Monday's MLB slate is the kind of card that makes fantasy guys tear their hair out. Seven games, most of the horses resting, and you are out there scrolling through the waiver wire hoping to find somebody who will not blow up your WHIP before Tuesday. I have been doing this long enough to know the feeling. You are squinting at the back end of somebody's rotation trying to talk yourself into a guy.

ESPN's daily fantasy rankings like Brandon Pfaadt, and I can see why. The Diamondbacks right-hander has been on a nice little run here, and on a slate this thin, nice and steady gets the job done. He is not walking out there and throwing a two-hit shutout. But he will keep you in the fight, and that is what streaming is. You are not looking for aces. You are looking to survive.

What I like about Pfaadt is the strikeout stuff without the landmines you usually step on with streamers. He misses bats. He goes after hitters. And the Arizona offense has been giving their guys enough breathing room to work with. On a Monday card like this one that is plenty.

The trade deadline is behind us now and the rosters are taking their post-deadline shape. I said earlier this week that you want to be careful with teams that made the splashy moves. It takes time for new pieces to settle in. Same goes for your fantasy rotation. A pitcher who just got traded is working with a new catcher, a new ballpark, all the little things that go into changing leagues in the middle of summer. Give a guy a start or two before you run him out there.

Monday cards like this one are where you earn your keep. Anybody can plug in Gerrit Cole and call it a day. Finding the right streamer, that takes work and a willingness to get into the numbers a little bit. Reminds me of those Sunday Night Baseball games where you are sitting there in the late innings needing one decent frame to salvage your week. The right arm on the mound makes all the difference.

If Pfaadt is already scooped up in your league, do not sweat it. The pickings are thin but they are not bare. Look at the matchups, find a pitcher going up against a cold lineup, and take a chance on a guy making a home start. Sometimes the best move you can make is the one nobody else in your league is thinking about.

And if the whole thing blows up on you anyway, well, that is fantasy baseball. There is always Tuesday. You spend six months doing this and it still comes down to a Monday night in August with a thin card and a prayer. I would not trade it for anything.