Sneaky Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups, Buys: Week 14 - Hot Pitchers To Sustain Success?

June 30, 2026

Joey looks at three sneaky fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for starting pitchers in Week 14 (2026) on hot streaks, and sees if they can sustain their success.

Welcome, RotoBallers, to another edition of our Sneaky Start Pitcher Waiver Wire Column for Week 14 of the fantasy baseball season. Every week, we dive into multiple red-hot starting pitchers and determine whether their recent strong stretch can be sustainable moving forward.

For this week, we will look at three more starting pitchers coming into their own. These pitchers include a reliever-turned-starter, a young pitcher who is finally showing signs of breaking out, and a 27-year-old starter who has posted consistent numbers on the mound over the last few weeks.

So, should fantasy managers add these hot starting pitchers? Let's dive in and find out. All advanced metrics referenced in this article are updated as of Monday, June 29.

Griffin Jax, RP/SP, Tampa Bay Rays

42% Rostered (Yahoo)

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Griffin Jax started the season in the bullpen. He had a whopping 8.00 ERA and a 22.7% strikeout rate in his first 11 appearances and allowed 11 runs (eight earned runs) across nine innings pitched. The Rays then decided to move Jax to the rotation in late April to see if his stuff played better there.

Spoiler alert, it has.

Jax has a solid 2.40 ERA and a 23.6% strikeout rate in 11 starts this season. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 10 of his 11 outings and has an incredible 0.90 ERA over his last four starts. In his most recent outing against the Royals, the Rays right-hander threw five scoreless innings with a season-high seven strikeouts.

Jax has been the Rays' best starter since moving to the rotation. His 2.40 ERA since April 25 is the lowest on the team, and his overall metrics as a starter are extremely encouraging. He has an above-average 87.7 mph average exit velocity, a 16.5% K-BB%, and his strikeout numbers are trending up with a 26.5% strikeout rate across his five starts in June.

Griffin Jax tonight:

5 IP I 4 H I 2 ER I 0 BB I 5 K I 10 Whiffs

He topped 96.6 MPH, sat 95 MPH on both of his FF + SI, and used his CH more tonight (32%). The offering collected an absurd 58% Whiff% and generated plenty of Chase. Overall, 72% First Pitch Strikes. pic.twitter.com/9G5n6gnVtr

— Running From The OPS (@OPS_BASEBALL) June 20, 2026

A big reason for his increased strikeout rate is that his arsenal has changed a bit over the past month. Jax has leaned on his changeup way more and his four-seam fastball way less in the month of June. He has thrown his changeup around 26.6% and his four-seam fastball around 9.3% of the time this month. That's a massive difference from May, as his changeup sat at 18%, and his four-seam fastball was his most-thrown pitch at 24.1%.

The Rays are forcing Jax to throw one of his best pitches more, and it has worked out well. Opposing hitters batted .179 with a 47.2% whiff rate against his changeup in the month of June. He has yet to allow a home run on this pitch all year, and his changeup should remain a major weapon for him against left-handed batters.

Jax's swing-and-miss ability has allowed him to take that next step. Both his whiff rate (31%) and chase rate (33.1%) rank in the top 25% of the league, and he has generated double-digit whiffs in three consecutive starts.

While some negative regression is likely on the way, given his 3.85 FIP as a starter, he projects well moving forward. That all makes him a solid add in 12+ team leagues.

Kumar Rocker, SP, Texas Rangers

11% Rostered (Yahoo)

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Kumar Rocker has been a bit inconsistent on the mound in the first half. Despite owning a 3.83 ERA across 80 innings pitched, there have only been a few times this year that Rocker has strung together a couple of nice outings in a row. That's ultimately why his roster percentage currently sits at 11% in Yahoo! leagues.

However, Rocker has pitched much better as of late. He has a 3.02 ERA and a 21.6% strikeout rate over his last nine outings since mid-May and seems to be in a groove on the mound right now. The Rangers right-hander threw five innings of two-run ball with a season-high nine strikeouts as a bulk reliever against the Marlins on June 22 and threw six shutout innings against the Blue Jays in his most recent outing on Sunday.

Kumar Rocker, Dirty 82mph Slider. 😨 pic.twitter.com/bzmH7YpX7q

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 28, 2026

The Rangers right-hander has actually posted solid numbers on the mound during this nine-start stretch. He has a 3.92 expected ERA, 3.58 FIP, and a 3.93 expected FIP, and his 12.6% K-BB%, 1.22 WHIP, .222 batting average against, 37.2% hard-hit rate, and 5.8% barrel rate all rank pretty well over the last six weeks.

The biggest change for Rocker from April until now is relying less on his sinker and more on his cutter. He threw his sinker around 39.4% of the time in April and only 24.1% of the time in June (a 15.3% difference). He threw his cutter around 5.1% of the time in April, and that number has now risen to 20% in June (a 14.9% difference).

The reason for this arsenal change is pretty simple. Rocker's sinker was getting hit hard in the early weeks and wasn't really missing bats. His cutter, on the other hand, began to slowly develop in May and has helped him in his last few starts. In June, his cutter has an expected .214 batting average and a 20% whiff rate.

Rocker has shown enough encouraging things lately to make him an add in deeper leagues. He will end June with a 25% strikeout rate and is coming off back-to-back strong outings. The Rangers have obviously done a great job adjusting his pitch mix over the last few weeks, which has him on the cusp of a potential breakout.

He's a nice add in 15+ team leagues in Week 14 of the fantasy baseball season.

Slade Cecconi, SP, Cleveland Guardians

13% Rostered (Yahoo)

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Slade Cecconi got off to a rough start to begin the 2026 season. He had a 6.56 ERA and a 17.1% strikeout rate after his first seven starts. Cecconi gave up 28 runs (26 earned runs) across those 35 2/3 innings pitched and allowed at least four earned runs in five of those seven outings.

But something has clicked for him since then. Cecconi has an impressive 2.63 ERA over his last 10 starts since early May. Although the Guardians' right-hander only has an 18.8% strikeout rate during this 10-start span, he has emerged as a reliable fantasy option as of late. He hasn't allowed more than three runs in a start since May 2.

What has been most impressive about Cecconi during this stretch has been the way he has thrown the ball in the month of June. He will end June with a 1.88 ERA and have allowed just six earned runs across 28 2/3 innings this month. In his most recent outing against the Mariners on Saturday, the 27-year-old threw six shutout innings with three hits allowed, two walks, and four strikeouts.

Cecconi has looked like a slightly different pitcher from the beginning of the season. That has to do with the Guardians playing around with his pitch mix over the past few weeks. He totally got rid of his sweeper and introduced a slider at the start of this month. Having a slider at his disposal has given him another pitch he can do damage with.

Opposing hitters have batted just .059 with a 36.4% whiff rate against Cecconi's slider in June. He throws it around 17% of the time, and it was easily his best pitch this month. Having Patrick Bailey behind the plate, who is one of the best defensive catchers in baseball, also certainly helps. Bailey currently ranks in the 83rd percentile in Fielding Run Value.

It's hard to fully trust Cecconi moving forward because of his low strikeout rate (18.1%), whiff rate (20.9%), and chase rate (27.2%). However, the addition of his slider should help his overall numbers stay afloat, making him a sneaky add in deeper leagues.

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