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The last weeks of the fantasy baseball season are here as we barrel towards the finish line with our starting pitcher starts/sits for fantasy baseball Week 26 -- Monday, September 16 through Sunday, September 22. We remain vigilant in monitoring fluid rotation situations as rookies, rehabs, and more hammer the home stretch. Bookmark us for every start/sit option and possible two-start decisions for your rosters.
For 12 years running, we have been writing this Starting Pitcher Starts and Sits series every week here at RotoBaller. I'm Nick Mariano, here to lead you through the 2024 season. All sorts of firepower and TLC go into supplying this piece each week. We get tons of great feedback on it every year.
If you're new here, read below to catch up on the aim of this piece and how best to use it. Best of luck with your fantasy baseball starting pitcher lineup decisions. Let's step onto the bump and get rolling!
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Start/Sit Data Overview
Ahead of each week of the fantasy baseball season, we publish the table below. We have the probable starters for every game of the week and a grade for them on a 0-100 scale. The intent is to give you advice and inspire confidence (or lack thereof) in your decisions to start or sit certain pitchers.
Please note that beyond the usual "Start" and "Sit" labels, there is a third category called "context-dependent." This is because different leagues call for different actions, and those in start-sit purgatory may be worth the gamble to some.
Also, we put the arms best projected to start or get bulk innings or actionable arms who may return from the injured list or be called up, but some situations are fluid, and we update ASAP to reflect accurate information. September ramps up the day-by-day chaos, so check back often!
The "starts" category includes pitchers you'd likely start in every league. The "sits" are pitchers that you likely sit in every league. The "context-dependent" means it is close, and it's up to you to decide based on your league settings or team needs (wins, strikeouts, etc.) how deep your league is, which roto/points categories are scored, and so on. Let's get to it!
Here are your starts and sits for what we're calling Week 26 of the fantasy season, which covers September 16 through September 22.
Week 26 Start/Sit Recommendations (September 16 - September 22)
Updated start/sit recommendations for this week's MLB games. This chart is updated daily as probable starters are constantly changing with postponements, injuries, etc. Scroll down further for a color-coded chart. If you can't see the chart below, click here to see the starts/sits on a separate page:
| Date | Game | Team | Pitcher | Grade | Start/Sit | 2 Starts |
| 9/16 | MIN@CLE | MIN | Pablo Lopez | 70 | START | Y |
| 9/16 | MIN@CLE | CLE | Matthew Boyd | 70 | START | Y |
| 9/16 | WAS@NYM | WAS | Jake Irvin | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/16 | WAS@NYM | NYM | Sean Manaea | 65 | START | Y |
| 9/16 | LAD@ATL | LAD | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | 70 | START | Y |
| 9/16 | LAD@ATL | ATL | Max Fried | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/16 | DET@KC | DET | Reese Olson | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/16 | DET@KC | KC | Seth Lugo | 65 | START | Y |
| 9/16 | OAK@CHC | OAK | Joey Estes | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 9/16 | OAK@CHC | CHC | Shota Imanaga | 70 | START | Y |
| 9/16 | PHI@MIL | PHI | Ranger Suarez | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/16 | PHI@MIL | MIL | Aaron Civale | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 9/16 | PIT@STL | PIT | Paul Skenes | 80 | START | Y |
| 9/16 | PIT@STL | STL | Andre Pallante | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/16 | ARI@COL | ARI | Merrill Kelly | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 9/16 | ARI@COL | COL | Antonio Senzatela | 10 | SIT | N |
| 9/16 | CHW@LAA | CHW | Jonathan Cannon | 30 | SIT | N |
| 9/16 | CHW@LAA | LAA | Reid Detmers | 80 | START | Y |
