Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Halo Power

Because I like to do things differently once in a while, I'm throwing in five random links that I found interesting this week.

5 links for the week:

Whomever Bud Selig appoints to oversee the Dodgers should make it his first order of business to fire this tool.

The Pirates claimed Brandon Wood off waivers from the Angels. Good move for a team with nothing to lose by trying him at shortstop and perhaps all three other infield positions.

I don't get why teams feel they need to give nine-figure extensions to guys already locked up for four years beyond this one. Ryan Braun is the latest.

I really hate the idea of expanding the playoffs to 10 teams. I guess for every good thing (LA situation) Bud does, he has to do something like this.

Nice insight on Alex Gordon by Buster Olney here. It's too bad it took this long for the Royals to find that needed adjustment in his swing.

Twitter: Yes, I'm on Twitter (@vtadave), so follow me if you want to help me get to a number to where it makes it worth my efforts to tweet about starting pitching, closers, prospects, how much Frank McCourt's last haircut costs and other miscellaneous ramblings.

For this week 4/25 – 5/1

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Start 'Em

1. Cliff Lee - @ARI, NYM
2. Josh Johnson - @CIN
3. Matt Cain - @PIT, @WAS
4. Roy Halladay - NYM
5. Tim Lincecum - @WAS
6. Ricky Nolasco - LAD, @CIN
7. Matt Garza - COL, @ARI
8. Jaime Garcia - @HOU, @ATL
9. Clayton Kershaw - @FLA
10. Derek Lowe - @SD, STL
11. Bronson Arroyo - @MIL, FLA
12. Shaun Marcum - @HOU
13. Cole Hamels - @ARI
14. Roy Oswalt - @ARI
15. Chris Carpenter - @ATL
16. Chad Billingsley - @FLA
17. Yovani Gallardo - CIN
18. Jordan Zimmerman - NYM, SF
19. Ubaldo Jimenez - PIT
20. Jonathan Sanchez - @WAS
21. Travis Wood - FLA
22. Tommy Hanson - @SD
23. Jon Garland - @FLA, SD
24. Jair Jurrjens - @SD
25. Kyle Lohse - @HOU
26. Tim Hudson - STL
27. Brett Myers - MIL
28. Randy Wolf - @HOU
29. Carlos Zambrano - @ARI
30. Wandy Rodriguez - MIL
31. Ryan Dempster - @ARI
32. Dan Hudson - PHI, CHC
33. Jorge De La Rosa - @CHC
34. Mat Latos - ATL
35. Jhoulys Chacin - @CHC
36. Ted Lilly - SD
37. Hiroki Kuroda - SD
38. Mike Leake - @MIL
39. Tim Stauffer - @LAD

Borderline Depending on League Format

40. Aaron Harang - ATL
41. Madison Bumgarner - @PIT
42. Brandon Beachy - STL
43. Anibal Sanchez - LAD
44. Edinson Volquez - @MIL
45. Chris Young - @WAS, @PHI
46. Chris Capuano - @WAS
47. Charlie Morton - SF, @COL
48. Joe Blanton - NYM
49. Dustin Moseley - ATL, @LAD
50. Bud Norris - STL, MIL
51. Barry Enright - CHC
52. Kevin Correia - @COL
53. Kyle McClellan - @HOU
54. Ian Kennedy - PHI, CHC
55. Clayton Richard - @LAD
56. Jason Hammel - PIT
57. Esmil Rogers - @CHC, PIT
58. John Lannan - SF
59. Chris Narveson - CIN
60. Javier Vazquez - @CIN
61. Livan Hernandez - NYM
62. R.A. Dickey - @WAS

Extreme Caution Advised

63. Chris Volstad - LAD
64. Mike Pelfrey - @PHI
65. Jonathon Niese - @PHI
66. Joe Saunders - PHI
67. Jason Marquis - SF
68. Tom Gorzelanny - NYM
69. Paul Maholm - @COL
70. Sam LeCure - FLA
71. J.A. Happ - STL
72. Nelson Figueroa - STL
73. Marco Estrada - CIN, @HOU
74. Jeff Karstens - SF
75. Jake Westbrook - @ATL
76. Casey Coleman - COL
77. Armando Galarraga - CHC
78. James McDonald - SF
79. Ryan Vogelsong - @PIT – welcome back!
80. James Russell - COL, @ARI (tentative)

