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Mike's starting pitcher (SP) fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 16 of 2026 (July 13- July 19). These are his top free-agent pitchers to add and stream.
Welcome, everyone, to our starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 16 of the 2026 season (July 13- July 19). In this weekly piece, we search for starting pitchers rostered in less than 40 percent (new parameter for us) of Yahoo leagues. For deeper leagues, we try to find pitchers rostered in less than 30 percent of Yahoo leagues.
We've reached the All-Star break, and it's a great time to really take stock of your teams and see where you can find help either via trade or the waiver wire. I always contend that you can find gems on the waiver wire if you know when and how to look for them.
The guys mentioned here are not aces, but that does not mean that they cannot help your team. Take a look at these pitchers if you need help. 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 30-40% on Yahoo
Landen Roupp, San Francisco Giants (40% rostered)
Roupp has experienced a kind of rollercoaster season thus far, but he has been good in three of his last four starts. In his last one, he went eight solid innings, earned a win, and notched five strikeouts. That's at least six innings in three of his last four starts.
Overall, he's got six wins, a 4.27 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and 104 strikeouts in 97 innings. He pairs a low barrel (3.8% ) and a hard-hit rate (28.2%) with a 49.6% groundball percentage. I am interested in landing him in deeper leagues in the second half.
Andre Pallante, St. Louis Cardinals (35% rostered)
Pallante gets the job done most nights for the Cardinals. He has 10 wins in 18 starts, a 3.96 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and a paltry 72 strikeouts in 100 innings. He didn't pitch well on Thursday night, going five innings while giving up six runs. No matter; let's look at the body of work in 2026.
Pallante has great ratios, and part of that is due to his ability to keep the baseball on the ground. He is riding a 55.7% ground-ball percentage in 2026, while also limiting hard contact across the board. Can he keep it up in the second half? Time will tell, but he should be rostered more.
Brandon Sproat, Milwaukee Brewers (30% rostered)
I remain tantalized by Sproat and am keeping him on most of my rosters right now. The numbers are not great: three wins in 15 starts, a 5.13 ERA, a 1.37 WHIP, and a nice 87 strikeouts in 82 first-half innings.
What I like over the last month has been his 3.32 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with 27 strikeouts in 19 innings. However, a real issue for him is that he is inefficient, and that can cost him innings; on Saturday, he threw a whopping 83 pitches in three innings.
But I am willing to wait on him and hope that the talent wins out in the end.
Merrill Kelly, Arizona Diamondbacks (36% rostered)
Yes, I feel the eye roll and hear your slight groan. Kelly has experienced a bad year: a 5.38 ERA, an ugly 1.51 WHIP, and only 59 strikeouts in 93 innings. However, he also has seven wins in only 16 starts. He is still serviceable in the right spaces.
A deeper dive shows that his last two starts have been good ones, pitching 12 innings and striking out 12 while surrendering three total runs. The veteran has thrown at least five innings in 14 of his 16 starts. I am hoping these better days can continue for Kelly.
Shane Drohan, Milwaukee Brewers (35% rostered)
Drohan has been quite the find for the Milwaukee Brewers, starting eight games and winning four, while posting a 3.09 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, and a helpful 67 strikeouts in 70 innings. That included six on Saturday, a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
I wanted to show this chart below to show how he is getting it done. Drohan has a six-pitch mix, but is throwing his four-seamer most, then adding back in his changeup and cutter in July as well. He gets lots of chases on the slider, currently a 40% whiff rate. I am interested in adding him to deep leagues.
Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Recommendations for leagues of any size rostered in less than 30% on Yahoo
Jared Jones, Pittsburgh Pirates (25% rostered)
Jones is back, and he is ready to break out. In his last start against Atlanta, Jones covered six innings, struck out eight batters and was perfect in the game. Oddly, he did not factor into the decision. Jones has now made eight starts and is building his innings; six was his longest outing of the year.
Let's take a look at his Statcast below. Jones has great fastball velocity, but is also getting a high whiff percentage. His 27.1% K% is looking good as well. With teams addressing their rotations during this All-Star break, maybe the Pirates will be ready to unleash Jones in the second half.
Bailey Ober, Minnesota Twins (19% rostered)
Ober was an afterthought to many fantasy players, but he is drawing attention now while finding some success again in Minnesota. Ober has six wins in 13 starts to go with a 4.40 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, and a low 51 strikeouts in 71 innings.
Ober is not generating strikeouts, but has a low 33.5% hard-hit percentage to go with an equally low 6.3% walk percentage. In his last start before the All-Star break, Ober went five innings, surrendering only one run and generating five strikeouts. Ober is a good depth piece on many rosters.
Kyle Leahy, St. Louis Cardinals (17% rostered)
In 18 starts for St. Louis, Leahy has seven wins, a 3.73 ERA, a slightly high 1.41 WHIP, and 75 strikeouts in 89 innings. He has only given up one run in his last four starts. Leahy has been a mainstay in the rotation and should continue his solid work into the season's second half.
He is being forgotten about in many leagues, but can be useful at the back end of the rotation on the right squad. Give him some consideration as you look for pitching help.
Brady Singer, Cincinnati Reds (16% rostered)
Singer always spends much of the season on the waiver wire, but I am suggesting he is a great streamer for many fantasy teams. The overall numbers are not pleasing, with three wins, a 4.72 ERA, a 1.47 WHIP, and 76 strikeouts in 89 innings this season.
You can see below how much better he has been through his seven June and July starts. In his last start, he pitched into the eighth inning but lost 1-0 while getting five strikeouts. I think Singer is under the radar a bit. When he is good like this, he should be rostered in more leagues.
AJ Smith-Shawver, Atlanta Braves (12% rostered)
This is pure speculation, as Smith-Shawver is still a start or two away from being back on the major league roster. The young right-hander has been out since June 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He threw 46 pitches in his last rehab outing.
The last time we saw Smith-Shawver, he had three wins in nine appearances in 2025 and posted a good ERA of 3.86, a slightly high WHIP of 1.42, and 42 strikeouts in 44 innings. The Braves need help in the rotation, and Smith-Shawver should get a chance when he is ready.
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.
- Anthony Kay, Chicago White Sox (12% rostered)
- Brandon Pfaadt, Arizona Diamondbacks (9% rostered)
- Patrick Sandoval, Boston Red Sox (6% rostered)
- Jack Perkins, Athletics (5% rostered)
- JP Sears, San Diego Padres (5% 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! Have a great All-Star break!
More Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Advice
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