August 23 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Andrew Abbott, Aaron Civale, Kyle Hendricks and More

Oh, Friday. If you work the traditional Monday-Friday work week, Friday after work is the best time of the week. (The hour(s) when you’ve mentally checked out before the workday ends are nice too.) Some friends and I had this discussion and came to a few conclusions:

• Outside of the NFL season, Sunday is almost as bad as Monday. Even though it’s a day off, you’re preparing, mentally or otherwise, for the new work week. Sunday is easily the best day of the week during the NFL season.
• Saturday is awesome, but it starts to leak into Sunday feeling. If you’re having a late Saturday night, you know that you have to recover the next day before work Monday comes, so you lose some of the freedom of that Sunday off.
• Friday night is the best time of the week. Complete freedom, you know you have not just one, but two days off coming up, and it’s the furthest time from having to go back to work.

And now that it’s Friday, feel free to mentally check out at lunch time to start the best part of your week early. Plan something special, like doing a fantasy football mock draft at your desk rather than being productive (you’re underpaid, anyway!!).

Let’s look at Friday’s probable starters (according to MLB.com) who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups, creating streaming value. Most stats and rankings are from MLB. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.

Andrew Abbott, Cincinnati Reds @ Pittsburgh Pirates

Hey, Abbott! Abbott has both a strikeout and walk rate a little worse than average, though neither is egregiously bad. He has pitched fairly well, holding an ERA under 4.00 both this season and last with over 100 innings in both years. Abbott is right in the middle, squarely on the streaming radar.

The Pirates are one of those teams who offer value to opposing pitchers. They lack both power and contact skills, with most players hitting at a below-average level. They are in the bottom five in home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS and in the top five in most batter strikeouts. Pittsburgh is a team to target every day.

Abbott is a mid-level streamer. His strikeout work is just a hair low to predict the top ceiling, but the matchup is right for a good day.

Hayden Birdsong, San Francisco Giants @ Seattle Mariners

Seattle fired their manager, Scott Servais, yesterday. It’s not a new thing for managers to be fired over the final few months of the season, but those managers usually aren’t leading teams who are fighting for a playoff spot. The Mariners had a decent lead in the division not that long ago, but they are now 5.5 back and moving the wrong way. The offense is the main reason the team is failing and Servais lost his job.

Birdsong has been letting me down a little lately; he’s been on the streamer list before his last three starts and hasn’t lasted five innings in any of them, allowing 13 runs in 11 innings. Birdsong has done very well striking batters out in his short big league time but also walks a lot of guys, hurting his run prevention.

Birdsong is a low-level streamer with upside. His strikeout rate is top-notch, and the Mariners K more than any other offense, so a big strikeout day wouldn’t be a surprise.

Aaron Civale, Milwaukee Brewers @ Oakland Athletics

Civale was the first player traded in Tampa Bay’s talent drain, moving to Milwaukee more than a month before the deadline. He has had success in the National League but also inconsistency, allowing four or five runs in three of seven starts and two or less runs in the other four starts. Over the full season, Civale has both a strikeout rate and walk rate right at league average.

Though he didn’t make the roster, Oakland’s Brent Rooker is having an All-Star-level season. He leads the team in runs scored, hits, home runs, RBI and all four slash categories. Center fielder JJ Bleday is second in most of those categories and first in doubles, triples and walks. Those are two of the very few names of high-level contributors on the team, though, leaving the offense very boom-or-bust.

Civale is a low- to mid-level streamer. He has been a middling starter, and the A’s are a good matchup who also has their share of big games.

Kyle Hendricks, Chicago Cubs @ Miami Marlins

A former Cy Young contender, Hendricks has become a negative WAR pitcher for the first time in his career at 34 years old. This should probably be his last season unless he’s planning on a renaissance at 35. Though he does well limiting walks, Hendricks is well below average striking batters out, and he’s giving up home runs at the highest rate of his career.

Miami doesn’t hit home runs, one positive in Hendricks’ favor. They are one of the least powerful teams in all areas, ranking in the bottom four in doubles, home runs, slugging percentage and OPS. They are a little better with contact, but the Marlins have scored the second-least runs, ahead of only the lowly White Sox (we’ll get to them in a minute).

Hendricks is a low-level streamer. The matchup puts him on the streaming radar, but his level of play gives Hendricks a very low ceiling.

Keider Montero, Detroit Tigers @ Chicago White Sox

And what better place to finish than with the last-place White Sox. When talking with a fellow Chicago fan (in all sports) about how bad the Sox are, he said something like, “So glad I’m a Cubs fan instead of them (the White Sox).” That’s a good way to put it. Who would have thought that just 10 miles could separate some of the best vibes in baseball from the most desperate situation in sports?

Montero has both a strikeout and walk rate just a little lower than average in his first season (59.2 innings). He struck out just over a batter per inning in the minor leagues, so there’s hope for a little better work there. Until then, though, Montero has been a little bit below average.

Montero is a low- to mid-level streamer. His strikeout work is middling, but the matchup is about as good as could be.

Friday’s Streamer Rankings

1. Andrew Abbott, CIN
2. Aaron Civale, MIL
3. Keider Montero, DET
4. Hayden Birdsong, SF
5. Kyle Hendricks, CHC