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We are coming up on Week 25 of the fantasy baseball season. With the calendar flipped to September, the fantasy baseball playoffs push to the forefront of our brains. But you can't let that stress you out. Fantasy baseball necessitates hyper-vigilance, especially in deeper leagues where the waiver wires are quickly stripped of talent. This weekly article will outline the upcoming schedule, two-start pitchers, and a few waiver targets rostered in less than 5% of leagues.
It’s good practice to maximize at-bats and starts. A quick look at upcoming schedules for the 25th week of the MLB season could give you the edge in this week’s play. There are plenty of two-start pitchers this week who should end up providing great value.
This article will discuss some deeper-league fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 25, September 11 through September 17. While the season may have settled in, the waiver wires are still hot. Rostered percentages can change quickly. So be quick to check your leagues for their availability. Key point -- this list will focus on rostered players in less than 5% of Yahoo leagues.
Fantasy Baseball Schedule Outlook
This week has some great schedules to target for fantasy. There are no teams with five games on their schedule. A whopping 18 teams will play a full slate of games this week.
In this week's weather report: mostly clear skies for a large part of the country, but the Northeast will see some rain on Friday/Saturday.
- Seven Games - BAL, BOS, CHW, MIN, NYY, TB, TEX, TOR, ARZ, COL, MIA, MIL, NYM, PIT, SF, WAS, ATL, PHI
- Six Games - DET, KC, STL, HOU, OAK, LAD, SD, CIN, CLE, LAA, SEA, CHC
Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers
There are pitchers of varying quality on this week's two-start streamers list. For more insight, check out my article on this week’s two-start pitcher streamers.
- Dean Kremer (vs. STL, vs. TB)
- Kutter Crawford (vs. NYY, @ TOR)
- James Paxton (vs. NYY, @ TOR)
- Clarke Schmidt (@ BOS, @ PIT)
- Carlos Rodon (@ BOS, @ PIT)
- Tyler Glasnow (@ MIN, @ BAL)
- Zack Littell (@ MIN, @ BAL)
- Chris Bassitt (vs. TEX, vs. BOS)
- Hyun Jin Ryu (vs. TEX, vs. BOS)
- Dylan Cease (vs. KC, vs. MIN)
- Touki Toussaint (vs. KC, vs. MIN)
- Joey Wentz (vs. CIN, @ LAA)
- Brady Singer (@ CHW, vs. HOU)
- Sonny Gray (vs. TB, @ CHW)
- Joe Ryan (vs. TB, @ CHW)
- Framber Valdez (vs. OAK, @ KC)
- Ken Waldichuk (@ HOU, vs. SD)
- Logan Gilbert (vs. LAA, vs. LAD)
- Andrew Heaney (@ TOR, @ CLE)
- Max Scherzer (@ TOR, @ CLE)
- Spencer Strider (@ PHI, @ MIA)
- Charlie Morton (@ PHI, @ MIA)
- Edward Cabrera (@ MIL, vs. ATL)
- Braxton Garrett (@ MIL, vs. ATL)
- Jose Quintana (vs. ARZ, vs. CIN)
- Taijuan Walker (vs. ATL, @ STL)
- Josiah Gray (@ PIT, @ MIL)
- Jordan Wicks (@ COL, @ ARZ)
- Ben Lively (@ DET, @ NYM)
- Brandon Woodruff (vs. MIA, vs. WAS)
- Freddy Peralta (vs. MIA, vs. WAS)
- Andre Jackson (vs. WAS, vs. NYY)
- Bailey Falter (vs. WAS, vs. NYY)
- Dakota Hudson (@ BAL, vs. PHI)
- Zach Davies (@ NYM, vs. CHC)
- Ryne Nelson (@ NYM, vs. CHC)
- Kyle Freeland (vs. CHC, vs. SF)
- Chris Flexen (vs. CHC, vs. SF)
- Clayton Kershaw (vs. SD, @ SEA)
- Pedro Avila (@ LAD, @ OAK)
- Alex Cobb (vs. CLE, @ COL)
- Alex Wood (vs. CLE, @ COL)
Deeper Infield Waiver Wire Pickups
Donovan Solano (1B/2B/3B), Minnesota Twins - 5% Rostered
Donovan Solano has finally snapped his cold streak, slashing .367/.404/.469 with a home run, 12 runs, and 13 RBI in 28 games since July 28. He has slowly recouped plate appearances to bring himself back to a starting role at first base. Minnesota ranks 29th in schedule strength, giving Solano league-winning potential off the waiver wires.
Michael Massey (2B), Kansas City Royals - 2% Rostered
Michael Massey had himself a fantastic week, slashing .318/.375/.591 with a home run, six runs, and three RBI through six games. With Kansas City closing its season with matchups against the Yankees and Tigers, Massey should be rostered ahead of the championship week in deeper leagues.
Andruw Monasterio (2B/SS/3B), Milwaukee Brewers - 2% Rostered
Andruw Monasterio has caught fire again, slashing .349/.378/.442 with six runs and four RBI in his last 12 games. With his .316 xBA and Milwaukee ranking 23rd in remaining schedule strength, Monasterio will help those in need of an AVG category hike.
Oswald Peraza (2B/3B/SS), New York Yankees - 3% Rostered
Oswald Peraza's career looked dead in the water, but he's found new life since September. He holds a .957 OPS in his last six games, mainly due to an impressive 42.1% line drive rate.
Swipe the former top prospect off waiver wires before your league mates realize he's finally put it together.
Deeper Outfield Waiver Wire Pickups
Matt Wallner (OF), Minnesota Twins - 4% Rostered
There's a somewhat understandable prejudice against home-run-or-bust players in fantasy, but Matt Wallner and his .837 OPS should be well above a 4% rostered rate.
He's been especially effective against right-handed pitchers this season, with a .923 OPS against RHP. Minnesota is in line to face only RHP this week, setting the stage for a huge week. The Twins have an incredibly favorable playoff schedule, making it probable that Wallner cranks huge power numbers over these next few weeks.
Kevin Kiermaier (OF), Toronto Blue Jays - 3% Rostered
While he's better known for his defensive preeminence, Kevin Kiermaier can make an impact with the bat. He's done just that in the second half, slashing .296/.352/.481 with three home runs, 14 runs, and 12 RBI since July 22. Moored in center field, the 33-year-old should be a solid contributor to close out the season.
Jesus Sanchez (OF), Miami Marlins - 5% Rostered
Since August 2, Jesus Sanchez has slashed .317/.404/.549 with three home runs, 13 runs, and 14 RBI in 30 games. Of course, we've played this game with him before. Despite a 123 wRC+, the 25-year-old remains in the five-and-under club because of how often he oscillates between superstar and bench-level offensive production.
The Marlins get a tough stretch of opponents in the next two weeks, but they'll close the season against the lowly Mets and Pirates. Miami's semi-favorable championship week schedule could spark a championship-winning Jesus Sanchez hot streak.
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