Projected No. 5 starters skipped: Maybe Esmil Rogers

Two-start starters:Derek Lowe, Ricky Nolasco, Chris Young, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Jordan Zimmerman, Matt Garza, Bronson Arroyo, Bud Norris, Marco Estrada, Charlie Morton, Jaime Garcia, Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Jorge De La Rosa, Jon Garland, Dustin Moseley, Matt Cain

Notes: James McDonald continues to get killed – 10.12 ERA, 1.98 WHIP – but I'm exercising patience. His velocity has been fine, and he's actually improved his GB% a full 10 points over 2010. It's probably just a mechanical issue, but I've made a note to watch his next start to see how he looks. ... The Reds might want to consider not punishing Mike Leake should he be convicted of theft for stealing those six shirts. Leake has pitched pretty well this year, including post-theft. In other news, Leake was recently spotted having a business lunch with Ruben Rivera. ... Appears Chris Young is recovered from his biceps injury. Now we await a report of a sore back or shoulder once he returns. ... Tim Stauffer had disappointed with a 4.80 ERA in three starts, but he rebounded nicely with seven shutout innings in Wrigley last time out. He should be a nice play going forward. ... Kyle Lohse has been pretty amazing this year: 3-1 with a 2.01 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and 22:4 K:BB in 31.1 innings. There are going to be some bumps with pitchers who are all about location, but Lohse at least is looking like a reliable NL-only option. ... Ryan Dempster has a 6.84 ERA, but a 26:9 K:BB in 25 innings suggests he might be a nice buy-low guy. ... Dustin Moseley has a 1.40 ERA and four quality starts despite a 2.8 K/9. Yes, Petco is a pitcher's park, but three of Moseley's four starts have been on the road. ... Matt Garza's 12.4 K/9 is impressive, but he throws more pitches (18.1) per inning than any starter in the game. He should be able to turn that around and go deeper into games. ... If Randy Wolf's 1.6 HR/9 and .339 BABIP can turn around, he could be in for a career year given his current 9.9 K/9. That number probably won't last, however. .. I have to think Edinson Volquez's improves, and assuming it does, he'll pair that with a 9.5 K/9 and 58.6 GB% (ninth highest in baseball). ... The majors' lowest GB% at 29.4 and highest BB/9 at 4.6 – no wonder J.A. Happ has been awful.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Start 'Em

1. Jered Weaver - OAK, @TB
2. Josh Beckett - @BAL
3. Dan Haren - OAK
4. Jon Lester - @BAL
5. Justin Verlander - SEA
6. CC Sabathia - CHW
7. Felix Hernandez - @DET
8. Brett Anderson - TEX
9. David Price - LAA
10. Trevor Cahill - TEX
11. Michael Pineda - @DET
12. Gio Gonzalez - @LAA, TEX
13. Clay Buchholz - @BAL, SEA
14. James Shields - LAA
15. Wade Davis - @MIN, LAA
16. Zach Britton - BOS, @CHW
17. Gavin Floyd - @NYY, BAL
18. Colby Lewis - TOR, @OAK
19. John Danks - BAL
20. Matt Harrison - TOR, @OAK
21. Scott Baker - TB, @KC
22. C.J. Wilson - @OAK
23. Fausto Carmona - KC
24. Max Scherzer - @CLE
25. Justin Masterson - KC, DET
26. Francisco Liriano - @KC
27. Brandon McCarthy - @LAA
28. Edwin Jackson - @NYY
29. Josh Tomlin - KC
30. Carl Pavano - @KC
31. Jeremy Hellickson - @MIN

