Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Cameron and Arrighetti Stand Out on Thursday

It's a short day on the MLB schedule today, as we have only seven games on the docket. That means more than half the league is off, leaving top fantasy players scarce. It also leaves us with fewer streaming options, but those streamers who are available are even more important when owners need to fill lineup holes, especially late in the season.

Let's look at four starting pitchers in action on Thursday who have good matchups and are widely available in fantasy leagues. Most stats are from MLB.com, as are the probable starters. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.

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Spencer Arrighetti, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Kansas City Royals

Noah Cameron, Kansas City Royals @ Toronto Blue Jays

We'll start today with a game in which we can target both teams with streamers. Both the Blue Jays and Royals have been among our best targets for stretches this season, and though neither is a top team to go after currently, they are both below-average offenses that we can feel good attacking.

Toronto has done a decent job getting base hits, but they have shown no power all season. They ranked last in the league in runs heading into Wednesday, and they also ranked in the bottom five in home runs, walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. Kansas City is very high in doubles but otherwise tops out in the middle in any area. They are in the bottom 10 (or very close to it) in runs, home runs, walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. Neither team strikes out much, but they also show a serious lack of pop, leading to fewer runs than needed to be successful.

Arrighetti was with Houston his whole career until Toronto acquired him at the trade deadline while he was on the IL with a foot injury. He was activated and made his debut with the Blue Jays last Friday, taking over as the de facto starter after an opener got the first two outs. Arrighetti is generally an above-average strikeout pitcher who does well limiting hits and home runs, but he has real control issues that help lead to giving up a few too many runs. He has been fine, but when the walks add up, Arrighetti has some rough outings.

Cameron is owned in over 50% of fantasy leagues and is more of a fringe streamer, but there's enough availability to make it worth checking to see if you can pick him up, especially with the schedule so short today. He is good with walks and just a hair lower than average with strikeouts but close enough to the middle, especially as a starter. Cameron is on a hot streak: two starts ago against the Angels, he threw a one-hit shutout with eight strikeouts and one walk, and last time out, he went five scoreless innings while allowing just two hits to go with three walks and two strikeouts. There's a lot to like about the 27-year-old pitcher.

Arrighetti is a low-to-mid-level streamer and Cameron a mid-level streamer today. The matchups are more good than great, but Cameron has been very good over the past month and is a real asset. Arrighetti has shown some upside but also struggles with control, and fresh off the IL with a new team, there is some risk involved.

Jose Cabrera, Arizona Diamondbacks @ San Francisco Giants

San Francisco's Oracle Park plays as a major pitcher's park, quelling offense more than most stadiums in the league. The Giants rate as a middling offensive team overall, but when looking just at games a team plays in their home park, San Fran is in the bottom 10 (or very close to it) in essentially every box stat. They don't strike out a lot, but the Giants have drawn the fewest walks in the league, offsetting that a bit (though the ceiling isn't very high for opposing pitchers.

Just 24 years old, Cabrera made his big league debut this season, making four starts between late June and early July. The first outing went well: five shutout innings against the Twins with three hits, no walks, and three strikeouts. The next three weren't so good, though, as Cabrera combined for 12 2/3 innings with 17 hits, 11 runs, three homers, seven walks, and nine strikeouts. Cabrera was just OK in the minor leagues, so we can't expect anything too big, but he's set up to possibly have a decent outing here.

Cabrera is a low-level streamer. He hasn't really shown us anything in his short time, and the matchup is middling on a short day. Cabrera is a guy to skip outside of the deepest leagues.

Jake Irvin, Washington Nationals vs. Colorado Rockies

Irvin has been average with strikeouts and just a hair higher than average with walks, but the real issues come when batters make contact. He is allowing a home run every 5.5 innings, worse than average and right in line with his career rate. Irvin has given up 54 runs (49 earned) in 77 1/3 innings, giving him a 5.70 ERA, the same mark he finished with last season in 180 innings. There's plenty of risk in trusting him in your fantasy lineup.

Colorado is better offensively when playing at home; that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, as Coors Field is one of the best offensive parks in all of baseball. When looking at just their stats in away games, though, the Rockies are very middling across the board. They don't present a great matchup like in years past, when they were maybe the worst offense in baseball, but Colorado also isn't a team to fear when they play outside of Denver. They are a fine target on such a short day on the schedule. They also strike out at a top-10 rate, a nice boost for opposing pitchers.

Irvin is a low-to-mid-level streamer. I want to bump him down even another level, but he does do average strikeout work, and with the Rockies striking out at a decent clip, there's a path to make up for an otherwise middling outing.

Thursday's Streamer Rankings

1. Noah Cameron, KC
2. Spencer Arrighetti, HOU
3. Jake Irvin, WSH
4. Jose Cabrera, ARI