Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Think Blue

For the week July 23-29

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Start 'Em

1. Clayton Kershaw - @STL, @SF
2. Jordan Zimmermann - @NYM, @MIL
3. R.A. Dickey - WAS, @ARI
4. Stephen Strasburg - @NYM
5. Roy Halladay - MIL, @ATL
6. Gio Gonzalez - @NYM, @MIL
7. Mat Latos - @HOU, @COL
8. Cole Hamels - @ATL
9. Matt Cain - LAD
10. Jeff Samardzija - @PIT, STL
11. Ryan Dempster - @PIT (tentative pending possible trade)
12. Yovani Gallardo - WAS
13. Ryan Vogelsong - SD, LAD
14. Josh Johnson - ATL, SD
15. Johnny Cueto - @COL
16. Madison Bumgarner - SD
17. Ian Kennedy - COL, NYM
18. Cliff Lee - MIL
19. Zack Greinke - @PHI, WAS (check status)
20. Adam Wainwright - LAD, @CHC
21. Tommy Hanson - @MIA
22. Anibal Sanchez - SD
23. Matt Garza - STL
24. James McDonald - CHC, @HOU (favorable matchups, should get back on track)
25. Jon Niese - @ARI
26. A.J. Burnett - @HOU
27. Lance Lynn - @CHC
28. Kyle Lohse - LAD
29. Chris Capuano - @STL
30. Edinson Volquez - @SF
31. Homer Bailey - @HOU
32. Paul Maholm - @PIT
33. Bronson Arroyo - @COL
34. Tim Hudson - @MIA
35. Vance Worley - MIL
36. Edwin Jackson - @MIL
37. Clayton Richard - @SF, @MIA
38. Joe Kelly - LAD, @CHC
39. Wade Miley - NYM
40. Joe Blanton - @ATL
41. Mike Leake - @HOU
42. Wandy Rodriguez - CIN, PIT
43. Jeff Karstens - @HOU
44. Johan Santana – WAS (struggling)
45. Jake Westbrook - LAD
46. Tim Lincecum - SD
47. Bud Norris - CIN
48. Marco Estrada - @PHI
49. Mark Buehrle - ATL
50. Trevor Cahill - COL
51. Ben Sheets - PHI

Borderline Depending on League Format

52. Carlos Zambrano - SD
53. Michael Fiers - WAS
54. Barry Zito - LAD
55. Drew Pomeranz - @ARI
56. Joe Saunders - COL, NYM
57. Ricky Nolasco - ATL
58. Erik Bedard - CHC, @HOU
59. Stephen Fife - @STL, @SF (or will Ryan Dempster be pushing Fife to Triple-A?)
60. Chris Young - WAS, @ARI
61. Ross Detwiler - @MIL
62. Travis Wood - STL
63. Lucas Harrell - CIN, PIT
64. Nathan Eovaldi - @SF
65. Aaron Harang - @STL
66. Mike Minor - @MIA, PHI
67. Randy Wolf - @PHI, WAS

Extreme Caution Advised

68. Jair Jurrjens - PHI
69. Josh Collmenter - NYM
70. Kevin Correia - CHC
71. Jordan Lyles - PIT
72. Jeff Francis - @ARI
73. Jason Marquis - @SF
74. Miguel Batista - @ARI
75. HOU TBD - PIT
76. COL TBD - CIN
77. Jeremy Guthrie - @ARI, CIN
78. Christian Friedrich - CIN
79. Ross Ohlendorf - @MIA
80. Kip Wells - @MIA

Notes: It's concerning to see the Brewers having to push Zack Greinke's start back. We'll see how he does this week, but this could mean he stays put in Milwaukee for the rest of the year. ... Sure, it was the Astros, but Edinson Volquez looked really good Thursday in his near no-hitter. He could be a sneaky play in 12-team mixed leagues the rest of the way. ... Stephen Strasburg has 55 more innings before he hits 160, though it's sounding more and more like there's some flexibility in that number. ... Mike Minor has five wins and a 5.60 ERA. Ryan Dempster has the same number of wins and a 1.86 ERA. Yes, people still think pitcher wins have meaning. ... Jeff Samardzija had a hiccup in June, but he has a 2.37 ERA in three July starts and his stuff just looks very, very good. ... James McDonald has a 4.94 ERA in four July starts, so perhaps he's a bit fatigued after a great first half. ... Jordan Zimmermann, on the other hand, has allowed just two runs in four starts this month for a 0.72 ERA. He's going to need to be the ace when/if Strasburg is shut down. ... Marco Estrada has been striking out batters in bunches, but 12 homers in 56.2 innings has killed him. If he can correct that... ... Lance Lynn allowed 17 runs in his final three June starts, but July has been a different story with one run and a 17:2 K:BB in 13 innings.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Start 'Em

