As we press on into Mid-May, the names near the top of the Cy Young Candidate list are still pretty unfamiliar to most people, and I personally have to wonder if owners are going to continue to dole out huge contracts for pitchers in their 30s (Zito, Santana, Hampton, Millwood to name a few); when the younger player seems to be making in impact more regularly; and for far shorter money.

Gold

James Shields - SP - Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays - If someone had told you that the (Devil) Rays would be over .500 with former New York Mets star Scott Kazmir pitching terribly before the season started what would your reaction have been?  One of the reasons for this has been the emergence of James Shields.  Now that Kazmir seems to be turning it around a bit, this should provide quite the 1-2 punch going forward.  Here was Shield's past week: 9.0 IP, 1 W, 0 L, 8 Ks, 0.00 ERA and a WHIP of 0.11.  

Silver

Ervin Santana - SP - (Totally Not Los Angeles) Angels of Anaheim - How good has this guy been, seriously?  He's really become the shining star of the Angels pitching staff and is one of the early favorites for the Cy.  Santana's week: 14.2 IP, 1 W, 0 L, 16 Ks, 3.07 ERA and a WHIP of 0.95.

Bronze

Daniel Cabrera - SP - Baltimore Orioles - This is what's so maddening to both Cabrera Owners and Orioles fans.  He'll have weeks like he did this week, and then D-Cab goes into the tank for three starts.  Let's see if he can keep this up.  D-Cab's past 7 days: 9.0 IP, 1 W, 0 L, 7 Ks, 1.00 ERA and a WHIP of 0.44.

Other Top Performances:

C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | LF | CF | RF | RP | SP