As Fantasy owners know, Liriano has shown flashes like this before, so he's not completely safe after just two starts. Based on what he's shown, he's worth a speculative pickup. But owners should be cautious with his usage. Liriano will pitch against the Cubs Wednesday.

He also has a 1.55 WHIP in those two starts, allowing more than hit per inning in each.

Two starts don't tell us much of anything but because neither has made me jump out of my chair and say, "Oh, wow! This is the Liriano we've been missing the last three years," I'm not in a hurry to add the Pirates left-hander off the waiver wire. It's not like he stopped striking out batters with the Twins and White Sox. The problem was all those baserunners.

Sure, Liriano is worth a flier if you need a strikeout specialist or a high-upside guy -- I currently rank him 82nd at starting pitcher -- but he's far from a must-add.

Liriano has struck out 16 batters in 11 innings through his first two starts. He'll try to keep rolling against the Mets at home next week.

Our Nando Di Fino said he’s excited about Liriano during Monday’s broadcast of Fantasy Baseball Today. Scott White, on the other hand, took the more cautious approach by saying he’d spend a flier on Scott Kazmir before Liriano.

Liriano allowed just one run on an infield single in the sixth inning that ended his day. Otherwise, he was pretty much untouchable. He did not allow a batter to reach third base through his first five innings of work.

Pitching on a 90-pitch limit, Liriano limited the Mets to just one run in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out nine batters while allowing six hits and two walks to earn the win in an 11-2 game.

His velocity was good throughout the start, averaging 93.6 miles per hour with his two-seam fastball. He threw 57 of 90 pitches for strikes, and had 20 swinging strikes.

Liriano is set to make his second start Thursday against the Brewers. Liriano had been sidelined since breaking his non-throwing arm in the offseason.