August 6 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: MacKenzie Gore, Hayden Birdsong, Keider Montero and More
Tuesday's probable starters who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
Almost a full week into August, nothing has taken much shape. Every division could have a new leader within one week if things broke right, and only the Orioles/Yankees are more than half a game up in the wild card race. We won’t know how good the final races might be for another month, though. With so many games left to play, a lot will change when we hit this same point in September.
Let’s look at Tuesday’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.
Jonathan Cannon, Chicago White Sox @ Oakland Athletics
Ross Stripling, Oakland Athletics vs. Chicago White Sox
*The first section on Jonathan Cannon appeared in yesterday's article. He was originally slated to start on Monday before being bumped to Tuesday.
Cannon is just 70 innings into his career (all this season), doing well limiting walks (18) but also well below average in striking batters out (46). There have been good starts and bad: an 8.2-inning scoreless outing was followed by Cannon allowing eight runs (five earned) in one inning.
Stripling has a similar profile, holding a great walk rate but also a strikeout percentage close to half the league average. He missed a long stretch from the end of May to the end of July, so the sample is smaller than pitchers who have been healthy, but Stripling’s K rate has been declining for several years.
These are two of the worst offenses in the league. I mentioned yesterday that they have two of the worst pitching staffs also, so there’s not a lot of immediate hope for either franchise. It will be a long final stretch.
Both Cannon and Stripling are low-level streamers. The matchups are good, but both pitchers leave a lot to be desired, especially in the strikeout department.
Keider Montero, Detroit Tigers @ Seattle Mariners
Montero hasn’t had a smooth first season in the big leagues. He’s given up 30 earned runs and 48 hits in 43.2 innings, and while he has a good walk rate, his strikeout rate is well below average (18.3% vs the league average around 21-22%). Montero has allowed four or more runs in six of his eight appearances.
Deadline acquisitions Randy Arozarena and Justin Turner have started well enough for Seattle (.290 and .278 batting averages in 31 and 18 at-bats, respectively), but it’s going to take a lot of internal growth for this to be even an average offense over the final two months. Seattle is near the bottom of the league in many offensive stats, and Mariner hitters have struck out 50 more times than any other team.
Montero is a low-level streamer. The matchup is the only reason he makes the list, but Seattle does hit for power, so things could turn sideways for the young pitcher.
Hayden Birdsong, San Francisco Giants @ Washington Nationals
MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals vs. San Francisco Giants
These last two aren’t great matchups. The Giants are near the middle of the league in most offensive box stats without a true weakness. Washington is close to a league-average offense, but they don’t hit for power at all, ranking last in home runs, 26th in slugging percentage and 24th in OPS.
This is more about the pitchers, both of whom have experienced levels of success. Birdsong has just 30.1 innings under his belt, and he has walked too many (15) but has been phenomenal with strikeouts (38). The Nats don’t strike out much, but again, they don’t hit for any power, making this a better matchup.
Gore has honed in his walks to just a hair worse than league average, but he more than makes up for it with strikeouts, holding a K rate over 24.5% both this season and in his career. There’s still inconsistency for the young pitcher (25 years old), but he would be a fantasy keeper on a good team.
Birdsong and Gore are both mid-level streamers with upside. Their strikeout work gives each the chance at a big game any time out, and the matchups are OK on a light streamer day.
Tuesday’s Streamer Rankings
- MacKenzie Gore, WSH
- Hayden Birdsong, SF
- Keider Montero, DET
- Jonathan Cannon, CWS
- Ross Stripling, OAK
