Deeper Hitter Pickups for Fantasy Baseball: Waiver Wire Report for Week 26

September 17, 2023

Deeper fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for hitters focused on deeper leagues with 12 or 14+ teams. Consider adding these free agent hitters for Week 26.

We are coming up on Week 26 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 26th 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 26, September 18 through September 24. 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 is only one team with five games on their schedule. 11 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 heavy rain in the Northeast on Monday.

• Seven Games - BAL, CLE, DET, OAK, ATL, LAD, MIL, NYM, PHI, STL, WAS
• Six Games - KC, HOU, LAD, SD, CIN, LAA, SEA, CHC, BOS, CHW, MIN, NYY, TB, TEX, TOR, COL, MIA, PIT, SF
• Five Games - ARZ

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.

• John Means (@ HOU, @ CLE)
• Kutter Crawford (@ TEX, vs. CHW)
• Clarke Schmidt (vs. TOR, vs. ARZ)
• Taj Bradley (vs. LAA, vs. TOR)
• Yusei Kikuchi (@ NYY, @ TB)
• Mike Clevinger (@ WAS, @ BOS)
• Cal Quantrill (@ KC, vs. BAL)
• Eduardo Rodriguez (@ LAD, @ OAK)
• Brady Singer (vs. CLE, @ HOU)
• Joe Ryan (@ CIN, vs. LAA)
• Justin Verlander (vs. BAL, vs. KC)
• JP Sears (vs. SEA, vs. DET)
• Paul Blackburn (vs. SEA, vs. DET)
• Bryan Woo (@ OAK, @ TEX)
• Jordan Montgomery (vs. BOS, vs. SEA)
• Kyle Wright (vs. PHI, @ WAS)
• Max Fried (vs. PHI, @ WAS)
• Edward Cabrera (vs. NYM, vs. MIL)
• Jose Butto (@ MIA, @ PHI)
• Zack Wheeler (@ ATL, vs. NYM)
• Cristopher Sanchez (@ ATL, vs. NYM)
• Joan Adon (vs. CHW, vs. ATL)
• Marcus Stroman (vs. PIT, vs. COL)
• Ben Lively (vs. MIN, vs. PIT)
• Freddy Peralta (@ STL, @ MIA)
• Adrian Houser (@ STL, @ MIA)
• Adam Wainwright (vs. MIL, @ SD)
• Drew Rom (vs. MIL, @ SD)
• Lance Lynn (vs. DET, vs. SF)
• Ryan Pepiot (vs. DET, vs. SF)
• Michael Wacha (vs. COL, vs. STL)
• Alex Cobb (@ ARZ, @ LAD)

Deeper Infield Waiver Wire Pickups

Luis Campusano (C), San Diego Padres - 5% Rostered

Luis Campusano has been incredibly efficient in low doses of playing time this season, but he is now in an everyday role after Gary Sanchez's season-ending injury.

The 25-year-old is amid his best season yet, slashing .301/.338/.478 with six home runs, 22 runs, and 25 RBI in 42 games as San Diego's backup backstop. The decision to keep him off the field frustrated fantasy managers; his .292 xBA and 13.1% strikeout rate would rank him among the league's best offensive catchers if he had enough plate appearances to qualify.

Now sitting on a sizeable share of starts, he is poised to put up impressive counting numbers in these last weeks. San Diego holds the league's easiest remaining schedule, making Campusano this week's premium deep-league add.

Kyle Farmer (2B/3B/SS), Minnesota Twins - 2% Rostered

When it comes to waiver wire pickups during the fantasy playoffs, your first strategy should be to hunt for the easiest schedules. Minnesota has the second-easiest remaining schedule, so it is an ideal location to look for potential championship contributors.

The most eligible hitter left from that filter is infielder Kyle Farmer. The 32-year-old has ping-ponged from the starting lineup, injured list, and bench throughout the season, but his recent play has pushed him back to the forefront. Since August 23, Farmer has hit five home runs, with a .730 SLG and 90.3 mph average exit velocity.

Minnesota will wrap up their season on the road in Coors Field, setting the stage for Farmer to mash the walk-off dinger that finally puts you on top in the HR category.

Andy Ibanez (1B/2B/3B/OF), Detroit Tigers - 2% Rostered

Andy Ibanez just won't quit. He has stuck in this Tigers lineup through thick and thin, and he's ending the season with some of his best work yet. Since August 23, the 30-year-old is slashing .333/.403/.630 with four home runs, seven runs, and 11 RBI through 19 games. With Detroit ranking 28th in remaining strength of schedule, Ibanez should end the season on a good note.

Ryan Noda (1B/OF), Oakland Athletics - 5% Rostered

There's little a player on a tanking team can do to build some fame or mysticism. There's no better case of that than the eagle-eyed Ryan Noda. A 15.9% walk rate and .808 OPS through 113 games this season hasn't been enough to maintain fantasy viability, but Noda has had his most convincing stretch of hitting yet.

Since returning from an injury on August 21, he is slashing .273/.383/.475 with four home runs, 16 runs, 13 RBI, and a stolen base through 23 games. Noda is at a bafflingly low rostered rate, but don't let that obfuscate his greatness.

Deeper Outfield Waiver Wire Pickups

Wilyer Abreu (OF), Boston Red Sox - 4% Rostered

Swinging one of the hottest bats in the majors this past week, rookie Wilyer Abreu has compelled his way into Boston's lineup. Since September 9, Abreu is slashing .522/.577/.609 with three runs, five RBI, and two stolen bases. With a playoff berth mostly out of the picture, Boston should continue to give the hot-hitting rookie enough plate appearances to keep him relevant in fantasy baseball.

Luis Matos (OF), San Francisco Giants - 2% Rostered

Luis Matos lost a bit of luster after his tepid debut. Since August 12, he has slashed .346/.393/.519 across 19 games -- a fantastic reminder to always be patient with prospects.

While they rank ninth in remaining schedule strength, it's mostly because San Francisco ends their season with seven games against a decimated Dodgers rotation (15th in ERA since September 1). Therefore, Matos is a good play to continue production over these next few weeks.

Trent Grisham (OF), San Diego Padres - 4% Rostered

It must seem borderline irresponsible to rest a season's worth of work on the shoulders of Trent Grisham, but it's a ballsy gamble that could pay off big time.

Since the start of September, Grisham is slashing .250/.357/.417 with a home run, five runs, eight RBI, and two stolen bases. It isn't an unfounded hot streak either, his .289 xBA in September indicates that this is no mirage.

The Padres' aforementioned weak schedule and some better batted-ball luck could reasonably make Trent Grisham a fantasy baseball hero.

More Waiver Wire Pickups and Streamers