Fantasy Baseball: Fred Zinkie maps out a waiver-friendly Week 23 with two-start pitcher targets

Week 23 is shaping up to be a prime stretch for fantasy baseball managers who like to work the waiver wire rather than stay rigid with a conservative lineup. Yahoo Sports fantasy analyst Fred Zinkie framed the week as “juicy” for two-start pitching, arguing it is the type of schedule that rewards action and quick decisions when matchup-heavy options become available.

The core premise of Zinkie’s approach is straightforward: two-start pitchers create a higher floor for counting stats over a single week because they have multiple chances to accumulate strikeouts, innings, and volume-based categories. In Zinkie’s breakdown, he highlighted that managers will be able to start multiple two-start arms, including six pitchers on his list who, as he puts it, can be used in most fantasy leagues.

Zinkie’s rankings are built for roster management in leagues where streaming matters, especially when teams have active pitching matchups and when the waiver wire can still produce usable starts. The practical takeaway is that Week 23 may be one of those situations where the cost of holding a marginal option can outweigh the benefit of waiting, since the week’s pitching availability is concentrated around pitchers with two outings.

For fantasy owners, this is also a reminder that weekly planning matters more than long-term expectations in certain categories. A two-start pitcher can be particularly valuable when a roster is trying to gain ground in ratios, ERA, or WHIP without burning a prized everyday starter. The strategic question Zinkie implicitly raises is whether a manager is prepared to treat pitching volatility as manageable risk, given the structure of a double outing.

Because this story is based on Zinkie’s fantasy-focused article rather than an official MLB team release, specific pitcher identities, rankings order, and matchup details should be verified by readers directly in the original piece before making lineup moves. The same caution applies to any league-format differences, since scoring systems, roster limits, and starter requirements can change how useful a “two-start” option truly is.

Still, the broader value of the Week 23 framing is clear. When a given week offers an outsized number of two-start choices, waiver-streaming can help managers maximize innings and counting-category production while limiting time spent on pitchers who would otherwise be stuck on the bench.