1. Felix Hernandez - NYY, KC
2. Justin Verlander - @CLE
3. Jered Weaver - KC
4. David Price - @BAL
5. CC Sabathia - BOS
6. James Shields - @BAL
7. Chris Sale - @TEX
8. Hiroki Kuroda - @SEA, BOS
9. Doug Fister - @CLE, @TOR
10. Francisco Liriano - @CHW, CLE
11. Phil Hughes - BOS
12. Max Scherzer - @CLE
13. C.J. Wilson - KC, TB
14. Derek Holland - BOS
15. Roy Oswalt - BOS, CHW
16. Ivan Nova - @SEA
17. Jeremy Hellickson - @BAL, @LAA
18. Jarrod Parker - @BAL
19. Wei-Yin Chen - TB, OAK
20. Bartolo Colon - @BAL
21. Matt Harrison - CHW
22. Jake Peavy - @TEX
23. Jason Vargas - KC
24. Yu Darvish - CHW
25. Tom Milone - @TOR
26. Matt Moore - @LAA
27. Clay Buchholz - @TEX
28. Jon Lester - @NYY
29. Jose Quintana - MIN
30. Scott Diamond - CLE
31. Dan Haren - TB
32. A.J. Griffin - @TOR
33. Colby Lewis - BOS
34. Josh Beckett - @TEX
35. Ervin Santana - TB
36. Travis Blackley - @TOR, @BAL
37. Alex Cobb - @LAA

Borderline Depending on League Format

38. Brett Cecil - OAK, DET
39. Josh Tomlin - @MIN
40. Miguel Gonzalez - TB
41. Derek Lowe - DET
42. Zach Britton - OAK
43. Justin Masterson - BAL, @MIN
44. Ubaldo Jimenez - BAL, @MIN
45. Jacob Turner - @TOR
46. Kevin Millwood - NYY, KC
47. Ricky Romero - OAK
48. Jerome Williams - KC
49. Blake Beavan - KC
50. Felix Doubront - @TEX, @NYY
51. Rick Porcello - @TOR
52. Cole DeVries - @CHW
53. Bruce Chen - @LAA, @SEA
54. Tommy Hunter - @CLE, OAK
55. Henderson Alvarez - DET

Extreme Caution Advised

56. Phil Humber - MIN
57. Luke Hochevar - @LAA
58. Hisashi Iwakuma - NYY
59. Freddy Garcia - @SEA
60. Chris Tillman - TB
61. Luis Mendoza - @SEA
62. Nick Blackburn - @CHW
63. Zach McAllister - DET
64. Everett Teaford - @SEA
65. Sam Deduno - CLE
66. Aaron Cook - @NYY
67. Aaron Laffey - OAK
68. Carlos Villanueva - DET
69. CHW TBD - MIN, @TEX
70. Jeremy Guthrie - @LAA, @SEA

Notes: That's now two excellent starts for Clay Buchholz since returning from the DL. It's just too bad we can't rely on him for any sort of consistency. ... It sounds like Brandon McCarthy could return as early as this week from his latest shoulder injury. Do they do shoulder transplants now? ... Despite his inconsistency, Max Scherzer ranks third in the AL with 134 strikeouts. One of these years he'll put it all together. ... Francisco Liriano has notched back-to-back double-digit strikeout games and appears to be pitching as well as ever. ... I thought he was turning things around, but Ubaldo Jimenez has walked at least four batters in five of his last six starts. Guess it's not all that easy to throw strikes. ... Colby Lewis was removed from his last start after five innings due to tightness in his forearm. That's worth monitoring over the weekend. ... Jeremy Guthrie sadly might be an upgrade to the Royals' rotation. I'm guessing he replaces Will Smith this week. ... J.A. Happ will initially pitch out of the bullpen in Toronto, but he could certainly replace the likes of Aaron Laffey at any moment. ... Felix Doubront has 99 strikeouts in 102 innings. I watch more NL than AL ball and had no conscious idea he was missing that many bats. ... As of Thursday's games, no AL East starter had more strikeouts in July than Wei-Yin Chen's 24. He's been really the only steady hand in that Baltimore rotation. ... C.J. Wilson leads the AL with 15 quality starts, but he's been off with his control lately (4.6 BB/9 in his last seven starts).

