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Week 26 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Top MLB Pickups

Last Updated: Sep 26, 2021

Here is The Game Day’s Week 26 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Top Free-Agent Pickups. Set these key Week 26 MLB Pickups for your waiver wire list this weekend.

Week 26 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire

Week 26 Best Fantasy Baseball Pickups

  • Brandon Belt, 1B/OF, San Francisco Giants (59% rostered in Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball Leagues)
  • Myles Straw, SS/OF, Cleveland Indians (57%)
  • Nestor Cortes Jr., RP/SP, New York Yankees (49%)
  • Amed Rosario, SS/OF, Cleveland Indians (48%)
  • Kyle Finnegan, RP, Washington Nationals (45%)
  • Dylan Floro, RP, Miami Marlins (35%)
  • Garrett Hampson, 2B/SS/OF, Colorado Rockies (33%)
  • Drew Steckenenrider, RP, Seattle Mariners (27%)
  • Joe Ryan, SP, Minnesota Twins (27%)
  • Evan Longoria, 3B, San Francisco Giants (27%)
  • Alejandro Kirk, C, Toronto Blue Jays (25%)
  • Joe Barlow, RP, Texas Rangers (20%)
  • Brendan Rodgers, 2B/SS, Colorado Rockies (19%)
  • LaMonte Wade Jr., 1B/OF, San Francisco Giants (13%)
  • Tyler Clippard, SP/RP, Arizona Diamondbacks (13%)
  • Chris Stratton, SP/RP, Pittsburgh Pirates (12%)

I’m taking some liberties this late in the season by including Brandon Belt and Myles Straw. They’re both on a higher percentage of rosters than players I typically feature, but they’re not on nearly enough rosters when factoring in their layout next week.

Thanks to a pair of doubleheaders, Straw and the Cleveland Indians are scheduled for a staggering nine games next week! Meanwhile, Belt gets a boost from a weekend trip to Coors Field as part of a six-game week. Straw’s an elite stolen base source with 27 thefts, while Belt’s been an excellent power bat with 25 homers and 52 RBIs in just 88 games this year.

Evan Longoria and LaMonte Wade Jr. are a couple more members of the San Francisco Giants and their trip to Colorado. Longoria’s having a terrific September with a .333/.429/.727 batting line, three homers, and 15 RBIs in 12 games this month. Wade is also having a strong September, slashing .333/.429/.500 and often batting cleanup against righties.

The Colorado Rockies are home for six games next week. Thus, widely available options Garrett Hampson and Brendan Rodgers have streaming appeal as they look to take advantage of the MLB’s best hitting environment.

What Nestor Cortes Jr. is doing while transitioning from the bullpen to the rotation for the New York Yankees is nothing short of astonishing. While I was slow to believe in him at first, I’m buying in now. In 11 starts totaling 60 innings this year, he’s spun a 2.70 ERA, 4.23 SIERA, 1.03 WHIP, 6.3 BB%, and 24.6 K%. I’m not sure how he’s beating his ERA estimators by so much, but I’m done questioning it for now.

In addition, Cortes has a two-start week coming up against the Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox. There’s a risk to using him in leagues with weekly lineup changes since Boston’s tough as nails against southpaws and Fenway Park is a hitter-friendly venue. Regardless, he’s earned the trust to use him, especially since Texas ranks last in wRC+ (79) against lefties.


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Week 26 Best Fantasy Baseball Streamers

  • Rowan Wick, RP, Chicago Cubs (23% rostered)
  • Colin Moran, 1B/2B/3B, Pittsburgh Pirates (10%)
  • Drew Rasmussen, SP/RP, Tampa Bay Rays (9%)
  • Yoshi Tsutsugo, 1B/3B/OF, Pittsburgh Pirates (8%)
  • Tommy La Stella, 1B/2B/3B, San Francisco Giants (6%)
  • Bobby Bradley, 1B, Cleveland Indians (3%)
  • Bradley Zimmer, OF, Cleveland Indians (2%)

Tommy La Stella is a more widely available and likely cheaper FAAB option than Belt, Longoria, and Wade for gamers on a limited budget. He’ll get the same Coors Field boost as his teammates and has a .920 OPS with two homers and eight RBIs over his last nine games.

Speaking of favorable schedules, Colin Moran, Yoshi Tsutsugo, Bobby Bradley, and Bradley Zimmer all have promising layouts to look forward to. In a seven-game week, the Pittsburgh Pirates have at least five righties on the docket, and Tsutsugo and Moran have the platoon advantage as lefties. In addition, they’ve hit second and cleanup, respectively, against right-handed pitchers of late.

Meanwhile, volume rules the roost in fantasy baseball, and Bradley and Zimmer have it in a nine-game week. Zimmer’s been solid in the second half, ripping seven homers, stealing eight bases, and hitting a palatable .245. Bradley’s a power source for gamers who can stomach his .224 batting average, having ripped 13 round-trippers in 231 plate appearances.

Thanks for reading our Week 26 Top Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Pickups! For more fantasy baseball advice, check out our Week 26 Fantasy Baseball Closer Updates and Fantasy Baseball Closer Rankings.

Author

Josh Shepardson

Josh is a fantasy gamer of roughly 20 years and a fantasy pundit for more than 10 years. He's experienced in numerous season-long baseball and football league types and a daily fantasy sports grinder, too. Additionally, Josh is a recreational gambler who has a soft spot for futures and prop bets. He studied and completed his Bachelor's degree in Sport Management at the State University of New York at Cortland, and he remains in Central New York, residing in Auburn.

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