The time to take the long view of the MLB season is over. We have less than five weeks remaining in the 2026 campaign, and managers need to find players who can help right away. September schedules matter greatly, as teams who have favorable matchups are much more likely to play surprisingly well down the stretch.
Here are some schedule quirks that wise fantasy managers will want to know. This data covers the four-week stretch that begins next week, which includes the final week of the fantasy regular season and the playoffs in leagues with default Yahoo settings.
Advertisement
If there is one schedule to know, it’s that of the Mariners. From September 3-20, Seattle plays 10 of its 16 games against the Athletics and Rockies, who rank 29th and 30th respectively in ERA. Even better, seven of those games will be played at Sutter Health Park or Coors Field, which are the two most inviting parks for hitters. Seattle is the only club which will get to feast on both pitching staffs during September.
Roster moves: Dominic Canzone (20%) has been one of the most under-rostered players on this site all season and could be a league-winning player during September. After all, despite being seventh among Seattle hitters in roster rate, he ranks third on the team in homers, third in RBI and second in OPS. Cole Young (14%) is the other Mariner to add. The widely available infielder ranks second on his team in both RBI and runs, and 5th in homers.
Advertisement
Hitters on the Padres could be helpful during the initial two weeks of the fantasy playoffs, as they will face a Nats pitching staff that ranks 26th in ERA and spend four games at Coors Field. Their other two matchups in that two-week stretch are against two unimposing staffs on the Marlins and Giants.
Roster moves: Ty France (33%) and Luis Rengifo (14%) have been among baseball’s hottest second-half hitters. Although the advanced stats do not fully support their surge, they both could use the favorable schedule to continue their success into September. In deep formats, Jake Cronenworth (7%) is someone who accumulates stats via his heavy usage.
From September 4-24, the Cardinals will play 18 straight games against teams that rank among the bottom half of the league in second-half ERA. The stretch opens with a series at Coors Field and includes a series against the Nats.
Advertisement
Roster moves: Although the top Cardinals are all rostered in over 90% of Yahoo leagues, there are two men to keep an eye on. Nathan Church (1%) starts against all right-handers, which makes him a predictable streamer. Masyn Winn (32%) is not an accomplished hitter but fields the shortstop position so well that he rarely leaves the lineup and therefore racks up his share of counting stats.
From September 4 until the end of the season, the Angles will face a beleaguered pitching staff in six of seven series. The stretch includes seven games against a surprisingly vulnerable Seattle staff that ranks 28th in second-half ERA. They will also face the Pirates, Nationals and Twins. It’s fair to wonder if an offense that ranks last in runs scored since the All-Star break has the talent to take advantage of these matchups, but the opportunity is certainly right in front of them.
Roster moves: There hasn’t been much to like from this offense of late, but those in deep leagues may be happy to grab full-time players with favorable schedules. Vaughn Grissom (2%) fits that description and offers the benefit of being eligible at 1B/2B/3B. Christian Moore (1%) recently rejoined the team and logged a .943 OPS in Triple-A this year.
Advertisement
The Reds have an abysmal schedule for their hitters and pitchers. Over their final eight series, they play two against each of the Dodgers and Brewers, and one against each of the Braves and Cubs. Those teams are all among the top five records in baseball, and their other series will be played against the Padres and Blue Jays, who are both competing for postseason berths.
Roster moves: Managers who have enjoyed the success of Chase Burns must be worried that his dominance will end one month early. After all, the Reds will have little to play for in September and Burns will already be roughly 50 innings over his 2025 total when the month begins. The Reds could opt to have him make shorter starts, which would seriously lower his win potential, especially given the quality of the opposition. Other Reds starters, such as Brady Singer, Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott, are unlikely to be up to the task of succeeding against so many dominant teams. A lack of victories would also impact the saves total of Emilio Pagán. On the hitting side, anyone not named Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart will belong on waivers during this grueling stretch.
Advertisement
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs may have enough offensive talent to score anyways, but the September schedule didn’t do them any favors. Chicago plays six of its eight September series against teams that rank in the top half of the majors in ERA, and four of those six series are against top four clubs, Milwaukee, Atlanta and Boston.
Roster moves: This is a tough one, as the Cubs have so many widely rostered hitters. Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki are staying in all lineups. The same can be said of Alex Bregman and Nico Hoerner, who have picked things up of late. However, the daunting schedule should cause Michael Busch and Ian Happ to move to the bench or waiver wire in many leagues. After all, both players are outside the top 300 fantasy assets in the past 30 days.
Although their matchups are against offenses that are good, rather than great, the Braves may struggle to have a strong September record. After all, from September 4-20 the team will play five consecutive series against postseason teams. Their schedule lightens up in the final week (Reds, Marlins), but many of their managers may have been eliminated by the fantasy playoffs by that point.
Advertisement
Roster moves: Chris Sale is going to be a fantasy star regardless of the matchups, but the same can’t be said for every other Atlanta starter. Martin Pérez, Tyler Mahle, Grant Holmes and Bryce Elder all fit the streamer description in standard Yahoo leagues. They can all be forgotten when September rolls around.
Read the full article here