The 2023 American League Cy Young Award saw Shane McClanahan as a favorite to run away with it. Now that McClanahan is on the IL, can he get back into the picture when he returns to the mound? Without the left-handed pitcher, the race to become the AL’s top pitcher is as tight as ever. The second half of the season gets underway tonight as pitchers will continue making a case for the coveted award. Here, we will analyze possible contenders for the AL Cy Young Award.
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2023 AL Cy Young Award Race: AL Favorites
Framber Valdez, Houston Astros
RHH vs. Framber Valdez’s curveball in 2023
.165/.230/.228, .211 wOBA, 39.9% Whiff% pic.twitter.com/iDCT3Z1hUV
— Astros Stats 📈 (@astro_numbers) July 8, 2023
Valdez has been on a roll for the Houston Astros. With an AL-best 2.51 ERA, Valdez became the Astros’ No. 1 starter. He owns 2.82 FIP entering the second half of the season, all coming from quality starts he’s put up. What’s more fascinating is that Valdez has allowed two runs or less in eight of his previous 11 starts, completing six innings in nine. Valdez remains the reason why the Astros have not slipped down the AL West standings. His high level of performance will keep him close to the 2023 AL Cy Young favorites list.
Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays
Surpassing the mark during his last performance prior the All-Star Break, Kevin Gausman (named to tomorrow’s game but declining to attend) matched the quickest path to 150 strikeouts in a season on this list of notable pitching names in @BlueJays franchise history (1977-present) pic.twitter.com/vXPLHjuZ0c
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) July 11, 2023
The Toronto Blue Jays starting rotation has been strong this season. A significant reason for their consistency comes from Gausman himself, leading the league in strikeouts with 146. The right-hander’s 11.90 K/9 is the highest in the AL, as he leads all qualified starters with a 2.45 FIP and a 4.0 fWAR. His 26.4% strikeout-minus-walk-rate is second among qualified starters, behind only Spencer Strider. From May 10 to June 6, Gausman had a 1.35 ERA in 40 innings. Yet he went 0-2 with the offense scoring no runs in those starts. He has faced 184 more hitters against the best teams compared to Valdez (159), more than McClanahan (129), and more than Shohei Ohtani. He’s had ten games with one earned run or fewer allowed and seven starts with ten strikeouts or more.
Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
SP Leaders – Last 300 Pitches Thrown
Most Whiffs:
Lance Lynn: 66 Whiffs
Spencer Strider: 66 Whiffs
Tyler Glasnow: 66 Whiffs
Blake Snell: 59 Whiffs
Dylan Cease: 57 Whiffs
Andrew Abbott: 56 Whiffs
Trevor Richards: 55 Whiffs
Gerrit Cole: 54 Whiffs— Jon Anderson (@JonPgh) July 6, 2023
The six-time All-Star is still looking for his first Cy Young award win. Cole owns an 8-2 record, a 2.85 ERA, with a 2.4 fWAR. He hasn’t allowed more than three runs in a start since May and has done a splendid job of limiting home runs, allowing just three over his past 43 innings. He’s been a steady force for a Yankees team who have struggled offensively with the absence of Aaron Judge. He’s thrown more than 90 pitches in 18 of his 19 starts. And in his two losses, he gave up only two runs. Cole can cope with the pressure if he wants to pitch well enough to make a case for his first Cy Young. There’s no reason to believe he can have a stellar second half. Imagine if the Yankees didn’t have a .231 batting average, the league’s third-worst.
Honourable Mentions: Nathan Eovaldi, Shane McClanahan, Shohei Ohtani, Sonny Gray
Photo Credit: © Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Players mentioned:
Shane McClanahan, Framber Valdez, Kevin Gausman, Spencer Strider, Shohei Ohtani, Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge, Nathan Eovaldi, Sonny Gray
