August 12 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Brandon Pfaadt, Ben Lively, Andrew Abbott and More

I talked about the AL West and AL East the last few days, so why not focus on the Central today. The White Sox might have 100 losses before we hit September; uff. Detroit showed some fire early in the season but has fallen about 10 games below .500 now.

The Guardians, Twins and Royals are fighting for the division, though, with all three also in prime position to grab a wild card. There are still 40+ games to go, so a lot can happen before the final stretch. Minnesota swept a double-header on Friday against Cleveland, but the latter struck back to win both Saturday and Sunday, keeping the 3.5-game lead they started the series with.

The winner of this division will likely get the second Wild Card Round bye (along with the AL East champion), so there is something big to play for, even if multiple AL Central teams eventually make the playoffs.

Let’s look at Monday’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.

Davis Daniel, Los Angeles Angels vs. Toronto Blue Jays

Bowden Francis, Toronto Blue Jays @ Los Angeles Angels

It’s not late enough in the season to feel that any games are a waste, but the last two weeks of the year often bring matchups between two teams whose seasons are over, and they are just fulfilling their contracts until the offseason starts. The Blue Jays and Angels are two of those teams, both more than 10 games out of first in their division and double-digit games back in the wild card.

The Angels are a basement team over the rest of the season, without high-level talent or much potential on the roster. It’s more about who can help this team win in three-to-five years, not 2025. Toronto is on the other side: They chose to hang onto Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and others at the trade deadline with an eye on competing for the playoffs next season. The Jays are a good matchup but not at the level of LA.

Daniel has thrown just 25.1 innings this year, hardly walking anyone (four BBs) while holding an average strikeout rate (23 Ks). He has been hit hard, though, giving up 31 hits and holding a 6.04 ERA. We don’t have enough information to really make a call on Daniel yet.

Francis has worked mostly as a reliever, making five starts and 14 appearances out of the bullpen (plus 21 relief outings the past two seasons). He had good numbers last season, but things have gone the other way with a bigger sample size and longer outings. For his career, Francis has better-than-average strikeout and walk rates; that K number has gone down significantly this season to a rate below average, though.

Both Daniel and Francis are low-level streamers. They are each below 100 career innings and have shown flashes but also experienced struggles in their short careers. Francis gets the edge by virtue of the better matchup.

Brandon Pfaadt, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Colorado Rockies

The Rockies are away from Coors Field, so it’s time for the streamers to strike. You know how cockroaches come out in the dark but scatter when the light turns on? Well, viable streamers are like cockroaches in the dark, and Coors Field is like the light, sending them into hiding. Rockies batters hit like a top 10 unit at home and a bottom 10 squad on the road. They also have struck out the second most among all offenses.

Pfaadt is the lucky man at home, filling an important rotation spot for a team who is less than five games back in the division and multiple games up in the wild card race. A surprise trip to the World Series showed what this team is capable of, and even just their vibes from the 2023 playoffs will creep up on some teams if Arizona holds onto their wild card spot.

Pfaadt started one game against Colorado earlier this season; in fact, it was his first start of the year (in Arizona, not at Coors): five innings, one run, six strikeouts, no walks and a win. I don’t expect him to shut out the Rockies again, but another strong outing is a possibility against a weak offensive team.

Pfaadt is a mid- to high-level streamer. Both his walk rate and strikeout rate are average or better, and the matchup is right for a quality start.

Targeting the NL Central

Our last two targets, the Cardinals and Cubs, aren’t bottom offenses, but they are worth going after on a day light for streamers. St. Louis ranks in or the bottom 10 in runs scored, doubles, home runs, slugging percentage and OPS. Chicago is at the same low level in hits, doubles, home runs, batting average, slugging percentage and OPS.

I targeted each of these teams more at points earlier in the season, but they’ve played themselves to a level of competence that I prefer to go after weaker teams on a regular basis. When there’s a shortage of options and we need to expand a little, though, they still have low enough ceilings that we can find useful streamers for a day.

Andrew Abbott, Cincinnati Reds vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Hey, Abbott!! (Yes, I’m going to link that every time Abbott ends up here because it’s hilarious.) Abbott was listed here before his last start on Wednesday against the lowly Marlins. He gave up six runs in five innings to pick up the loss, but at least he added seven strikeouts (with three walks) to soften the blow. He struggled in an earlier start against Miami as well, so maybe it’s just a bad matchup for him.

Things against St. Louis haven’t been much better, as two starts have combined for 11 innings, eight runs allowed, five strikeouts and eight walks. Am I talking myself out of this idea?

Abbott is a low-level streamer. His strikeout rate is too low and walk rate too high, though neither is egregiously worse than league average, and he has performed better in outings against other teams.

Ben Lively, Cleveland Guardians vs. Chicago Cubs

Lively threw just one big league inning between 2019 and 2022, spending time in the minor leagues and playing in Korea during that stretch. Since returning with the Reds in 2023, he has had a good walk rate and a strikeout rate just a hair below average, proving himself a usable pitcher.

After struggling to prevent runs last season, he is doing much better this year, having given up nine less runs despite throwing over 20 more innings. Lively isn’t an ace, but he’s a valuable pitcher on a team fighting for the division.

Lively is a low- to mid-level streamer. His work has been fine, but the matchup is just OK, so it’s best to not expect a big day out of Lively.

Monday’s Streamer Rankings

1. Brandon Pfaadt, ARI
2. Ben Lively, CLE
3. Andrew Abbott, CIN
4. Bowden Francis, TOR
5. Davis Daniel, LAA