Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Cy Yu

Sad and fairly surprising news out of Chicago this week where Kerry Wood faced one batter Friday, striking out Dayan Viciedo, and then walked off into the sunset. Wood has an 8.64 ERA and has battled shoulder injuries this year, and, well, in several other years. Personally, I will never forget that 20-strikeout performance Wood had his rookie year. No, he never quite lived up to the hype, but despite the injuries, it was a pretty solid career for an apparently nice guy. That all said, I hate the guy because I am older and I have not earned more than $70 million doing what I do.

For the week May 21-27.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Start 'Em

1. Roy Halladay - WAS, @STL
2. Gio Gonzalez - @PHI, @ATL
3. Clayton Kershaw - HOU
4. Cole Hamels - WAS
5. Cliff Lee - @STL
6. Jordan Zimmermann - @PHI
7. Matt Cain - @MIL, @MIA
8. Stephen Strasburg - @ATL
9. Matt Garza - @HOU, @PIT
10. Madison Bumgarner - @MIL, @MIA
11. Brandon Beachy - @CIN, WAS
12. Johan Santana - @PIT, SD
13. Chris Capuano - @ARI, HOU
14. Lance Lynn - SD
15. Mark Buehrle - COL, SF
16. Ian Kennedy - MIL
17. Tim Lincecum - @MIA
18. Chad Billingsley - HOU
19. Tommy Hanson - @CIN
20. Zack Greinke - @ARI
21. R.A. Dickey - @PIT, SD
22. Josh Johnson - SF
23. Jaime Garcia - SD, PHI
24. Ryan Dempster - @PIT
25. Wandy Rodriguez - CHC
26. Erik Bedard - NYM, CHC
27. Anibal Sanchez - SF
28. Mat Latos - ATL, COL
29. Jon Niese - @PIT
30. James McDonald - NYM
31. Kyle Lohse - PHI
32. Edwin Jackson - @PHI
33. Ricky Nolasco - COL, SF
34. Carlos Zambrano - COL
35. Johnny Cueto - COL
36. Shaun Marcum - SF
37. A.J. Burnett - CHC
38. Ted Lilly - @ARI
39. Joe Blanton - @STL
40. Ross Detwiler - @ATL
41. Bud Norris - CHC, @LAD
42. Yovani Gallardo - @ARI
43. Jeff Samardzija - @HOU
44. Christian Friedrich - @CIN
45. Adam Wainwright - SD, PHI
46. Tim Hudson - WAS
47. Bronson Arroyo - ATL
48. Jake Westbrook - PHI
49. Aaron Harang - @ARI
50. Dan Hudson - MIL
51. Wade Miley - MIL
52. Anthony Bass - @NYM
53. Ryan Vogelsong - @MIA
54. Paul Maholm - @PIT
55. Tim Stauffer - @NYM

Borderline Depending on League Format

56. Edinson Volquez - @STL, @NYM
57. Barry Zito - @MIL
58. Trevor Cahill - LAD
59. Juan Nicasio - @MIA
60. Mike Minor - @CIN, WAS
61. Homer Bailey - ATL
62. Marco Estrada - SF
63. Jordan Lyles - @LAD
64. Randall Delgado - @CIN
65. Joe Saunders - LAD
66. J.A. Happ - CHC
67. Clayton Richard - @STL, @NYM
68. Randy Wolf - SF, @ARI
69. Kevin Correia - CHC

Extreme Caution Advised

70. Mike Leake - ATL, COL
71. Jeff Suppan - @STL
72. Charlie Morton - NYM
73. Alex White - @MIA
74. Kyle Kendrick - WAS, @STL
75. Jamie Moyer - @MIA, @CIN
76. Dillon Gee - SD
77. Miguel Batista - SD
78. Lucas Harrell - @LAD
79. Jeremy Guthrie - @CIN
80. Patrick Corbin - LAD
81. Chris Volstad - @HOU (check status)