| 9/16 | HOU@SD | HOU | Spencer Arrighetti | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/16 | HOU@SD | SD | Yu Darvish | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/17 | SF@BAL | SF | Blake Snell | 65 | START | Y |
| 9/17 | SF@BAL | BAL | Albert Suarez | 65 | START | Y |
| 9/17 | MIN@CLE | MIN | Zebby Matthews | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/17 | MIN@CLE | CLE | Gavin Williams | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/17 | ATL@CIN | ATL | Grant Holmes | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/17 | ATL@CIN | CIN | Brandon Williamson | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/17 | LAD@MIA | LAD | Bobby Miller | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/17 | LAD@MIA | MIA | Darren McCaughan | 15 | SIT | Y |
| 9/17 | BOS@TB | BOS | Nick Pivetta | 65 | START | Y |
| 9/17 | BOS@TB | TB | Shane Baz | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/17 | WAS@NYM | WAS | Mitchell Parker | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/17 | WAS@NYM | NYM | Tylor Megill | 65 | START | Y |
| 9/17 | DET@KC | DET | Casey Mize | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/17 | DET@KC | KC | Cole Ragans | 80 | START | N |
| 9/17 | OAK@CHC | OAK | Mitch Spence | 35 | SIT | N |
| 9/17 | OAK@CHC | CHC | Jordan Wicks | 35 | SIT | N |
| 9/17 | PHI@MIL | PHI | Zack Wheeler | 80 | START | Y |
| 9/17 | PHI@MIL | MIL | Frankie Montas | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/17 | PIT@STL | PIT | Bailey Falter | 35 | SIT | N |
| 9/17 | PIT@STL | STL | Lance Lynn | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/17 | TOR@TEX | TOR | Chris Bassitt | 65 | START | Y |
| 9/17 | TOR@TEX | TEX | Nathan Eovaldi | 65 | START | N |
| 9/17 | ARI@COL | ARI | Jordan Montgomery | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 9/17 | ARI@COL | COL | Ryan Feltner | 15 | SIT | N |
| 9/17 | CHW@LAA | CHW | Davis Martin | 35 | SIT | N |
| 9/17 | CHW@LAA | LAA | Griffin Canning | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/17 | HOU@SD | HOU | Hunter Brown | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/17 | HOU@SD | SD | Michael King | 65 | START | N |
| 9/17 | NYY@SEA | NYY | Luis Gil | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/17 | NYY@SEA | SEA | Bryan Woo | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/18 | OAK@CHC | OAK | Brady Basso | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/18 | OAK@CHC | CHC | Justin Steele | 70 | START | N |
| 9/18 | ARI@COL | ARI | Eduardo Rodriguez | 35 | SIT | N |
| 9/18 | ARI@COL | COL | Austin Gomber | 15 | SIT | N |
| 9/18 | CHW@LAA | CHW | Jake Eder | 30 | SIT | N |
| 9/18 | CHW@LAA | LAA | Jack Kochanowicz | 30 | SIT | N |
| 9/18 | SF@BAL | SF | Hayden Birdsong | 35 | SIT | N |
| 9/18 | SF@BAL | BAL | Dean Kremer | 65 | START | N |
| 9/18 | HOU@SD | HOU | Framber Valdez | 70 | START | N |
| 9/18 | HOU@SD | SD | Dylan Cease | 65 | START | N |
| 9/18 | MIN@CLE | MIN | Bailey Ober | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/18 | MIN@CLE | CLE | Tanner Bibee | 65 | START | N |
| 9/18 | ATL@CIN | ATL | Spencer Schwellenbach | 75 | START | N |
| 9/18 | ATL@CIN | CIN | Jakob Junis | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/18 | LAD@MIA | LAD | Landon Knack | 65 | START | N |
| 9/18 | LAD@MIA | MIA | Ryan Weathers | 20 | SIT | N |
| 9/18 | BOS@TB | BOS | Tanner Houck | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/18 | BOS@TB | TB | Ryan Pepiot | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/18 | WAS@NYM | WAS | DJ Herz | 65 | START | N |
| 9/18 | WAS@NYM | NYM | Jose Quintana | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/18 | DET@KC | DET | Tarik Skubal | 85 | START | N |
| 9/18 | DET@KC | KC | Alec Marsh | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/18 | PHI@MIL | PHI | Aaron Nola | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/18 | PHI@MIL | MIL | Freddy Peralta | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/18 | PIT@STL | PIT | Jake Woodford | 25 | SIT | N |
| 9/18 | PIT@STL | STL | Sonny Gray | 70 | START | N |
| 9/18 | TOR@TEX | TOR | Bowden Francis | 70 | START | N |
