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Mike's starting pitcher (SP) fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 26 of 2026 (September 21 - September 27). These are his top free-agent pitchers to add and stream.
Welcome, everyone, to our starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups for Week 26 of the 2026 season (September 21 - September 27). In this piece, we search for starting pitchers rostered in less than 40 percent of Yahoo leagues. For deeper leagues, we find pitchers rostered in less than 30 percent of Yahoo leagues.
All leagues are certainly in the home stretch now and looking for those last great matchups off the waiver wire to fortify your pitching staffs while not destroying your ratios. It is a constant mining for fantasy gold at this crucial time of year. These last pieces can make or break the season for you.
I wanted to take a moment and thank the team at RotoBaller for having me all season. Moreover, I want to thank you, the readers, for continually reading my work and keeping the dialogue going all season. I love writing about mining for these pitchers, and I hope we helped you win some titles this year!
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Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Shallow Leagues
Recommendations for leagues of any size rostered between 30-40% on Yahoo
Jackson Jobe, Detroit Tigers (31% rostered)
Jobe deserved a better fate on Saturday against the Chicago White Sox, going six strong innings and striking out nine hitters, but taking the loss. He gets one more start this season against the Pittsburgh Pirates next weekend, and I like that matchup.
Jobe has two wins in eight starts to go with a 3.98 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. and 43 strikeouts in 40 innings this year. It's been encouraging to see him back and healthy, and Jobe will be a huge piece of the puzzle for Detroit next season. The velocity is back at 97 MPH, and he limits hard contact.
Andrew Painter, Philadelphia Phillies (31% rostered)
Painter has pitched at least five innings in seven consecutive starts. He wasn't as sharp as usual on Saturday, pitching into the sixth inning and giving up four runs, but he did notch seven strikeouts. Painter will finish the regular season with a start against Tampa Bay next Friday.
Painter continues his strong second half, where he has two wins in 10 starts with a 3.88 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and 54 strikeouts in 55 innings. It's been great to see his continued development in 2026.
Christian Scott, New York Mets (31% rostered)
Scott has quietly produced good results for the New York Mets this season. He ends his season next weekend with a start against the Washington Nationals. That's a good matchup for him. Scott pitched into the fifth inning on Saturday, giving up three runs while striking out seven hitters.
See his Statcast box below. It has lots of red in the areas I like to see it: limiting hard contact across the board and a nice 28.3% K%. Scott has taken strides and looks to be a piece of the puzzle moving forward in New York.
Andrew Alvarez, Washington Nationals (30% rostered)
Alvarez has pitched well this season for a developing Washington team, despite only having two wins to show for it. He has a tidy 3.17 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and even has contributed strikeouts with 107 in 108 innings. Alvarez gets the New York Mets next weekend, which is a good matchup.
In three September starts, Alvarez has a 1.56 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and 21 strikeouts in 17 innings. He is looking to take that step forward and be part of Washington's plans in the rotation.
Davis Martin, Chicago White Sox (30% rostered)
Martin ran into very hard times in July and August after an electric start to the year. A blister issue may have been part of the problem. In three starts since his return from the IL, Martin has posted a 1.13 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, but only has four strikeouts in 16 innings. See below. Focus on September.
However, he gets the Colorado Rockies next Saturday at the Rate, and that is a tasty matchup outside of Coors Field. Martin is available on many waiver wires, and you might be able to pilfer this good matchup with the surprising Chicago White Sox fighting for their playoff lives.
Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Deeper Leagues
Recommendations for leagues of any size rostered in less than 30% on Yahoo
Martin Perez, Atlanta Braves (28% rostered)
Perez just continues to do things his way, and he finishes his regular season with starts at Houston and at Miami. He has nine wins with a helpful 3.07 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. He won't help you much in strikeouts with only 100 in 137 innings.
Quinn Mathews, St. Louis Cardinals (27% rostered)
Mathews has put together a nice stretch in St. Louis since his August callup, nabbing two wins in seven starts while posting a 3.62 ERA and 1.39 WHIP with 36 strikeouts in 37 innings. See his pitch mix illustrated below and notice the increased sinker usage. He is finding his way.
Mathews gets Washington on Sunday and then finishes the season against Milwaukee, who will likely rest some key players as they have clinched the NL Central crown. Mathews could be a nice play there.
Zac Thornton, New York Mets (27% rostered)
Thornton has impressed me as a guy who seems to have a good feel for pitching despite not having big velocity or big strikeout numbers. He has five wins in 14 starts with an impressive 3.40 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. One drawback: only 59 strikeouts in 79 innings. He finishes with Washington.
Think I'm kidding? Look at this varied pitch mix below, and you can see that Thornton throws a whopping seven-pitch arsenal. It's impressive when a young guy has that kind of mastery over his repertoire. Thornton should be a mainstay in an improving Mets' rotation next season.
Ryan Johnson, Los Angeles Angels (23% rostered)
I had the chance to recommend Johnson a few weeks ago and I passed on it. His last two starts for the season will come against the Minnesota Twins at home and the Seattle Mariners on the road. He's been stellar in August and September: three wins, a 1.80 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP, and 23 strikeouts in 30 innings.
Cristian Javier, Houston Astros (20% rostered)
I admit that I have always liked Javier and had earmarked his return for weeks. In three September starts, he has a win, a 2.20 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and 12 strikeouts in 15 innings. Javier gets the Mariners in Seattle and then finishes next weekend at the Athletics. Good matchups for a solid veteran.
Robert Gasser, Milwaukee Brewers (19% rostered)
Gasser seems to have been underrated and thus undervalued much of the year. Gasser doesn't wow you with huge strikeout numbers, but he limits hard contact and gets outs for the best team in baseball. In September, he has a win in four starts, a 1.71 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, and 16 strikeouts in 21 innings.
Gasser will make one more regular season start against the St. Louis Cardinals next Friday at home; I like that matchup to help you win a title.
Yusei Kikuchi, Los Angeles Angels (18% rostered)
Kikuchi is one pitcher I wring my hands over when recommending, because he should be much better than he is in every start. Kikuchi should make two more starts, one against the Athletics and the next against Seattle. He could help you win, but there is some risk here.
Other Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Options
Every week, we will give you four or five (in this case, seven) other lower-rostered pitchers you could also consider adding from the waiver wire in your league. League context matters, obviously.
- Jonah Tong, New York Mets (15% rostered)
- Dean Kremer, Minnesota Twins (15% rostered)
- Connor Prielipp, Minnesota Twins (11% rostered)
- Grayson Rodriguez, Los Angeles Angels (13% rostered)
- Erick Fedde, Chicago White Sox (5% rostered)
- Spencer Miles, Toronto Blue Jays (5% rostered)
- Jack Perkins, Athletics (4% rostered)
It has been a pleasure writing this column each week for the amazing team at RotoBaller. I hope they ask me to return next season! Always remember that fantasy baseball is supposed to be fun above everything. Enjoy it and never give up on your teams. See you next season!
More Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Advice
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