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Starting pitcher waiver wire adds for Week 26 of the 2021 fantasy baseball season. Jon Anderson identifies SP pickups for shallow and deep leagues.
This is my final waiver wire pickups article of the year. I really appreciate everybody who has read this, and I hope I have helped you out over these 26 weeks.
With so little time remaining, this article is essentially just a "streamers" article. I am only focusing on the next seven days, because right now that's what the majority of fantasy managers still reading this are interested in.
It's do or die time, so let's find you a few guys to stream in if you're really desperate.
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Ranger Suarez, Philadelphia Phillies (57% Rostered)
This is the top guy that is widely available. Ranger has given up just five runs in his last five starts while throwing 29 innings. He has struck out 33 batters over that time with just seven walks. It's been beautiful. He gets a really nice matchup next week with the Orioles, which he should do well in. He's a great, great option to pick up for your fantasy playoffs and/or final weeks.
Carlos Hernandez, Kansas City Royals (32% Rostered)
He got brutalized last time out on the 15th, giving up nine hits and seven earned runs to the Athletics. That led to a bunch of players dropping him. Since July, however, Hernandez has kept the ball in the yard with the best of them, giving up a home run every 53 batters faced. That makes these really rough outings few and far between for him. The bad news is that he doesn't have a big strikeout rate (22% for the year), and he walks guys at a high rate as well (11%). The next matchup is the Indians, which is a team that doesn't hit many homers to start with, so Hernandez shouldn't kill you this week and he may even luck into a quality start.
Tony Gonsolin, Los Angeles Dodgers (28% Rostered)
He has made two appearances since his IL stint, and they've been good. He has thrown eight innings against the Cardinals and D'Backs, giving up five hits and just one run while striking out nine. He is a good pitcher, and it was really encouraging to see him get through five innings. There is a good chance he has a legitimate role on the Dodgers playoff team, so they are going to want to stretch him out a little bit. I think he's a good add for deep leagues for the season's closing weeks.
Nestor Cortes Jr., New York Yankees (43% Rostered)
An 11 strikeout game on the 15th was Cortes' best outing of the year by far. His previous high was seven, so this was a pretty unexpected outcome. He has been awesome at limiting runs even when the strikeouts were down, he's given up three or fewer runs in his last six starts, so he's been keeping you in the game regardless. He pulls a matchup next week with the Rangers, which is a very good one. Add Cortes if he's available and you need a pitcher.
That's a short list but it's legitimately all I can feel good about recommending. Hopefully your teams are in good enough shape to not need to take risks like these guys (although I don't think Suarez is much of a risk - so I would be looking his way in most league setups). Good luck to everybody, and I'll be back with more next season!
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