Strategic Spot Starting: Weekend Edition

Here we are on Thursday, so let's look at some positive matchups for over the weekend. Kershaw will pitch again, so there's going to be a lot of hype (of course, he isn't a free agent and won't be any time soon). As a side note, the way I do this is by "Watch Listing" marginal pitchers I consider spot start worthy, and checking their opponents. The flaw is that I may miss a pitcher who I don't think of as particularly viable, so if you have such a pitcher in mind, let me know and I'll add him into the data.

Friday: Todd Wellemeyer goes against Pittsburgh, which is always a good matchup and Wellemeyer has been solid against the Pirates this season, though not amazing. Greg Maddux at San Francisco is a great matchup, as he's given up only one run in fourteen innings against the team this year. If neither of the former are available and you really want to start someone, Mike Mussina has great career numbers against Minnesota, and his recent struggles could be corrected against the similarly struggling Twins offense.

Saturday: Literally, I see nothing for this day. Jon Lester is probably owned, and Garrett Olson against Boston can't be counted on for success. Resist any temptations.

Sunday: Darrell Rasner against the Twins is a decent spot start, though I think all of the Yankees will suffer in the wins column without Joba in the bullpen. Paul Byrd has never succeeded against the Royals, and I don't expect that to change. New York's left-hand heavy lineup could give the righty Blackburn trouble, though he's actually done better versus lefties this season (.290 BAA vs. .316 BAA, yes, neither number is in line with his 3.39 ERA because he gives up a ton of singles). Sean Gallagher was great against the Dodgers, but pretty inconsistent so far this year. Still, at home against the injury plagued Rockies is worth a look considering the scarcity of options this weekend.