Borderline Depending on League Format

32. Kyle Drabek - @TEX, @NYY
33. Luke Hochevar - @CLE, MIN
34. Derek Holland - TOR
35. Ervin Santana - @TB
36. Daisuke Matsuzaka - SEA
37. Rick Porcello - @CLE
38. Brian Duensing - TB
39. Jake Arrieta - @CHW
40. Carlos Carrasco - DET
41. Ricky Romero - @NYY
42. John Lackey - SEA
43. A.J. Burnett - CHW, TOR
44. Ivan Nova - TOR
45. Brandon Morrow - @TEX
46. Mark Buehrle - @NYY
47. Bruce Chen - MIN
48. Tyler Chatwood - OAK
49. Nick Blackburn - TB
50. Matt Palmer - @TB
51. Alexi Ogando - TOR
52. Jeff Niemann - @MIN
53. Jeremy Guthrie – BOS

Extreme Caution Advised

54. Bradley Bergesen - BOS
55. Chris Tillman - @CHW
56. Bartolo Colon - CHW, TOR
57. Freddy Garcia - CHW
58. Jeanmar Gomez - DET
59. Brad Penny - SEA
60. Phil Coke - SEA, @CLE
61. Jeff Francis - @CLE
62. Kyle Davies - MIN
63. Sean O'Sullivan - @CLE
64. Tyson Ross - @LAA
65. Jason Vargas - @BOS
66. Brad Mills - @TEX, @NYY
67. Jo-Jo Reyes - @TEX
68. Phil Humber - @NYY, BAL
69. Erik Bedard - @DET, @BOS
70. Doug Fister - @BOS

Projected No. 5 starters skipped: None

Two-start starters:Zach Britton, Clay Buchholz, A.J. Burnett, Bartolo Colon, Wade Davis, Kyle Drabek, Brad Mills (tentative), Philip Humber, Gavin Floyd, Justin Masterson, Phil Coke, Luke Hochevar, Scott Baker, Jered Weaver, Gio Gonzalez, Erik Bedard, Colby Lewis, Matt Harrison

Notes: Zach Britton is an impressive 3-1 with a 3.16 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. Less impressive are the 6.0 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9, but he should still stick in the rotation for the rest of the year. Big tests this week at home versus Boston and at Chicago. ... Brian Matusz (intercostal) could begin a minor league rehab assignment next week. Assuming he needs three starts, he could return late the week of May 2. ... Tyler Chatwood's 3.50 ERA is nice, but the 9:11 K:BB is not. Still, that should be enough to convince the Angels to cut bait on Scott Kazmir (back) if Kazmir doesn't look quite a bit better when he returns in a couple weeks. ... Brandon McCarthy has been fantastic this year with a 2.10 ERA and 20:3 K:BB in 30 innings. The strikeout rate has been better (13 in 14.2 innings) in his last two starts, but that's far too small of a sample size to determine whether we have a trend. ... Josh Tomlin has been a nice surprise – 2.33 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and so-so 15:7 K:BB in 27 innings. Tomlin averages just 87.2 mph with his fastball and his GB% is a so-so 43 percent, so this won't continue, but he's at least serviceable in AL-only leagues. ... Jered Weaver overshadows him a bit, but Dan Haren is pretty good – 1.16 ERA, 27:2 K:BB in 31 innings. Yes, TWO walks. ... Charlie Furbush put up a 7-1-0-0-0-9 line in his last Triple-A start for the Tigers. Rick Porcello has pitched well in his last two starts, otherwise, the Tigers might have considered a switch. Maybe Phil Coke gets the boot if he can't prove his last ugly outing was a fluke. ... Wade Davis long-term is probably a No. 3-level starter. His 2.73 ERA this year is a bit of a mirage given a 3.4 K/9. ... Kyle Drabek's 3.00 ERA won't last long (sort of like his 1.93 ERA before his last start) given a 5.6 BB/9. Time to tell the kid to throw strikes. Maybe someone in his family can provide some advice? ... Erik Bedard lost velocity and walked five in his last start. Yeah, anyone else concerned?

