Just a quick rundown of the weekend picks. Some of you may have already noticed that I had James McDonald slotted in for Saturday on the Trolling sidebar entry.
One note from Friday’s game, if you need an arm and have a roster space with the rash of DL moves late this week, go with Rich Harden. Apart from last year’s meltdown in Texas, he has been Bedardian (who just hit the DL) in that it’s always been about health, not talent. He looked pretty good on Friday going six strong with six strikeouts and most importantly ZERO walks against Arizona. He will be in next week’s Trolling I’m sure because he will still be around in most leagues even after the big start.
For this weekend we have:
SATURDAY:
McDonald (PIT @ WAS) – I have been going with McDonald a lot lately and he hasn’t disappointed and I see no reason not to stick with him against Washington.
Andrew Miller (BOS @ HOU) – He has been usable in his first two games, also against weak offenses, so let’s utilize him against another weak opponent and then see how he fares about better competition. Facing San Diego, Pittsburgh and Houston is not a bad way to ease back into the big leagues. I remain heavily skeptical on him in general, but this feels like a safe spot.
Cory Luebke (SD @ SEA) – Recently added to the rotation, Luebke has put up some great numbers this season, but most of them come out of the bullpen. I wouldn’t expect a 10 K/9 as a starter, but he should still be pretty useful. Seattle is still an offense to pick on so let’s take advantage here.
Doug Fister (SEA v. SD) – Both ends of this game look like nice plays given that the offenses are two of the more inept in baseball. Fister has been really sharp this year and lately he has been going really deep into game. He has gone 7 + innings in eight of nine and 8 innings in five of those. He can’t get any love from fantasy managers despite a strong first half.
SUNDAY:
Gavin Floyd (CHW @ CHC) – It has been a rollercoaster ride with Floyd this year, but let’s see if he can string two nice starts together after seven strong in Colorado earlier this week. I wish he was striking out a few more (6.1 K/9 in 101 IP), but the 2.6 K/BB is impressive and this is a guy who can get on a run for weeks at a time. He could be a pivotal arm down the stretch not only for the White Sox, but for your fantasy team.
Freddy Garcia (NYY @ NYM) – I wouldn’t bet on Garcia keeping that 3.28 ERA all year at all, but he can hang on in this venue against this offense. If you are in a league where you own him, you might want to look to flip him as soon as possible. Admittedly, you’re not going to fetch a mint, but that’s OK because regression is going to be a bitch and if you can get something of consequence to get out from under that risk, it will be a net win by October.
Baseball By Paul 
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