Fantasy baseball's Week 2 is the first full, seven-day week of the 2023 season.
As most teams will begin said week playing their fourth or fifth games of the season, back-end starters are the ones most commonly aligned for two-start weeks. When you look at the starting pitcher rankings, bear in mind that a top two-start pitcher for this week projects for roughly four points less than would be the case in a typical week with many aces or No. 2 starters working twice.
Specifically, the top two-start pitchers in the rankings, Cristopher Sanchez and Triston McKenzie, are both projected for just shy of 24 points. By comparison, had Spencer Strider's first two starts of 2024 occurred within fantasy's Week 2, he'd have been projected for roughly 31 points. Additionally, nine of the top-10 projected two-start pitchers are both in line for Monday and Sunday assignments.
All nine also play for teams scheduled for at least one series in a city with early-season weather concerns, running the risk of postponements that could push those starters' projected second turn into fantasy's Week 3. Keep that in mind when making tough decisions between an elite single-start pitcher versus a middling two-start pitcher.
Among the two-start pitchers on this week's list is Shota Imanaga, making his U.S. and Chicago Cubs debut. Imanaga's schedule could be interrupted, however, as the city of Chicago faces heightened weather concerns during Week 2. Both the Cubs and White Sox begin the week with three-game home series, at a time where the temperatures are chilly (low-to-mid 40s) and the chance of rain is high.
The White Sox (along with the Kansas City Royals) are one of the two teams scheduled for a seven-game week, but don't get too cozy with the idea that they'll be able to get all seven games in. That said, as their first series is an interleague matchup against the Atlanta Braves -- with greater difficulty to reschedule -- it's possible that the team will try to immediately squeeze in any needed makeup games as doubleheaders.
Blake Snell is expected to make his San Francisco Giants debut, either against the division-rival Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday or to begin the team's opening homestand against his former team, the San Diego Padres, on Friday. Snell was included on the Giants' Opening Day roster and threw an effective rehabilitation start on March 29, lining him up to join the rotation during its second trip through.