Notes: Dan Hudson is set to return from a shoulder injury that has forced him to miss the last month. Hudson should start either Saturday or Sunday at home against the Brewers, presumably bumping Patrick Corbin back to the minor leagues. Wade Miley has a 2.52 ERA, so we'll assume he sticks around. ... Jorge De La Rosa (Tommy John) looks about ready to return. Expect his name on the rankings next week, with Alex White likely bumped to the bullpen or Triple-A. ... Mat Latos remains an enigma. I know the GAB is a tough place to pitch relative to Petco Park, but he also allowed eight runs in St. Louis this year and three in just five innings last time out in New York. He'll be fine, but a guy with his stuff shouldn't be allowing more hits than innings pitched. ... If only the Pirates could find some hitters. Their relievers have a 2.56 ERA (third among the 30 teams) and their starters rank 12th at a respectable 3.78 clip. With a 2.68 ERA and 50:16 K:BB in 50.1 innings, James McDonald has been the best of the bunch. ... With R.A. Dickey's success, I'm left wondering why more pitchers don't take up the knuckleball. Yes, this means you Kansas City starters. ... Gio Gonzalez entered 2012 with a career BB/9IP of 4.4. This year he's cut that to a more reasonable 3.5 and the results has been a 2.22 ERA. ... It's time for the Reds to stretch out Aroldis Chapman and have him replace Mike Leake in the rotation. Chapman is simply being wasted in a setup role. ... Yovani Gallardo has 45 strikeouts in 44.2 innings, but otherwise he's been pretty disappointing.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Start 'Em

1. Yu Darvish - @SEA, TOR
2. Felix Hernandez - TEX, LAA
3. CC Sabathia - @OAK
4. Justin Verlander - @CLE
5. Jered Weaver - @OAK
6. Jeremy Hellickson - TOR, @BOS
7. C.J. Wilson - @OAK, @SEA
8. James Shields - TOR
9. Dan Haren - @SEA
10. David Price - @BOS
11. Ricky Romero - @TB
12. Chris Sale - MIN
13. Jon Lester - TB
14. Jake Peavy - CLE
15. Gavin Floyd - MIN, CLE
16. Derek Lowe - @CHW
17. Drew Smyly - @MIN
18. Hiroki Kuroda - KC, @OAK
19. Neftali Feliz - @SEA
20. Brandon Morrow - @TEX
21. Doug Fister - @CLE
22. Colby Lewis - TOR
23. Josh Beckett - TB
24. Matt Moore - TOR
25. Ervin Santana - @SEA
26. Bartolo Colon - NYY
27. Derek Holland - TOR
28. Jason Vargas - LAA
29. Wei-Yin Chen - KC
30. Dan Bard - @BAL
31. Brandon McCarthy - LAA
32. Jarrod Parker - LAA
33. Rick Porcello - @CLE, @MIN
34. Jerome Williams - @OAK, @SEA
35. Felix Doubront - @BAL
36. Ivan Nova - @OAK
37. Max Scherzer - @MIN
38. Matt Harrison - @SEA
39. Tom Milone - LAA, NYY

Borderline Depending on League Format

40. Felipe Paulino - @NYY, @BAL
41. Andy Pettitte - KC
42. Phil Hughes - KC
43. Philip Humber - MIN
44. John Danks - CLE
45. Scott Diamond - @CHW
46. Ubaldo Jimenez - DET, @CHW
47. Justin Masterson - DET
48. Jason Hammel - KC
49. Henderson Alvarez - @TEX
50. Drew Hutchison - @TB
51. Bruce Chen - @BAL
52. Jeanmar Gomez - @CHW
53. Alex Cobb - @BOS
54. Clay Buchholz - @BAL, TB

Extreme Caution Advised

55. Kyle Drabek - @TB, @TEX
56. Luis Mendoza - @NYY
57. Jake Arrieta - BOS
58. Hector Noesi - TEX, LAA
59. Blake Beavan - LAA
60. Tommy Hunter - BOS, KC
61. Carl Pavano - @CHW
62. Brian Matusz - BOS
63. Kevin Millwood - TEX
64. Zach McAllister - DET
65. Luke Hochevar - @NYY
66. Everett Teaford - @BAL
67. P.J. Walters - @CHW, DET (check status)
68. Liam Hendriks - DET
69. Jason Marquis - DET
70. Tyson Ross – NYY

Notes: Josh Tomlin is dealing with a wrist injury, so although he could potentially return late this week, that's very much up in the air. We'll leave him out of the rankings. ... Alex Cobb got the call over Chris Archer to replace Jeff Niemann (leg) in the Rays rotation. Cobb has a 1.50 WHIP for Triple-A Durham, but he also has a solid 9.6 K/9, so grab him in AL-only leagues. ... Roy Oswalt reportedly threw for the Red Sox and Phillies over the weekend. He's more of a need for Boston, but I think he'll opt to stay in the NL unless the Red Sox offer is substantially better. ... Amazing that Derek Lowe goes to the tougher league and now leads the AL in ERA (2.05) and is tied in wins with six. Even more amazing that he's going this with a 13:17 K:BB. ... Yu Darvish has to be the AL Cy Young favorite right? He's third in strikeouts with 58, tied for first in wins (voters still like wins) with six and sixth in ERA at 2.60. ... Ubaldo Jimenez and Kyle Drabek have combined to walk 60 hitters through May 17. There are three teams' entire rotations with fewer than 60 walks – Nationals, Phillies and Tigers. ... It's tough to discern the Royals' No. 1 starter from the No. 5 guy. Paging Jake Odorizzi. ... Hiroki Kuroda has been touched for nine homers in 48 innings. Welcome to the AL East Hiroki-san. ... What a mess there in Minnesota, who apparently will go with a rotation of Carl Pavano (the ace!), Scott Diamond (pretty good so far actually), Liam Hendriks, P.J. Walters and Jason Marquis. Ouch.