| 9/18 | TOR@TEX | TEX | Cody Bradford | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/18 | NYY@SEA | NYY | Nestor Cortes | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/18 | NYY@SEA | SEA | Bryce Miller | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/19 | SF@BAL | SF | Logan Webb | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/19 | SF@BAL | BAL | Zach Eflin | 80 | START | N |
| 9/19 | MIN@CLE | MIN | Simeon Woods Richardson | 35 | SIT | N |
| 9/19 | MIN@CLE | CLE | Joey Cantillo | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/19 | ATL@CIN | ATL | Chris Sale | 90 | START | N |
| 9/19 | ATL@CIN | CIN | Julian Aguiar | 30 | SIT | N |
| 9/19 | TOR@TEX | TOR | Kevin Gausman | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/19 | TOR@TEX | TEX | Kumar Rocker | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/19 | NYY@SEA | NYY | Clarke Schmidt | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/19 | NYY@SEA | SEA | Logan Gilbert | 70 | START | N |
| 9/19 | LAD@MIA | LAD | Jack Flaherty | 90 | START | N |
| 9/19 | LAD@MIA | MIA | Edward Cabrera | 25 | SIT | N |
| 9/19 | BOS@TB | BOS | Brayan Bello | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/19 | BOS@TB | TB | Zack Littell | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/19 | PIT@STL | PIT | Luis L. Ortiz | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/19 | PIT@STL | STL | Erick Fedde | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/19 | PHI@NYM | PHI | Taijuan Walker | 30 | SIT | N |
| 9/19 | PHI@NYM | NYM | Luis Severino | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/19 | ARI@MIL | ARI | Brandon Pfaadt | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/19 | ARI@MIL | MIL | Tobias Myers | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/19 | WAS@CHC | WAS | Patrick Corbin | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/19 | WAS@CHC | CHC | Javier Assad | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/19 | LAA@HOU | LAA | Jose Suarez | 25 | SIT | N |
| 9/19 | LAA@HOU | HOU | Yusei Kikuchi | 75 | START | N |
| 9/20 | WAS@CHC | WAS | Trevor Williams | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/20 | WAS@CHC | CHC | Jameson Taillon | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/20 | PIT@CIN | PIT | Mitch Keller | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/20 | PIT@CIN | CIN | Nick Martinez | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/20 | TOR@TB | TOR | Jose Berrios | 70 | START | N |
| 9/20 | TOR@TB | TB | Tyler Alexander | 25 | SIT | N |
| 9/20 | DET@BAL | DET | Brant Hurter | 65 | START | N |
| 9/20 | DET@BAL | BAL | Corbin Burnes | 65 | START | N |
| 9/20 | MIN@BOS | MIN | David Festa | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/20 | MIN@BOS | BOS | Richard Fitts | 30 | SIT | N |
| 9/20 | PHI@NYM | PHI | Cristopher Sanchez | 75 | START | N |
| 9/20 | PHI@NYM | NYM | David Peterson | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/20 | ATL@MIA | ATL | Charlie Morton | 65 | START | N |
| 9/20 | ATL@MIA | MIA | Valente Bellozo | 20 | SIT | N |
| 9/20 | SEA@TEX | SEA | George Kirby | 70 | START | N |
| 9/20 | SEA@TEX | TEX | Jacob deGrom | 70 | START | N |
| 9/20 | LAA@HOU | LAA | Tyler Anderson | 30 | SIT | N |
| 9/20 | LAA@HOU | HOU | Justin Verlander | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/20 | SF@KC | SF | Mason Black | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/20 | SF@KC | KC | Michael Wacha | 70 | START | N |
| 9/20 | ARI@MIL | ARI | Zac Gallen | 65 | START | N |
| 9/20 | ARI@MIL | MIL | Colin Rea | 25 | SIT | N |
| 9/20 | CLE@STL | CLE | Ben Lively | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/20 | CLE@STL | STL | Kyle Gibson | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/20 | CHW@SD | CHW | Garrett Crochet | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/20 | CHW@SD | SD | Joe Musgrove | 90 | START | N |
| 9/20 | NYY@OAK | NYY | Gerrit Cole | 80 | START | N |
| 9/20 | NYY@OAK | OAK | J.T. Ginn | 35 | SIT | N |
| 9/20 | COL@LAD | COL | Kyle Freeland | 20 | SIT | N |
| 9/20 | COL@LAD | LAD | Justin Wrobleski | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/21 | PIT@CIN | PIT | Jared Jones | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/21 | PIT@CIN | CIN | Rhett Lowder | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/21 | WAS@CHC | WAS | MacKenzie Gore | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/21 | WAS@CHC | CHC | Kyle Hendricks | 35 | SIT | N |
