Forecaster for Week 24: Sept. 14-20
Tristan H. CockcroftSep 11, 2026, 09:59 AM ET
- Tristan H. Cockcroft is senior writer for fantasy baseball and football at ESPN. Tristan is a member of the FSWA Hall of Fame. He is also two-time LABR and four-time Tout Wars champion.
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If you've made it this far, congratulations! You've either advanced to the championship round in ESPN head-to-head leagues, or you're still in contention in your categories or total points league.
Fantasy baseball's Week 24 is the penultimate week in the 2026 MLB regular (and fantasy) season, and it represents the first of the two-week championship round in standard head-to-head leagues. The two teams that won the two-week, Aug. 31-Sept. 13 semifinal matchups will now square off from Sept. 14-27.
We're certain to see our first significant postseason berths clinched -- putting aside, for a moment, that the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers are virtual locks to assure themselves of (at the very least) playoff berths during the Sept. 11-13 weekend -- as several teams are within reach during the upcoming week. The Brewers (magic number of 5) and Los Angeles Dodgers (6) can clinch their respective divisions, and the New York Yankees (4), Dodgers (5), Atlanta Braves (8) and Boston Red Sox (9) can clinch wild-card spots -- all of which seems likely to occur during Week 24.
From a player motivation standpoint, fantasy managers should prefer players from games with something on the line, and it's not uncommon for a team clinching some type of postseason berth or seeding to rest veteran players afterward, often in the game immediately following that happening.
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