Week 21 in fantasy baseball shines a bright spotlight on three rookie starters who could shape the stretch run. Waldrep blazed through Cleveland for six scoreless innings, with scouts pointing to the splitter as the ceiling-raiser in his six-pitch mix. McLean dazzled in his Mets debut by fanning eight over 5.1, fueled by a spin-heavy curve and a fastball-heavy approach that mixes power and deception; the upside is real, but his control and workload could limit ceiling early. Bergert, now with Kansas City, limited the White Sox while showcasing a rising four-seamer and a pair of plus breakers, hinting at a useful middle-rotation floor once the Royals get him stretched out. These performances elevate the waiver-wire chatter for Week 21, especially in 12-team-plus formats that crave strikeouts and ratio control.

Across the board, rostership metrics from Yahoo underline the surprise factor—Waldrep at 44%, McLean at 27%, Bergert at 26%—and the chatter centers on whether these are real or mirages. Waldrep’s splitter is the standout, producing a 54.3% whiff rate with historically elite spin dynamics for a pitch that drops heavy with low spin. McLean’s curveball torque sits at the top of the arsenal, while Bergert’s slider and sweeper serve as complementary strikeout weapons. The trio all faces regression questions, but the immediate upside for weeks 21 and beyond makes them fantasy fixtures to monitor closely.