Saturday's Fantasy Baseball Pitching Streamers: Aaron Civale, Kyle Hendricks and More
Five starting pitchers in action on Saturday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
Welcome to the first weekend in August. We are just five weeks from the first weekend of the NFL season and eight weeks from the final weekend of the MLB season; it's going to be here before we know it. Prepare to wave goodbye to summer.
Let's look at five starting pitchers in action on Saturday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups. Most stats are from MLB.com, as are the probable starters. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.
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Chase Burns, Cincinnati Reds vs. Atlanta Braves
Burns made four starts in July: he struck out seven, 10, 10, and 10 batters in those games while only reaching six innings once. Burns has struck out 45 batters in 27 1/3 innings and holds a K% of 35.7% (versus league average around 22%). That's simply phenomenal, though it's in a small sample and not unexpected given his pedigree. He has been hit a little hard, giving up 30 hits and 22 runs (19 earned, 6.26 ERA), and Burns also has a worse-than-average walk rate, but there's big upside here.
The Braves scored 12 runs in Thursday's series opener, but they were held to just two runs yesterday, and Cincinnati starter Brady Singer (listed here as a streamer) struck out 10 in six scoreless innings. Atlanta is close to the bottom 10 offensively, and Brave hitters are 10th in most batter strikeouts. They're not a great matchup, but they are a good one.
Burns is a mid-level streamer. We have to temper expectations a little given how green he is, but Burns has ace-level upside that flashes now and then. The matchup makes him even more intriguing in this one.
Aaron Civale, Chicago White Sox @ Los Angeles Angels
Kyle Hendricks, Los Angeles Angels vs. Chicago White Sox
Even though the Angels are just 4.5 back in the wild card race while the White Sox are the worst team in the American League, Chicago actually has a better run differential (minus-61 versus minus-69). That says that LA isn't as good as their record (53-57) while the Sox might be better (41-69). That's not to say Chicago is any good; it's more about the Angels not being a real playoff contender.
Civale has been a below-average pitcher all season, first with the Brewers (where he lost his starting job) and then with the White Sox. Civale was upset that he was bumped from Milwaukee's rotation; imagine how much happier the Brewers are with Jacob Misiorowski taking the ball every fifth day than Civale. He has both a walk and strikeout rate worse than average and fits much nicer on the last-place White Sox than the first-place Brewers.
Hendricks has looked a little better this season than last, but he still has a perilously low strikeout rate (15.6%), and he can't stop giving up home runs. Hendricks has allowed one homer every 5.9 innings in 2025, while his career rate is once every 8.4 innings. We're seeing the last gasps of a former Cy Young-contender who is aging out of relevance.
Both Civale and Hendricks are low-level streamers. The matchups are right, but neither pitcher is a guy I trust in my fantasy lineup. Don't go anywhere near this game unless you're desperate to rack up innings as we enter the final third of the season.
Austin Gomber, Colorado Rockies vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
This game is at Coors Field, making it less appealing, but we're a little short on streamers today, so we'll include Gomber. He also pitches against Paul Skenes, lowering his chances of picking up a win. Gomber himself is a below-average pitcher who is having a rough season. He didn't make his debut until June 15 because of injury, and in 38 2/3 innings, he has allowed 54 hits, 27 earned runs (6.28 ERA), and eight home runs. He is good with walks but well below average with strikeouts, limiting his real-life and fantasy value.
The Pirates didn't make many trade deadline moves; part of that is not having many players other teams really want. Pittsburgh has scored the fewest runs in the league and hit the fewest home runs while ranking in the bottom five in doubles. They are also among the top 10 in most batter strikeouts, not leaving much downside for opposing pitchers.
Gomber is a low-level streamer. The matchup is right, which would usually bring him up a half-notch, but his own work just isn't good enough, and the game taking place at Coors Field knocks him down a level.
Max Scherzer, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Kansas City Royals
The Royals made moves to improve at the trade deadline, something the small-market team doesn't always do, even when in position to make a possible playoff run. Mike Yastrzemski was the major offensive addition, hardly an inspired move, but one that upgraded a clear need for Kansas City. They are still mostly the same lineup that ranks in the bottom five in runs, home runs, walks, and on-base percentage.
Scherzer has only thrown 35 innings this year due to injury and has allowed between two and four runs in each of his seven starts. He's doing well with both walks (eight) and strikeouts (39) in his short time, but Scherzer has also given up eight home runs, hurting his run prevention (ERA near 5.00). At this point in his career, Scherzer is more of a middling pitcher than a potential star, but he still has the stuff to find success on any given day and is a worthy streamer.
Scherzer is a low-to-mid-level streamer. I can't really count on him to do anything big, but he did strike out 11 batters his last time out against Detroit, so there's still a little magic left in that arm. Kansas City doesn't strike out, but they are also very unimposing.
Saturday's Streamer Rankings
- Chase Burns, CIN
- Max Scherzer, TOR
- Aaron Civale, CWS
- Kyle Hendricks, LAA
- Austin Gomber, COL
