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Mike's starting pitcher (SP) fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 8 of 2026 (May 18 - May 24). These are his top free-agent pitchers to add and stream.
Welcome, everyone, to our starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 8 of the 2026 season (May 18 - May 24). In this weekly piece, we search for starting pitchers rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues. For deeper leagues, we try to find pitchers rostered in less than 30 percent of Yahoo leagues.
Many fantasy players whom I talk to weekly are in need of starting pitching help. Pitcher injuries and ineffectiveness have plagued just about every roster in 2026. Are you among them? If so, this piece might be for you.
There is always help on the waiver wire. This week, it is another mix of young guys getting runway and boring veterans who could help you. At the end of the article, you will see players rostered in less than 15% of leagues who could help your squad.
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Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Recommendations for leagues of any size rostered between 30-50% on Yahoo
Connelly Early, Boston Red Sox (48% rostered)
Early has pitched well for the Red Sox, especially in his last two starts. He went seven strong innings against the Tampa Bay Rays last week, earning a win, surrendering no runs, and gaining eight strikeouts.
Early then followed that up with five strong innings and six more strikeouts on Friday night. He gets a matchup against the struggling Kansas City Royals, which could entice more players to roster him this coming week.
Michael McGreevy, St. Louis Cardinals (47% rostered)
McGreevy was an afterthought in many fantasy drafts this spring. Yet, he has gone at least five innings in seven consecutive starts, earning wins in two of his last three. What he lacks in strikeout capability, he makes up for with great ratios.
Look below at his pitch mix. McGreevy uses seven pitches to keep hitters off balance, and he has a 2.10 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in 51 innings. He makes his next start at home against Pittsburgh this coming week.
Merrill Kelly, Arizona Diamondbacks (43% rostered)
Kelly got off to a rough start this year, but he has gone seven and nine innings in his last two starts, earning wins against the Mets and the Rockies. The surface stats will scare fantasy players, but allowing only two runs in his last two starts may interest you.
At the end of most years, Kelly makes most of his starts and puts up rosterable numbers. He could do that again this season. He threw 184 innings with a 3.52 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and 167 strikeouts in 184 innings in 2025. He could still be ok.
Bailey Ober, Minnesota Twins (38% rostered)
Ober has been a bit of a lightning rod in recent seasons, but he has pitched well in 2026: four wins in nine starts, a 3.46 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP, and 39 strikeouts in 52 innings. Ober notched a complete game shutout last week against Miami, striking out seven.
Ober gets the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday, and with a decent outing, could be rostered on far more fantasy rosters. Consider Ober if you need pitching this weekend.
Aaron Civale, Athletics (35% rostered)
Civale is not going to strike out many hitters, but he has five wins in nine starts with a sparkling 2.70 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He shut down the San Francisco Giants on Friday night, going five innings and surrendering only two runs in that outing.
Civale gets the Los Angeles Angels this coming week, making for an interesting streaming option. He could be an attractive addition to the right roster.
Logan Henderson, Milwaukee Brewers (43% rostered)
I think the reason that Henderson is not rostered more often is that fantasy players are fearful that the Brewers will send him back to Triple-A. But Henderson continues to look like one of the best five starters in Milwaukee.
Henderson notched his first win of 2026 with five strong innings and seven strikeouts against Minnesota on Saturday afternoon after pitching well against the New York Yankees earlier in the week. The youngster should be rostered more.
Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Recommendations for leagues of any size rostered in less than 30% on Yahoo
Dustin May, St. Louis Cardinals (23% rostered)
May continues to eat innings for the Cardinals, going at least six innings in six of his last seven starts. He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in those starts, even though he has been winless. Over that time, he has a 2.83 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.
The veteran May will make his next appearance against the Pittsburgh Pirates this coming week and is worth looking at if you need some help at the back of your rotation.
Ben Brown, Chicago Cubs (21% rostered)
Brown looks like he is building stamina to be in the rotation for the Chicago Cubs. He has only gone four innings in his last two outings, but he has 10 strikeouts and zero earned runs in that time frame. Brown gets the Milwaukee Brewers this week.
Below, you can see that Brown is posting good results with supporting metrics. If the Cubs can build him up to 80-90 pitches, wins could come as well. He should be in most fantasy rotations.
Braxton Garrett, Miami Marlins (11% rostered)
Garrett did not pitch well in his season debut this week, coughing up five runs in less than two innings against Minnesota. But astute players will know that Garrett had not pitched at the major league level since early 2024, and nerves were apparent.
Garrett will get to make his next start against the Atlanta Braves, and while you may choose not to start him there, he could be worth adding this weekend in anticipation of better days. With a dearth of other starting options out there, consider Garrett.
J.T. Ginn, Athletics (10% rostered)
Ginn is under the radar right now, but he has been excellent in his last two starts. He went eight innings against Philadelphia and struck out eight, and then followed that up with six strong innings, three more strikeouts, and a win against St. Louis.
What I like about Ginn is that he uses a five-pitch mix to keep hitters off balance and limit hard contact. See the chart below. He has a favorable matchup this week with the Los Angeles Angels. Ginn is going to get picked up in many leagues this weekend.
Zebby Matthews, Minnesota Twins (6% rostered)
Matthews looked great in his Thursday start against Miami, where he went seven innings, earning a win while striking out five hitters. An enticing matchup with the struggling Houston Astros awaits Matthews this coming week.
Matthew looks like he could stick on the Minnesota roster for the foreseeable future, and if so, he would make a fine addition as a streaming option for many staffs.
Other Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Options
Every week, we will give you four or five other lower-rostered pitchers you could also consider adding from the waiver wire in your league. League context matters, obviously.
- Trevor McDonald, San Francisco Giants (18% rostered)
- Mike Burrows, Houston Astros (18% rostered)
- Keider Montero, Detroit Tigers (13% rostered)
- Kyle Leahy, St. Louis Cardinals (10% rostered)
- Jesse Scholtens, Tampa Bay Rays (4% rostered)
Happy hunting for starting pitchers this weekend! If you have questions, you can always message me on X @mdrc0508. You can even tell me you hate these picks. Remember that fantasy baseball is supposed to be fun above everything. Enjoy it!
More Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Advice
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