| 9/21 | DET@BAL | DET | Reese Olson | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 9/21 | DET@BAL | BAL | Cade Povich | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/21 | TOR@TB | TOR | Yariel Rodriguez | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/21 | TOR@TB | TB | Taj Bradley | 35 | SIT | N |
| 9/21 | MIN@BOS | MIN | Pablo Lopez | 65 | START | Y |
| 9/21 | MIN@BOS | BOS | Kutter Crawford | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/21 | PHI@NYM | PHI | Ranger Suarez | 65 | START | Y |
| 9/21 | PHI@NYM | NYM | Sean Manaea | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/21 | ATL@MIA | ATL | Max Fried | 65 | START | Y |
| 9/21 | ATL@MIA | MIA | Adam Oller | 25 | SIT | N |
| 9/21 | SEA@TEX | SEA | Emerson Hancock | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/21 | SEA@TEX | TEX | Dane Dunning | 30 | SIT | N |
| 9/21 | LAA@HOU | LAA | Reid Detmers | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/21 | LAA@HOU | HOU | Ronel Blanco | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/21 | SF@KC | SF | Landen Roupp | 35 | SIT | N |
| 9/21 | SF@KC | KC | Brady Singer | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/21 | ARI@MIL | ARI | Merrill Kelly | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/21 | ARI@MIL | MIL | Aaron Civale | 25 | SIT | Y |
| 9/21 | CLE@STL | CLE | Matthew Boyd | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/21 | CLE@STL | STL | Miles Mikolas | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/21 | CHW@SD | CHW | Chris Flexen | 20 | SIT | N |
| 9/21 | CHW@SD | SD | Martin Perez | 65 | START | N |
| 9/21 | NYY@OAK | NYY | Carlos Rodon | 70 | START | N |
| 9/21 | NYY@OAK | OAK | JP Sears | 30 | SIT | N |
| 9/21 | COL@LAD | COL | Cal Quantrill | 15 | SIT | N |
| 9/21 | COL@LAD | LAD | Walker Buehler | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/22 | PIT@CIN | PIT | Paul Skenes | 85 | START | Y |
| 9/22 | PIT@CIN | CIN | Hunter Greene | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | N |
| 9/22 | DET@BAL | DET | Keider Montero | 35 | SIT | N |
| 9/22 | DET@BAL | BAL | Albert Suarez | 65 | START | Y |
| 9/22 | MIN@BOS | MIN | Zebby Matthews | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/22 | MIN@BOS | BOS | Nick Pivetta | 55 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/22 | TOR@TB | TOR | Chris Bassitt | 70 | START | Y |
| 9/22 | TOR@TB | TB | Shane Baz | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/22 | ATL@MIA | ATL | Grant Holmes | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/22 | ATL@MIA | MIA | Darren McCaughan | 25 | SIT | Y |
| 9/22 | LAA@HOU | LAA | Griffin Canning | 30 | SIT | Y |
| 9/22 | LAA@HOU | HOU | Spencer Arrighetti | 60 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/22 | SEA@TEX | SEA | Bryan Woo | 75 | START | Y |
| 9/22 | SEA@TEX | TEX | Andrew Heaney | 65 | START | N |
| 9/22 | NYY@OAK | NYY | Luis Gil | 65 | START | Y |
| 9/22 | NYY@OAK | OAK | Joey Estes | 25 | SIT | Y |
| 9/22 | SF@KC | SF | Blake Snell | 75 | START | Y |
| 9/22 | SF@KC | KC | Seth Lugo | 75 | START | Y |
| 9/22 | ARI@MIL | ARI | Jordan Montgomery | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 9/22 | ARI@MIL | MIL | Frankie Montas | 35 | SIT | Y |
| 9/22 | COL@LAD | COL | Antonio Senzatela | 10 | SIT | Y |
| 9/22 | COL@LAD | LAD | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | 75 | START | Y |
| 9/22 | CHW@SD | CHW | Sean Burke | 15 | SIT | N |
| 9/22 | CHW@SD | SD | Yu Darvish | 80 | START | Y |
| 9/22 | CLE@STL | CLE | Gavin Williams | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/22 | CLE@STL | STL | Andre Pallante | 45 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/22 | WAS@CHC | WAS | Jake Irvin | 40 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
| 9/22 | WAS@CHC | CHC | Shota Imanaga | 70 | START | Y |
| 9/22 | PHI@NYM | PHI | Zack Wheeler | 85 | START | Y |
| 9/22 | PHI@NYM | NYM | Tylor Megill | 50 | CONTEXT DEPENDENT | Y |
Start/Sit Color-Coded Matchups Chart (September 16 - September 22)
The below grid shows the same data but as a color-coded grid:
