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Andy looks at four sneaky fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for starting pitchers in Week 22 (2025) on hot streaks, and sees if they can sustain their success.
Happy Tuesday, RotoBallers! With the regular season quickly approaching the end, it is more important than ever to find league-winning starting pitchers to bolster our rotation.
In this week's piece, we will highlight an emerging pitcher in the Bronx and a breakout in Kansas City who have emerged as top waiver wire options.
Who should fantasy managers be targeting this week? Let's dive in!
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Note - All statistics are updated as of Monday, August 25
Cam Schlittler, New York Yankees
25% Rostered
After posting a modest 4.91 ERA and a 1.84 WHIP during his first three starts of his MLB career in July, Cam Schlittler has found a second gear in August. Since August 1, the right-hander has posted an impressive 2.08 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and a 23:7 K:BB across 21 2/3 innings.
Schlittler is coming off his best start of his MLB career as he carried a perfect game into the seventh inning. Facing the Tampa Bay Rays, Schlittler logged 6 2/3 innings of one-hit ball with an 8:2 K:BB.
Cam Schlittler with the start of his life:
6.2 IP
1 H
0 ER
2 BB
8 KHe took a perfect game into the 7th inning 😳 pic.twitter.com/Dozghd2wRx
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) August 21, 2025
Is his recent August turnaround legit?
In August, Schlittler has not opted to tweak his rotation, but he has enjoyed much stronger production. His primary pitch, his four-seamer, has posted a .422 xSLG with a solid .323 xwOBA. In July, this pitch was slightly more successful, carrying a .333 xSLG with a .317 xwOBA.
However, many of his improvements can be found when looking at his cutter, his No. 2 pitch. In July (being deployed 21.5% of the time), this pitch carried a hefty .442 xwOBA and was hit quite hard. However, this month, while being deployed at a slightly lower 16.8% mark, this pitch has boasted an elite .178 xwOBA.
It has also generated whiffs at a strong 31.8%, a six-point jump in relation to July.
His No. 3 pitch, his curveball, has developed into an elite strikeout pitch, carrying a 36.4% whiff rate, a significant jump from July (16.7% whiff rate) while carrying a remarkable .227 xwOBA.
As shown below, the higher whiff rate generated by his cutter and curveball has significantly driven his success this month.
More importantly, since the start of August, Schlittler has posted a 2.9 BB/9, a substantial decrease from the 5.5 BB/9 he held during his first three starts of his career in July.
Given his emerging strikeout production and improvement in command, Schlittler is a strong waiver to add to your pitching staff. The 24-year-old is poised to find success and is a top target if you're looking to bolster your strikeout numbers over the final month.
Ryan Bergert, Kansas City Royals
20% Rostered
Ryan Bergert was featured in my column last week, but the right-hander has continued to improve and still remains available in nearly 80% of Yahoo! leagues. In his most recent outing, Bergert tossed 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball in a no-decision against a red-hot Detroit Tigers offense. In this outing, Bergert struck out five hitters and allowed only one walk.
Since the start of August, Bergert has posted a strong 2.73 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP across 26 1/3 innings of work. During this stretch, Bergert has struck out 26 hitters and allowed only 10 walks. Before the start of August, Bergert spent time with the Padres (both in the majors and at Triple-A) before being shifted to Kansas City.
Through 31 2/3 innings in San Diego this season, Bergert held a high 2.84 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Did the Royals make the necessary adjustments to Bergert's arsenal to allow him to take the next step?
The primary change Bergert has enacted was relying more on his seaper in August. In July, Bergert threw his sweeper just 6.7% of the time. However, in August, Bergert has thrown this pitch 22.0% of the time, which is the third-most used pitch, trailing just his four-seamer and slider.
In August, his sweeper has been very effective, posting a .201 xwOBA with a strong 20.0% whiff rate. This increased usage of the sweeper has played quite nicely off his slider (No. 2 most-used pitch), as it has generated an elite 41.5% whiff rate and a .269 xwOBA this month. In July, his slider was nowhere near as effective, carrying a .315 xwOBA.
While his four-seamer still has questions given the hefty .437 xwOBA, seeing his slider and sweeper generated weak contact with high strikeout numbers should allow Bergert to find success.
His overall 4.21 xERA and .239 xBA suggest regression is coming, but given the improvements of his two secondary pitches, they could help him avoid a significant step back.
Cade Cavalli, Washington Nationals
15% Rostered
Cade Cavalli made his season debut on August 6 and immediately flashed strikeout upside, striking out six batters across 4 1/3 shutout innings. However, in his next outing, Cavalli allowed seven hits and four runs.
He was then able to turn in his bets at the start of the season on August 16, tossing seven shutout innings with five strikeouts and no walks to the high-powered Phillies. However, similarly, the right-hander took another step back in his next outing, allowing seven hits and three runs to the Phillies on August 22.
Which version of Cavalli should managers expect going forward?
Cavalli is primarily a three-pitch pitcher, relying on his knuckle curve, four-seamer, and sinker 84.3% of the time. Out of this group, he leaned on his knuckle curve the most, throwing it 34.9% of the time. This pitch has been very effective, carrying an elite .164 xwOBA under the hood. However, on the surface, it holds a .325 wOBA, suggesting it is due for significant positive regression.
This pitch has also generated whiffs at an eye-catching 47.0%. However, his four-seamer and sinker have not found the same success, carrying a .339 xwOBA and a .312 xwOBA, respectively.
Overall, Cavalli sits with an overall average 3.56 xERA, which is somewhat near the 2.82 ERA he currently holds. However, the 27-year-old will carry his fantasy value given his strong 6.2% walk rate and 51.4% ground-ball rate. His 18.6% K rate is quite underwhelming, but under the hood, he has generated an elite 35.6% chase rate and a 26.9% whiff rate, which suggests there is more untapped strikeout potential in his profile.
While his sinker and four-seamer will limit his upside, his knuckle curve is due for a significant boost in strikeout production, which will make him a viable target in deep 12+ team formats in favorable matchups.
Cade Cavalli is through 7 scoreless innings in just his 4th career start! pic.twitter.com/Kx1lHfGy5E
— MLB (@MLB) August 16, 2025
Braxton Ashcraft, Pittsburgh Pirates
10% Rostered
The final pitcher we will look at this week is a deeper name, Braxton Ashcraft of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ashcraft has spent most of the campaign in the bullpen, but he has made three straight starts and appears to have claimed a spot in the rotation.
During these three outings, Ashcraft has tossed 13 1/3 innings to the tune of a 1.35 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP. In his most recent outing on August 22, Ashcraft allowed only one hit and no runs across five innings against the Colorado Rockies.
Since August 1, he has held a solid 3.57 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and a 20:2 K:BB through 17 2/3 innings of work.
A driving force for his success this month is his increased usage of his slider. In August, he deployed this pitch 35.0% of the time, a significant increase from the 28.7% usage rate in July.
More importantly, with being deployed as his top pitch, his slider has even taken a significant step forward. In July, this pitch carried a high .443 xSLG with a .372 xwOBA. However, this month, his slider has posted an elite .212 xSLG and a .173 xwOBA.
While his No. 2 pitch, his four-seamer, has held a modest .345 xwOBA, his slider has been able to offset its struggles.
Overall, the rookie right-hander holds a strong 76th percentile xERA, 97th percentile barrel rate, and a 52.6% ground-ball rate, which are very positive metrics for a pitcher. In addition, Ashcraft has posted an age-age 7.3% walk rate.
Given the development of his slider, Ashcraft carries high streaming appeal for the foreseeable future.
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