Fantasy Baseball Week 9: Ryne Nelson, Walbert Urena Among Top 10 Sleeper Pitchers

Fantasy Baseball Week 9 Preview: Top 10 sleeper pitchers include Ryne Nelson, Walbert Urena

A couple noteworthy Diamondbacks benefit from particularly favorable matchups this week

By Scott White

May 15, 2026 at 6:58 am ET • 1 min read

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 less 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 9 (May 18-24)

Ryne Nelson

SP

ARI Arizona

• #19 • Age: 28

Matchups

vs. SF, vs. COL

Rostered

59%

A black sheep start against the Blue Jays on April 19 was followed by an unfair one in the thin air of Mexico City, inflating Ryne Nelson's ERA and cratering his roster rate. But he's looked great since then and has some particularly favorable matchups here against the bottom-ranked Giants and the Rockies away from Coors Field.

Walbert Urena

SP

LAA L.A. Angels

• #57 • Age: 22

Matchups

vs. ATH, vs. TEX

Rostered

11%

Walbert Urena excels at pitching to contact with a high ground-ball rate and basement-level exit velocity readings, and he also has some modest strikeout appeal thanks to a plus changeup. His outings have tended to run short, but he's in line for two of them week, with one being a particularly favorable matchup against the Athletics.

Reid Detmers

SP

LAA L.A. Angels

• #48 • Age: 26

Matchups

vs. ATH, vs. TEX

Rostered

62%

Reid Detmers continues to underperform his peripherals and has become an exhausting inclusion here week after week, but with two starts against strikeout-prone teams, you could hope for at least one quality start and upward of 15 strikeouts.

Andrew Abbott

SP

CIN Cincinnati

• #41 • Age: 26

Matchup

at PHI

Rostered

65%

Fantasy Baseballers were by and large too quick to abandon Andrew Abbott when he got off to a poor start, and now he heads into the weekend with a 1.02 ERA in his past three starts. Presuming his upcoming turn against the Guardians goes well, he'll be an advisable streamer against a Phillies lineup that still ranks in the bottom five in runs scored.

Cade Cavalli

SP

WAS Washington

• #24 • Age: 27

Matchup

vs. NYM

Rostered

41%

Injuries have brought the Mets offense to a state of abject misery, ranking second-to-last in runs scored, and Cade Cavalli has already proven his mettle against them, striking out 10 in a quality start on April 29.

Bailey Ober

SP

MIN Minnesota

• #17 • Age: 30

Matchup

at BOS

Rostered

70%

We're getting into more dangerous territory here, seeing as a pitch-to-contact fly-ball guy is inherently dangerous at Fenway Park. But the Red Sox have fallen to third-to-last in runs scored, and Bailey Ober is coming off a complete game shutout (otherwise known as, um, a shutout).

Zac Gallen

SP

ARI Arizona

• #23 • Age: 30

Matchups

vs. SF, vs. COL

Rostered

62%

There may be no redeeming Zac Gallen in the long run, but in the short run, he lines up for two of the best matchups you could ask for, with the Giants ranking dead last in runs scored and the Rockies doing what they do away from Coors Field. In points leagues, he's a valid play.

Andrew Painter

SP

PHI Philadelphia

• #24 • Age: 23

Matchups

vs. CIN, vs. CLE

Rostered

51%

The downside risk remains for Andrew Painter, but he did seem to be on the right track by fading his fastball in his latest start and ended up allowing just one run in five innings. The Reds and Guardians make for some nice matchups.

Eduardo Rodriguez

SP

ARI Arizona

• #57 • Age: 33

Matchup

vs. COL

Rostered

56%

I don't trust Eduardo Rodriguez's one earned run over 15 1/3 innings in his last two starts, and his turn at Coors Field this weekend may expose why. If he navigates it adequately, though, he'll have the joy of facing the Rockies away from Coors Field next time out.

Foster Griffin

SP

WAS Washington

• #22 • Age: 30

Matchups

vs. NYM, at ATL

Rostered

79%

Foster Griffin got his comeuppance last time out with nine earned runs in 4 1/3 innings, but he still came away with a 3.53 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. With a respectable K/9 rate (8.7) and a penchant for weak contact, I think he's good enough to use in a two-start week, even with the bipolar matchups.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/fantasy-baseball-week-9-preview-sleeper-pitchers/)._