MIXED LEAGUE TOP 100

1. Clayton Kershaw - @STL, @SF
2. Felix Hernandez - NYY, KC
3. Jordan Zimmermann - @NYM, @MIL
4. R.A. Dickey - WAS, @ARI
5. Justin Verlander - @CLE
6. Stephen Strasburg - @NYM
7. Roy Halladay - MIL, @ATL
8. Jered Weaver - KC
9. James Shields - @BAL
10. CC Sabathia - BOS
11. Chris Sale - @TEX
12. David Price - @BAL
13. Gio Gonzalez - @NYM, @MIL
14. Mat Latos - @HOU, @COL
15. Cole Hamels - @ATL
16. Matt Cain - LAD
17. Jeff Samardzija - @PIT, STL
18. Ryan Dempster - @PIT (tentative pending possible trade)
19. Yovani Gallardo - WAS
20. Ryan Vogelsong - SD, LAD
21. Hiroki Kuroda - @SEA, BOS
22. Josh Johnson - ATL, SD
23. Doug Fister - @CLE, @TOR
24. Francisco Liriano - @CHW, CLE
25. Johnny Cueto - @COL
26. Madison Bumgarner - SD
27. Ian Kennedy - COL, NYM
28. Cliff Lee - MIL
29. Zack Greinke - @PHI, WAS (check status)
30. Adam Wainwright - LAD, @CHC
31. Tommy Hanson - @MIA
32. Phil Hughes - BOS
33. Max Scherzer - @CLE
34. Anibal Sanchez - SD
35. C.J. Wilson - KC, TB
36. Matt Garza - STL
37. James McDonald - CHC, @HOU (favorable matchups, should get back on track)
38. Derek Holland - BOS
39. Roy Oswalt - BOS, CHW
40. Ivan Nova - @SEA
41. Jeremy Hellickson - @BAL, @LAA
42. Jon Niese - @ARI
43. A.J. Burnett - @HOU
44. Lance Lynn - @CHC
45. Jarrod Parker - @BAL
46. Wei-Yin Chen - TB, OAK
47. Kyle Lohse - LAD
48. Chris Capuano - @STL
49. Edinson Volquez - @SF
50. Homer Bailey - @HOU
51. Paul Maholm - @PIT
52. Bronson Arroyo - @COL
53. Tim Hudson - @MIA
54. Bartolo Colon - @BAL
55. Vance Worley - MIL
56. Matt Harrison - CHW
57. Jake Peavy - @TEX
58. Jason Vargas - KC
59. Yu Darvish - CHW
60. Tom Milone - @TOR
61. Matt Moore - @LAA
62. Edwin Jackson - @MIL
63. Clayton Richard - @SF, @MIA
64. Joe Kelly - LAD, @CHC
65. Clay Buchholz - @TEX
66. Jon Lester - @NYY
67. Jose Quintana - MIN
68. Scott Diamond - CLE
69. Dan Haren - TB
70. A.J. Griffin - @TOR
71. Colby Lewis - BOS
72. Wade Miley - NYM
73. Josh Beckett - @TEX
74. Ervin Santana - TB
75. Joe Blanton - @ATL
76. Mike Leake - @HOU
77. Travis Blackley - @TOR, @BAL
78. Wandy Rodriguez - CIN, PIT
79. Jeff Karstens - @HOU
80. Johan Santana - WAS
81. Jake Westbrook - LAD
82. Tim Lincecum - SD
83. Alex Cobb - @LAA
84. Bud Norris - CIN
85. Marco Estrada - @PHI
86. Mark Buehrle - ATL
87. Trevor Cahill - COL
88. Ben Sheets - PHI
89. Carlos Zambrano - SD
90. Brett Cecil - OAK, DET
91. Michael Fiers - WAS
92. Barry Zito - LAD
93. Drew Pomeranz - @ARI
94. Joe Saunders - COL, NYM
95. Ricky Nolasco - ATL
96. Erik Bedard - CHC, @HOU
97. Josh Tomlin - @MIN
98. Miguel Gonzalez - TB
99. Derek Lowe - DET
100. Zach Britton - OAK

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

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