Fantasy Baseball Week 26: Quinn Mathews, Emmet Sheehan Lead Top 10 Sleeper Pitchers

Streaming pitchers isn't for the faint of heart, but if you find yourself without enough reliable options in a given scoring period, it may be what you need to stay afloat. Scott White has 10 recommendations for the upcoming scoring period, all  rostered in no more than 80 percent  of CBS Sports leagues. Generally, only the top two or three are full-throated endorsements, while the rest are more about making the best of a bad situation.

Be sure to check back Sunday for the latest updates.

Sleeper pitchers for Week 26 (Sept. 14-20)

Jacob Lopez

SP

ATH Athletics

• #57 • Age: 28

Matchup

at CLE

Rostered

69%

Here I am again hyping up Jacob Lopez. Even with his little misstep against the Blue Jays, he's still clearly the hottest pitcher on the waiver wire -- putting together a 2.75 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 9.9 K/9 over his past 10 starts -- and is facing the fourth-worst offense this week.

Andrew Painter

SP

PHI Philadelphia

• #24 • Age: 23

Matchup

at NYM

Rostered

74%

Andrew Painter had an even bigger misstep in his last turn, but he also remains among the more promising options on the waiver wire, having put together a 3.77 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 8.7 K/9 in eight starts since returning from the minors. The Mets offense isn't the pushover it once was with Juan Soto back in the fold, but it still ranks 22nd overall.

Cal Quantrill

RP

TEX Texas

• #44 • Age: 31

Matchup

vs. TOR

Rostered

56%

It's all going to come crashing down for Cal Quantrill at some point, judging by his mediocre track record and unremarkable stuff, but as long as he's facing opponents as favorable as the Blue Jays, I'm going to wager on him furthering this nine-start stretch in which he's put together a 1.64 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 8.2 K/9

Emmet Sheehan

SP

LAD L.A. Dodgers

• #80 • Age: 26

Matchup

vs. SF

Rostered

41%

You never want to put too much stock in one outing, no matter how dominant, but seeing Emmet Sheehan strike out 10 in his return from the minors Monday confirmed my existing priors. Because of that, provided he comes through against the Marlins over the weekend, I may be willing to roll with him against the 24th-ranked Giants offense.

Quinn Mathews

SP

STL St. Louis

• #60 • Age: 25

Matchups

vs. SF, vs. WAS

Rostered

35%

Now six starts into his major league career, Quinn Mathews has some momentum with a 2.16 ERA in his past three, but control remains enough of a concern that I'd stop short of using him if ratios were of the highest priority. He is the best two-start pitcher you could add off the waiver wire this week, though.

Andre Pallante

SP

STL St. Louis

• #53 • Age: 27

Matchup

vs. SF

Rostered

55%

Andre Pallante remains a high-floor pitcher with his 55 percent ground ball rate, which would rank second among qualifiers, and I would bet on his 3.45 ERA going down rather than up against the Giants this week.

Cristian Javier

SP

HOU Houston

• #53 • Age: 29

Matchup

vs. KC

Rostered

14%

Cristian Javier has delivered back-to-back gems, allowing a combined two earned runs on four hits with 13 strikeouts in 11 innings, and perhaps even more telling is that his average fastball velocity is the highest it's been since his incredible 2022 season. He's also sporting a career-high swinging-strike rate, so he's not a bad play against the Royals.

Will Warren

SP

NYY N.Y. Yankees

• #29 • Age: 27

Matchups

at MIN, at ARI

Rostered

73%

Will Warren has had an extra tick on his fastball in his past two starts, and it's yielded some of his best results in months, with him exceeding six innings each time while registering at least a strikeout per. Whether or not he can sustain it is anybody's guess (probably not), but with his two turns this week, he's a reasonable gamble if volume is the priority.

Griffin Jax

SP

TB Tampa Bay

• #22 • Age: 31

Matchups

vs. ATH, vs. BOS

Rostered

60%

After a rough return from the IL two outings ago, Griffin Jax got a favorable outcome against the Braves last time out, allowing one run on two hits in five innings, but I'm not yet fully on board due to his diminished velocity and whiffs. Still, a two-start week would be awfully hard to pass up in a points league, where volume is paramount and his relief pitcher eligibility comes in particularly handy.

Ryan Johnson

SP

LAA L.A. Angels

• #32 • Age: 24

Matchups

vs. SEA, vs. MIN

Rostered

8%

I'm always wary of pitchers who miss as few bats as Ryan Johnson does, but I can't ignore him having a 2.14 ERA and 1.01 WHIP over his past six starts with a two-start slate that includes the Mariners coming up. He's been leaning more on his cutter during that time, which has a .188 batting average against, so it's possible he could come through.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/fantasy-baseball-week-26-preview-top-10-sleeper-pitchers/)._