Roto Riteup: September 25, 2026

Smooth moves, kid

George Lombard Jr. also drove in the winning run for the Yankees with this two-run blast in the bottom of the eighth.

On the Agenda: 

1. Quick Hits
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitchers

Quick Hits

Andrew Painter was outstanding in his final outing of the season. He allowed one run on five hits and punched out eight batters for the third time this season, tying a career high. He struck out eight two other times, the first time in his season debut. Painter finishes the season with 115 strikeouts and 47 walks in 126.2 innings and disappointing ratios — a 5.40 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.

Cade Smith has earned every dollar of that third(ish) round ADP, and then some. He struck out the side in the ninth inning, earning his 41st save in the Guardians’ 1-0 shutout of the Red Sox. Smith is now the MLB saves leader for the first time this season, pulling ahead by one save over Tampa’s Bryan Baker. Lefty Joey Cantillo pitched well (5 IP – 1 H – 0 ER – 2 BB – 4 K) following opener Daniel Espino. Angel Martínez’s blast accounted for the only run of the game.

Elly De La Cruz and the Reds beat the Braves 7-6.

Braves’ Austin Riley hit his second home run of the series on Thursday — his 19th of the season. It’s nice to see him showing a pulse at the plate over the last few weeks.

Gabriel Moreno and the Arizona Diamondbacks kept their slim playoff hopes alive, crushing the Rockies 12-8. The D-Backs piled up six runs in the first inning, three via Moreno’s surging power:

The Diamondbacks had a 12-2 lead going into the seventh inning, but the Rockies gave them a scare in the final innings. The great Cole Carrigg hit a three-run bomb. Meanwhile, Rockies pitchers keep on rocky-ing! Tanner Gordon served up 10 runs, raising his ERA from 6.01 to 6.68. The only two other starters with an ERA over 6.50 in 100+ innings are Rockies’ Kyle Freeland (6.58) and former Rockies starter, Michael Lorenzen (7.21). Lorenzen has actually lowered his ERA since joining the Blue Jays in a relief role — from 7.21 to 7.08.

White Sox rookie starter David Sandlin struck out seven innings over six innings against the Royals helping ABSOLUTELY NO ONE! Sandlin should join a crowded and competitive group of starting pitchers to compete for rotation spots next spring.

Various News and Notes

Congrats to the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians for clinching playoff births yesterday!

This was very cool of Ian Happ:

Ian Happ is an absolute legend….dude playing possibly his last game at Wrigley tossed a ball to the bleachers with $300 cash to buy fans beers pic.twitter.com/dZxVsO16Gg

— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) September 24, 2026

Luis Arraez sprained his ankle in the bottom of the sixth inning, trying to avoid a tag at first base after hitting a ground ball. We should hear about his status for the final weekend of the regular season sometime on Friday.

Dalton Rushing will be activated from the 10-day IL on Friday after missing almost three weeks. Rushing returns just in time for the playoffs. Hunter Feduccia will be sent packing.

This seems to be an every-month occurrence:

What an incredible season for Miguel Vargas and a lovely late-round surprise for fantasy managers who invest in him. Vargas is earning $25+ in 12-team 5×5 standard roto formats (a second-round value) with an incredible line: .252 AVG, 104 R, 33 HR, 92 RBI and 21 SB. Vargas is five away from 700 plate appearances.

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% on Yahoo)

Pitcher for Today:

Andrew Alvarez, WAS (38%) vs. NYM

Alvarez is having a very good rookie season, establishing himself as the second-most reliable starter behind Cade Cavalli. We can’t really call Alvarez lucky either — his FIP (3.14) and xFIP (3.68) are within a reasonable range of his ERA (3.17), his strand rate is around league average (76.5%), as is his BABIP (.289). His one bugaboo is his walk rate, which is at 10.7%. The Mets have all but mailed it in and Alvarez should be able to finish his season off with a bang.

Other Options: Jackson Jobe, DET (32%) vs. PIT

Jobe has really ticked up on the strikeouts, punching out seven, eight, and nine batters over his last three starts. He has issued two or fewer free passes in four straight starts and has reached the six-inning mark in each of his last two starts. Every pitcher is capable of getting blown up, but this is a relatively reasonable matchup for Jobe to take advantage of.

Pitchers for Tomorrow: Davis Martin, CHW (36%) vs. COL

The Rockies go back to sea level for their typical hitters’ hangover and will face 29-year-old righty Davis Martin on Saturday. Since coming off the injured list on September 2, Martin has allowed just two runs and six walks in 20.1 innings, though the strikeout rate over that span (12.5%) has tapered. A concern looms about Martin not pitching the five required innings to put himself in position for a win, so that’s something to keep in mind while considering him for a crucial streaming spot.

Other Options: Quinn Mathews, STL (39%) at MIL

The Brewers may already have mentally moved onto playoff mode by Saturday and could bench a few key hitters, potentially offering Mathews an easier path to a helpful fantasy start. Mathews pitched seven innings in his last start and has reached six-plus innings in three consecutive starts. He has allowed more than two earned runs just twice in eight starts — seven to the Phillies on August 22 and three in that 7-IP outing, at home against the Nationals last Sunday.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to inform and entertain you, with hopefully only a few moments of cringe. This has been a fun column to write and I look forward to doing so again next season. Good luck in these final few days!