The first article of our weekly two-start pitcher article for the 2026 MLB season is dedicated to highlighting some of the best options in fantasy baseball leagues for the first week of the season. This article will provide insights and recommendations on which options should be started or benched. The focus is on the first two weeks of the year, which are usually crucial as bats are usually behind pitchers to start the season, leading to low scoring games and colder weather. Other notable options include Cody Ponce for the Blue Jays' rotation and Max Fried for the Yankees' rotation. However, I'm not likely to have interest in either of these pitchers. MLB returns to NBC and Peacock in 2026, becoming the exclusive home of Sunday Night Baseball and will broadcast MLB Sunday Leadoff, “Opening Day” and Labor Day primetime games, the first round of the MLB Draft, and much more.