MIXED LEAGUE TOP 100

1. Jered Weaver - OAK, @TB
2. Cliff Lee - @ARI, NYM
3. Josh Johnson - @CIN
4. Matt Cain - @PIT, @WAS
5. Josh Beckett - @BAL
6. Roy Halladay - NYM
7. Tim Lincecum - @WAS
8. Dan Haren - OAK
9. Jon Lester - @BAL
10. Justin Verlander - SEA
11. CC Sabathia - CHW
12. Felix Hernandez - @DET
13. Brett Anderson - TEX
14. David Price - LAA
15. Trevor Cahill - TEX
16. Ricky Nolasco - LAD, @CIN
17. Michael Pineda - @DET
18. Matt Garza - COL, @ARI
19. Jaime Garcia - @HOU, @ATL
20. Clayton Kershaw - @FLA
21. Gio Gonzalez - @LAA, TEX
22. Derek Lowe - @SD, STL
23. Clay Buchholz - @BAL, SEA
24. Bronson Arroyo - @MIL, FLA
25. Shaun Marcum - @HOU
26. Cole Hamels - @ARI
27. Roy Oswalt - @ARI
28. Chris Carpenter - @ATL
29. Chad Billingsley - @FLA
30. Yovani Gallardo - CIN
31. James Shields - LAA
32. Jordan Zimmerman - NYM, SF
33. Wade Davis - @MIN, LAA
34. Zach Britton - BOS, @CHW
35. Gavin Floyd - @NYY, BAL
36. Colby Lewis - TOR, @OAK
37. Ubaldo Jimenez - PIT
38. John Danks - BAL
39. Matt Harrison - TOR, @OAK
40. Jonathan Sanchez - @WAS
41. Travis Wood - FLA
42. Scott Baker - TB, @KC
43. Tommy Hanson - @SD
44. Jon Garland - @FLA, SD
45. C.J. Wilson - @OAK
46. Jair Jurrjens - @SD
47. Kyle Lohse - @HOU
48. Fausto Carmona - KC
49. Max Scherzer - @CLE
50. Tim Hudson - STL
51. Justin Masterson - KC, DET
52. Brett Myers - MIL
53. Randy Wolf - @HOU
54. Francisco Liriano - @KC
55. Brandon McCarthy - @LAA
56. Carlos Zambrano - @ARI
57. Wandy Rodriguez - MIL
58. Edwin Jackson - @NYY
59. Josh Tomlin - KC
60. Carl Pavano - @KC
61. Jeremy Hellickson - @MIN
62. Kyle Drabek - @TEX, @NYY
63. Ryan Dempster - @ARI
64. Dan Hudson - PHI, CHC
65. Luke Hochevar - @CLE, MIN
66. Derek Holland - TOR
67. Jorge De La Rosa - @CHC
68. Mat Latos - ATL
69. Jhoulys Chacin - @CHC
70. Ervin Santana - @TB
71. Ted Lilly - SD
72. Hiroki Kuroda - SD
73. Mike Leake - @MIL
74. Daisuke Matsuzaka - SEA
75. Tim Stauffer - @LAD
76. Aaron Harang - ATL
77. Madison Bumgarner - @PIT
78. Brandon Beachy - STL
79. Rick Porcello - @CLE
80. Anibal Sanchez - LAD
81. Edinson Volquez - @MIL
82. Brian Duensing - TB
83. Chris Young - @WAS, @PHI
84. Chris Capuano - @WAS
85. Charlie Morton - SF, @COL
86. Joe Blanton - NYM
87. Dustin Moseley - ATL, @LAD
88. Jake Arrieta - @CHW
89. Carlos Carrasco - DET
90. Bud Norris - STL, MIL
91. Ricky Romero - @NYY
92. John Lackey - SEA
93. A.J. Burnett - CHW, TOR
94. Ivan Nova - TOR
95. Brandon Morrow - @TEX
96. Mark Buehrle - @NYY
97. Bruce Chen - MIN
98. Barry Enright - CHC
99. Tyler Chatwood - OAK
100. Nick Blackburn - TB

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

Follow him on Twitter @vtadave