With nearly three quarters of the season over, the field for the AL Cy Young Award is wide open. A number of pitchers on the junior circuit have had great years, but no one has truly separated themselves yet. With that said, here’s a look at some of the top contenders to take home the award. Note these are not set in any particular order.
The Surprises
J.A. Happ, Toronto Blue Jays – So raise your hand if you thought Happ would be in the mix for the Cy Young Award this season. Happ has come out of nowhere this season to become the surprising ace of the Blue Jays staff. In addition to posting a tidy 3.05 ERA, Happ has a solid 8.0 K/9 to go along with a 139 ERA+ and WAR of 3.5. If that wasn’t enough, Happ currently leads the league in wins with 17, and although wins shouldn’t be a determining stat for pitchers, the number shouldn’t be ignored either.
Jose Quintana, Chicago White Sox – For the last several years, the steadily good Quintana has been lost in shadow of teammate Chris Sale. 2016 proved to be the season that the vastly underrated Quintana showed exactly what he could do. So far this season, Quintana has pitched to a 2.84 ERA with an ERA+ of 143 and 4.9 WAR. Quintana is the counterpoint to why the number of wins in a season should be taken with a grain of salt, as a lack of run support by the White Sox offense has led to a record of only 10-9.
The Usual Suspects
Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians – Kluber is no stranger to pitching at a high level, given he won the Cy Young award back in 2014. After getting off to a slow start this year, Kluber has settled in as his usual dominant self the last few months. In addition to having a solid 3.13 ERA, Kluber has thrown two complete game shutouts this year. He currently leads AL pitchers with a FIP of 3.08 and let’s not forget the 150 ERA+ and 4.8 WAR. Like Quintana, Kluber’s record isn’t spectacular due to his slow start, but he has no doubt been one of the best pitchers in the AL this year.
Cole Hamels, Texas Rangers – Hamels has been so good for so long that it’s often easy to overlook how dominant he can be. 2016 has been no exception, with Hamels pitching just as well as ever. Hamels has a rock solid ERA of 2.80 with an ERA+ of 162 a 5.2 WAR across twenty-five starts for the Rangers. Unlike some of his competition, Hamels does receive run support from his teammates, and it shows with his 13-4 record.
The Wild Card
Zach Britton, Baltimore Orioles – Some may argue that a closer does not belong in the discussion for the Cy Young Award, but doing that would be a great disservice to the phenomenal year that Britton is having. Britton currently leads the AL in saves at 37 and has a career best WHIP of 0.815. The real story here is the microscopic ERA of just 0.54. To put that in perspective, Britton hasn’t allowed a run in over three months. Add in the fact he currently has a WAR of 3.1, and Britton makes a compelling case. It will be tough for Britton to overtake his impressive peers, but if there was ever a season for a closer to win the award, this would be it.
There is clearly no wrong option, with each pitcher making a very solid case to win the award. With about six weeks to go in the season, the race is on!
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