Top fantasy baseball starting pitcher waiver pickups for Week 23

The air is starting to get a bit crisper (well, in the north at least). The real-life and fantasy trade deadlines have come and gone. September is almost upon us. The marathon of the 2023 MLB season has become a sprint to the finish, and right now is winning time for those of you lucky enough to still be in contention in your fantasy baseball leagues. With precious few weeks to shore up holes and make up ground in the standings, smart adds become even more important: Hit on an under-the-radar free agent, and fantasy hardware awaits; miss, and you’ll spend the winter wondering what if.

Luckily, our weekly waiver wire recommendations are here to help, with position-by-position looks are players you should consider snagging off the waiver wire. Next up: starting pitcher

Fantasy baseball waiver wire: Week 23 starting pitcher targets

Cole Ragans, SP/RP, Kansas City Royals

Roster percentage: 13.9%

We tried to tell you. We’ve touted Ragans multiple times in this space in recent weeks, as the lefty — acquired from Texas in the Aroldis Chapman trade — flashed big upside and an even bigger high-90s fastball upon being inserted into the Royals rotation. The lefty more than held his own at Wrigley Field last weekend (nine Ks, three earned runs in six innings), and the word is certainly out after punching out 12 batters in a win over the A’s a few days ago. Still, there’s a chance he remains available on your waiver wire, and if he is, you’d be wise to snatch him up — strikeout upside like this (83rd-percentile K rate) doesn’t come around too often, and he’s set up to have a very friendly closing schedule.

Mason Miller, SP, Oakland Athletics

Roster percentage: 3.4%

He’s (almost) baaaaack. A rare bright spot in Oakland’s rotation after being called up from Triple-A, Miller was cruelly snatched away from us when he went down with an elbow injury after just four starts. Those four starts were awfully impressive though — 3.38 ERA, 22 Ks and some 100-mph gas over 21.1 innings — and the righty appears to be nearing a return to the Majors soon.

It’s safe to say his arm is feeling fine, and while the team is likely to play it safe with its top pitching prospect down the stretch, even five innings of Miller is helpful to your fantasy teams.

John Means, SP, Baltimore Orioles

Roster percentage: 3.0%

Speaking of injury returns: Means hasn’t pitched for Baltimore since undergoing Tommy John surgery in April of last year, but after another successful rehab start Friday, the lefty appears set to return just in time for the O’s playoff push. Means posted a 3.62 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 146.2 innings in 2021 and was off to a similarly strong start in 2021 prior to going down; he’s among the more underrated starters in the game, he’s fairly stretched out after cracking the 70-pitch mark last time out and he’ll get plenty of run support from this Orioles lineup. (Plus, Camden Yards is a great place to pitch.)

Griffin Canning, SP, Los Angeles Angels

Roster percentage: 4.4%

Shohei Ohtani’s heartbreaking UCL tear has left a gaping hole in L.A.’s rotation for the rest of the year, and while no one can fill those shoes, it should give Canning another shot to start — which could pay dividends for fantasy managers. The righty has been a bit up and down this season, but before landing on the IL with a calf injury he’d pitched pretty well, with a 3.90 ERA to go along with 76 strikeouts in just 62.1 innings since May 23. The results can be ugly when he doesn’t have the feel for his breaking stuff, but when Canning is right he has serious strikeout upside — especially with a relatively friendly September schedule if he sticks in the rotation.