Friday's Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Aaron Civale, Edward Cabrera and More

It's that time again (and it's a Friday!), so let's look at five starting pitchers in action on Friday 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 @ Pittsburgh Pirates

Before his last start, Burns struck out 10 batters in three straight outings. He had a good first inning last time out (two strikeouts, no base runners), but the game was suspended due to rain, and Burns didn't re-enter the game the next day. Burns has had some struggles, but there have also been big highs, showing the ace-level potential that he holds. His 36.4% strikeout rate is phenomenal.

The Pirates have been on an upward trajectory since the All-Star break. A few batters have been hot during that time: Tommy Pham (who should have been traded) is hitting .353 over the past month, while Nick Gonzales, Bryan Reynolds, Spencer Horwitz, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa (another trade target who should have gone) are all no lower than .267 in that time with no fewer than 75 at-bats. Pittsburgh's season-long numbers are bad, but they have been better recently.

Burns is a mid-level streamer. His strikeout work is super intriguing, but he has been hit around a bit, and the Pirates are on a hot streak that makes them tougher to project success against. Pittsburgh does strike out a lot, something that raises Burns' ceiling.

Edward Cabrera, Miami Marlins @ Atlanta Braves

I was all-in on Miami's starter yesterday, Eury Perez, thinking he could have a big day. It didn't go well. Perez gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings and only struck out one batter. Cabrera is another good strikeout pitcher who is average with walks this season after being well worse than average the past four years. Cabrera is owned in just under 50% of leagues, so he's not as much of a streamer as the other guys on the list today, but there's enough availability to make it worth checking on him.

Atlanta is a fringe target. Rather than a true bottom-10 team, they are on the edge of that group while still sporting a below-average offense. They rank in the bottom 10 (or very close to it) in runs, doubles, strikeouts, batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS. When we don't have a lot of good streamers, Atlanta is worth going after.

Cabrera is a mid-level streamer. This is another guy with an above-average strikeout rate who gives himself a nice ceiling, and Atlanta is right at the bottom of the top 10 in most batter strikeouts, setting up for a decent outlook.

Aaron Civale, Chicago White Sox vs. Cleveland Guardians

Civale started the year on the wrong side of everything, but he has been better since moving to the White Sox (after I bad-mouthed him for asking for a trade after losing his rotation spot in Milwaukee). Civale's walk rate and strikeout rate are both several percentage points worse than his career rates, but he hasn't been hit too hard after starting the season that way. Civale is back closer to average.

The Guardians have had a better run after struggling most of the season. They are 13-6 in the second half, and the offense improved along with the wins. Over the past week, Cleveland has been back down a little, as even though they won five of six games, they averaged just over four runs per game. With a few really good hitters, the Guardians are probably closer to an average team, but their season-long numbers are those of a bottom-10 offense.

Civale is a low-to-mid-level streamer. He has been a little better after a slow start, but the Guardians aren't a great matchup right now, and his lower K rate keeps his ceiling down.

J.T. Ginn, Athletics @ Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore is another team that has struggled over the full season, has been better since the All-Star break, but has again been worse in the past week. In their past six games, the Orioles are 2-4 and scored just 2.5 runs per game. That was against two good teams in the Cubs and Phillies, but it is better than coming off a strong week for our purposes here.

Ginn has fewer than 100 career innings, but in that time, he has been better than average with walks and average with strikeouts. He was only average (or maybe a hair worse) with Ks in the minors, so there's a chance he could fall back in that area when he gets more time under his belt. He has been OK with limiting hits and runs, but Ginn has been a little home run prone, giving one up every 5.9 innings.

Ginn is a low-to-mid-level streamer. The matchup is good but not great, and we could say the same about Ginn in his short career. Pitching away from the A's current home park in Sacramento will be good for his numbers.

Jake Irvin, Washington Nationals @ San Francisco Giants

San Francisco is a playoff contender on the brink. They are one game above .500, eight back in the division race, and five back in the wild card. There's still plenty of time to make their move with close to 50 games left, but they have clear bottom-10 offensive numbers and have held that same low level over the past month (we'll stick with that timeframe since it's the theme of the day and because I looked at the worst offensive teams yesterday).

Irvin is average with walks, but his K% is way down this year, sitting at 15.7% (against his career rate of 18.5% and league average around 22.5%). He has also been susceptible to the long ball, giving up a home run every 5.4 innings, a worse-than-average rate. His career number is once every six innings, which still isn't good but is closer to average. Irvin settles in as a below-average starter, the type of guy we see on our streaming list often.

Irvin is another low-to-mid-level streamer. He doesn't have much of a ceiling because of his low strikeout rate, and while the matchup is good, the Giants draw a lot of walks and only strike out at an average rate.

Friday's Streamer Rankings

1. Chase Burns, CIN
2. Edward Cabrera, MIA
3. J.T. Ginn, ATH
4. Aaron Civale, CWS
5. Jake Irvin, WSH