Sneaky Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups and Buys (Week 26): Hot Pitchers to Sustain Success?

September 18, 2024

Mike looks at five sneaky fantasy baseball waiver-wire pickups for starting pitchers in Week 26 (2024) who are on hot streaks and sees if they can sustain their success.

We have less than two weeks remaining in the regular season. With that in mind, we’ll need to handle this column a little differently than we have throughout the season.

Streaming the correct pitchers down the stretch can be the difference between bringing home a fantasy championship and coming in second place. It’s all about playing the matchups from here on out.

Let’s highlight five starters who are pitching well and could provide sneaky value for fantasy managers. All roster percentages are via Yahoo.

Jameson Taillon, Chicago Cubs (48% rostered)

Taillon has logged at least six innings and allowed two or fewer runs in each of his last three outings. What makes that even more impressive is that one of those starts came against the Rockies at Coors Field. He certainly doesn’t have gaudy numbers this season, but he has been valuable with his 3.54 ERA and 3.97 FIP.

Jameson Taillon, Painted 87mph Cutter. 🖌️🎨 pic.twitter.com/rQ3LQ0mbqi

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 15, 2024

The reason why Taillon is still available in more than half of Yahoo leagues is probably because he only has a 19.0% strikeout rate. However, his next start is lined up to be Thursday against a Nationals team that ranks inside the bottom 10 in baseball in runs scored. He is worth streaming for that matchup.

Andrew Heaney, Texas Rangers (39% rostered)

Heaney has 14 losses this season, but he has a 3.89 ERA and a 3.88 FIP. His WHIP is respectable at 1.21 and even though he isn’t missing a ton of bats, his 23.6% strikeout rate isn’t a significant detriment to his value. After back-to-back seasons in which he allowed a barrel rate of at least 10.2%, he has allowed a 7.9% barrel rate this year.

The Rangers have gone to a six-man rotation, which isn’t ideal for fantasy. However, Heaney’s next start is projected to come Saturday against the Mariners. They have scored the seventh-fewest runs and struck out the most times in baseball. Add Heaney for that outing.

Cody Bradford, Texas Rangers (39% rostered)

Bradford was torched in his last start, allowing eight runs over 3.2 innings to the Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks have scored the most runs in baseball, so they were a difficult matchup, to say the least. Before that, Bradford had allowed three or fewer runs in each of his previous seven outings. In five of those starts, he logged at least six innings.

Bradford is projected to face the Blue Jays on Wednesday, then the Athletics the following week. The Blue Jays have the third-lowest OPS in baseball versus left-handed pitchers. The Athletics have struck out the fourth-most times in baseball. Bradford has the potential to provide two valuable outings down the stretch.

Jose Quintana, New York Mets (27% rostered)

Quintana has a 0.36 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP over his last four starts. The downside was that he only posted 16 strikeouts over 25 innings. His 4.76 FIP for the season is more of a concern than his 3.91 ERA, but he has been firmly in the streamer category for fantasy purposes.

The next outing for Quintana is scheduled to be Wednesday versus the aforementioned underwhelming Nationals lineup. Quintana has already faced them two times this season, logging a total of 14 scoreless innings. While fantasy managers still shouldn’t expect many strikeouts from him Wednesday, he can help out in terms of ERA and WHIP.

Kumar Rocker, Texas Rangers (26% rostered)

Rocker made his debut last week against the Mariners, allowing one run over four innings. The big headline was his seven strikeouts. He is known for his ability to miss bats. He had 18 strikeouts over 10 innings at Triple-A this year and 29 strikeouts across 19.2 innings at Double-A.

7 K debut day for @KumarRocker. 🤘 pic.twitter.com/HrXnhC7g0V

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) September 13, 2024

Rocker only threw 74 pitches against the Mariners, so he could remain limited down the stretch. Like Bradford, he has the potential for two favorable matchups versus the Blue Jays and Athletics. For fantasy managers hunting for strikeouts, look no further than Rocker. Even with his potential pitch limits, he can provide a boost in the category.

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