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Joey looks at five starting pitcher fantasy baseball breakouts, sleepers off to hot starts in 2026. Are Slade Cecconi, Brandon Sproat, Cade Cavalli, Zebby Matthews, Tyler Phillips for real?
Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another edition of our five breakout pitchers to know for Week 14. Each week of the fantasy baseball season, we dive into five pitchers on the verge of breaking out and determine whether these potential breakout pitchers should be added or left on waivers.
Last week, we analyzed pitchers Griffin Jax, Tatsuya Imai, and Joey Cantillo. This week, we will look at five more potential breakout pitchers who are rostered in under 40% of Yahoo! leagues. All five pitchers on this list have thrown the ball well recently and are trending up in all fantasy baseball leagues.
So, should fantasy managers look to add these five starting pitchers before they continue their breakout season? Let's find out.
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Cade Cavalli, Washington Nationals
26% Rostered
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Cade Cavalli just put together the best start of his career on Tuesday night against the Boston Red Sox. He allowed one run (zero earned runs) on one hit with no walks and a career-high 13 strikeouts across seven innings pitched. He generated 25 swings-and-misses and topped out at 99.6 mph on his four-seam fastball.
Cade Cavalli has a career-high 12 strikeouts! pic.twitter.com/MZwnJizIp7
— MLB (@MLB) July 1, 2026
That outing should no doubt put him on fantasy radars in Week 14. He was extremely poised on the mound in that start against the Red Sox and has been almost unhittable over his last two outings. Cavalli also threw six innings of two-run ball with seven strikeouts against a really good Phillies offense back on June 25.
The biggest difference for Cavalli in his last few starts has been the increased usage of his four-seam fastball. He only threw it around 32.4% in the month of May, but that increased to 39% across his six June starts. In Tuesday's dominant start against the Red Sox, the Nationals right-hander threw it 47 times while totaling 15 whiffs and another five called strikes.
Cavalli’s increased fastball usage and fastball velocity make him an intriguing add in 12+ team leagues this week. His overall metrics are still a bit worrisome, as he has a .258 expected batting average against and a 4.54 ERA, but he is on a roll right now with his fastball playing a big part. Add him before his next start.
Brandon Sproat, Milwaukee Brewers
23% Rostered
Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Brandon Sproat put together a very successful month on the mound. Sproat finished June with a 3.46 ERA across his five starts. He allowed 10 earned runs across 26 innings pitched and delivered a quality start in two of those five outings. The rookie is finally showing signs of breaking out after some struggles to begin the year.
Sproat dominated the Reds in both of his starts against them over the past week. He threw six shutout innings with a career-high 10 strikeouts against Cincinnati on June 23 and followed that up by throwing 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball with seven strikeouts on Tuesday evening. Both of those performances also earned him wins on the mound.
Brandon Sproat on the Brewers’ offense and what was working for him on the mound in the middle innings. pic.twitter.com/O7G70HArwc
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) July 1, 2026
The Brewers right-hander seems to finally be coming into his own. He has punched out 17 combined batters in his last two starts and just had the best month of his career in June.
Despite all this, Sproat is only worth a look in deeper leagues at this time. He had a poor 93.2 mph average exit velocity and a below-average 43.1% hard-hit rate across his five starts in June, and there are some concerns moving forward with a high walk rate (10.8%) and a low chase rate (26%). His inability to get hitters to go outside of the zone is a bit worrisome.
Slade Cecconi, Cleveland Guardians
13% Rostered
Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Slade Cecconi has looked like a new pitcher over the last month. After posting a 5.25 ERA in his first 12 starts, Cecconi has been lights out on the mound since the calendar flipped to June. The 27-year-old finished last month with a 1.88 ERA across 28 2/3 innings pitched.
Cecconi was really one of the most consistent fantasy pitchers in the month of June. He allowed two runs or fewer in all five of his starts and delivered a quality start in three of those five outings. His best start during the month came in his most recent start, when he threw six shutout innings with four strikeouts against the Seattle Mariners.
The reasons for Cecconi’s recent pitching surge has to do with a couple of things.
The first is that Cecconi introduced a new slider to his arsenal at the beginning of last month. That slider then became his most dangerous pitch, as opposing hitters batted just .059 with a .059 slugging and a 36.4% whiff rate. The second is that having a Gold Glove-caliber catcher behind the plate in Patrick Bailey helps tremendously. Bailey currently ranks in the 81st percentile in Fielding Run Value.
Given Cecconi’s recent pitching numbers, the addition of his slider, and Bailey's presence behind the plate, he's a solid add in 12+ team leagues. While the Guardians right-hander won't provide much in the strikeout department, he can maintain a relatively low ERA and WHIP.
Zebby Matthews, Minnesota Twins
18% Rostered
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Zebby Matthews is starting to really show his full potential on the mound. Since allowing seven earned runs in a rough start against the Detroit Tigers on June 11, Matthews has taken his game to another level. He has allowed just five earned runs over his last 20 innings pitched.
Matthews threw seven innings of two-run ball with four strikeouts against the Rangers on June 16, threw six innings of two-run ball with five strikeouts against the Dodgers on June 22, and recently threw seven innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts against the Astros in his most recent start on Monday. These three outings have the 26-year-old trending up in Week 14.
Zebby Matthews, Dirty 87mph Slider. 😨 pic.twitter.com/Qippik5T9J
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 30, 2026
However, Matthews is not a must-add at this point in the season. He had a much higher FIP (4.86) than ERA (3.82) in the month of June, and his overall swing-and-miss stuff hasn't really been impressive. His whiff rate (23.6%), strikeout rate (20.1%), and chase rate (28.3%) all rank in the bottom 40% of the league.
That makes the Twins right-hander just a streaming option in the right matchups for now.
Tyler Phillips, Miami Marlins
5% Rostered
Miami Marlins pitcher Tyler Phillips started the 2026 season in the team's bullpen. In this role, he was sensational, posting a 1.20 ERA and a 21.1% strikeout rate across 30 innings pitched. His success as a reliever helped him earn a spot in Miami's rotation toward the end of May, which is where he has spent the past month.
As a starter, Phillips has looked solid for the most part. Outside of an eight-run clunker against the Phillies on June 16, he has posted some really consistent numbers on the mound. The Marlins right-hander threw six innings of two-run ball against the Rangers on June 22 and then threw 7 1/3 innings of two-run ball against the Cardinals on Sunday.
His overall ERA as a starter sits at 4.54 this season. But if you remove that one outlier outing against the Phillies a few weeks ago, Phillips has a 2.84 ERA in his six other outings. That's a good enough ERA to add in deeper formats. With a 90th percentile Offspeed Run Value, 93rd percentile Breaking Run Value, and a top 50% whiff rate (25.9%) and chase rate (31.7%), Phillips could be a potential add in 15+ team leagues.
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