MIXED LEAGUE TOP 100

1. Yu Darvish - @SEA, TOR
2. Roy Halladay - WAS, @STL
3. Felix Hernandez - TEX, LAA
4. Gio Gonzalez - @PHI, @ATL
5. Clayton Kershaw - HOU
6. Cole Hamels - WAS
7. CC Sabathia - @OAK
8. Justin Verlander - @CLE
9. Cliff Lee - @STL
10. Jered Weaver - @OAK
11. Jordan Zimmermann - @PHI
12. Matt Cain - @MIL, @MIA
13. Stephen Strasburg - @ATL
14. Matt Garza - @HOU, @PIT
15. Madison Bumgarner - @MIL, @MIA
16. Jeremy Hellickson - TOR, @BOS
17. Brandon Beachy - @CIN, WAS
18. C.J. Wilson - @OAK, @SEA
19. Johan Santana - @PIT, SD
20. Chris Capuano - @ARI, HOU
21. James Shields - TOR
22. Lance Lynn - SD
23. Dan Haren - @SEA
24. Mark Buehrle - COL, SF
25. Ian Kennedy - MIL
26. Tim Lincecum - @MIA
27. Chad Billingsley - HOU
28. David Price - @BOS
29. Tommy Hanson - @CIN
30. Ricky Romero - @TB
31. Chris Sale - MIN
32. Zack Greinke - @ARI
33. Jon Lester - TB
34. Jake Peavy - CLE
35. Gavin Floyd - MIN, CLE
36. Derek Lowe - @CHW
37. R.A. Dickey - @PIT, SD
38. Josh Johnson - SF
39. Drew Smyly - @MIN
40. Hiroki Kuroda - KC, @OAK
41. Jaime Garcia - SD, PHI
42. Neftali Feliz - @SEA
43. Ryan Dempster - @PIT
44. Brandon Morrow - @TEX
45. Wandy Rodriguez - CHC
46. Erik Bedard - NYM, CHC
47. Anibal Sanchez - SF
48. Mat Latos - ATL, COL
49. Jon Niese - @PIT
50. James McDonald - NYM
51. Kyle Lohse - PHI
52. Edwin Jackson - @PHI
53. Ricky Nolasco - COL, SF
54. Carlos Zambrano - COL
55. Johnny Cueto - COL
56. Doug Fister - @CLE
57. Shaun Marcum - SF
58. A.J. Burnett - CHC
59. Ted Lilly - @ARI
60. Colby Lewis - TOR
61. Josh Beckett - TB
62. Matt Moore - TOR
63. Ervin Santana - @SEA
64. Joe Blanton - @STL
65. Ross Detwiler - @ATL
66. Bartolo Colon - NYY
67. Derek Holland - TOR
68. Jason Vargas - LAA
69. Wei-Yin Chen - KC
70. Dan Bard - @BAL
71. Brandon McCarthy - LAA
72. Jarrod Parker - LAA
73. Rick Porcello - @CLE, @MIN
74. Jerome Williams - @OAK, @SEA
75. Bud Norris - CHC, @LAD
76. Felix Doubront - @BAL
77. Yovani Gallardo - @ARI
78. Jeff Samardzija - @HOU
79. Ivan Nova - @OAK
80. Max Scherzer - @MIN
81. Christian Friedrich - @CIN
82. Matt Harrison - @SEA
83. Adam Wainwright - SD, PHI
84. Tom Milone - LAA, NYY
85. Tim Hudson - WAS
86. Bronson Arroyo - ATL
87. Jake Westbrook - PHI
88. Aaron Harang - @ARI
89. Dan Hudson - MIL
90. Wade Miley - MIL
91. Anthony Bass - @NYM
92. Ryan Vogelsong - @MIA
93. Paul Maholm - @PIT
94. Tim Stauffer - @NYM
95. Felipe Paulino - @NYY, @BAL
96. Andy Pettitte - KC
97. Phil Hughes - KC
98. Philip Humber - MIN
99. John Danks - CLE
100. Scott Diamond - @CHW

Regan, a five-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association award winner, was named the 2010 Fantasy Baseball Writer of the Year.

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