v. MIL
Jalen Beeks, Rays v. MIL @TOR

I wish Triston McKenzie could live in the middle tier, but he's been far too inconsistent and his matchups are difficult next week ... Same goes for Luis Garcia and Zac Plesac ... Tarik Skubal could be a stream against the Royals, but the upside seems limited ... I like Devin Smeltzer, Sonny Gray, and Dyland Bundy against the Orioles ... Michael Wacha should take care of the Cubs ... Be careful for veterans like Jon Gray and Madison Bumgarner as the weather gets warmer — ERA and WHIP numbers are about to rise like mercury. 

Fantasy Baseball Week 12: 7- and 8-game teams

Team Mon Tues Weds Thurs Fri Sat Sun
Guardians (8) MIN MIN (x2) MIN MIN NYY NYY NYY
Dodgers @COL @COL @COL SD SD SD SD
Twins (8) @CLE @CLE (x2) @CLE @CLE BAL BAL BAL
Yankees OAK OAK OAK @HOU @CLE @CLE @CLE
Athletics @NYY @NYY @NYY @SEA @SEA @SEA @SEA
Pirates @WSH @WSH @WSH MIL MIL MIL MIL
Mariners BAL BAL BAL OAK OAK OAK OAK
Rays OFF MIL MIL @TOR @TOR @TOR (x2) @TOR
Blue Jays (8) BOS BOS BOS TB TB TB (x2) TB
Nationals PIT PIT PIT MIA MIA MIA MIA

Fantasy Baseball Week 12: 5-game teams

Team Mon Tues Weds Thurs Fri Sat Sun
D-backs OFF SD SD OFF @COL @COL @COL
Tigers OFF @SF @SF OFF KC KC KC
Mets OFF HOU HOU OFF TEX TEX TEX
Giants OFF DET DET OFF CWS CWS CWS

All other teams (16) scheduled to play six games. 

Fantasy Baseball Week 12: Hitting sleepers/streamers

By Jovan Alford

Michael Harris II, OF, Braves

The rookie outfielder has shined at the plate since being promoted from Double-A Gwinnett last month. Harris is slashing .333/.360/.542 with a home run and three RBIs in his past seven games. This season, the 21-year-old is hitting .330 with three home runs, six doubles, and 14 RBIs.

Harris will be going up against the Phillies for three games and Reds for three games this week. He should be able to feast against the Reds, who have a league-worst (5.38 ERA). Harris is only rostered in 43.1 percent of ESPN leagues, so you should probably find a way to pick him up.

Patrick Wisdom, 3B/1B/OF, Cubs

It might be time for fantasy baseball owners to pick up Wisdom, who is starting to figure it out at the plate. The 30-year-old infielder is slashing .286/.400/.619 with two home runs and six RBIs in his past seven games. On the season, Wisdom is hitting .231 with 14 home runs and 37 RBIs. However, Wisdom could improve his average against the Reds this week, despite only hitting .200 vs. Cincinnati this year.

Alek Thomas, OF, Diamondbacks

Thomas is another outfielder worth taking a flier on with the way he’s hitting this year for the Diamondbacks. The 22-year-old is slashing .275/.338/.451 with six home runs, seven doubles, 15 RBIs, and four stolen bases. Thomas does a little bit of everything on the field, and that’s beneficial for fantasy baseball (season-long and DFS). He’s only rostered in 24 percent of Yahoo and 14 percent of ESPN leagues.

Sloan Piva

Sloan Piva Photo

Sloan Piva is a content producer for The Sporting News, primarily focused on betting, fantasy sports, and poker. A lifelong New Englander, Sloan earned his BA and MA in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts and now lives in coastal Rhode Island with his wife and two kids.