While the NL Cy Young race is ablaze with viable contenders, the AL Cy Young race is a bit more subdued. For sake of the post, I'll profile the AL first then the NL.
Currently the AL has three frontrunners each with 15 wins. The AL's All-Star Game opening pitcher David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays is 15-5 with a 2.24 ERA in 22 starts with 2 complete games and 1 shutout. He has given up 122 hits, 53 runs (46 earned), struck out 133 while walking 53 for a WHIP of 1.24 in 145.2 innings pitched.
C.C. Sabathia of the New York Yankees is next with a 15-5 record with a 3.14 ERA in 25 starts with 2 complete games. He has given up 168 hits, 68 runs (61 earned), struck out 134 while walking 58 for a WHIP of 1.25 in 174.2 innings pitched.
As much as it pains me to say this, the third pitcher is Carl Pavano of the Minnesota Twins. Pavano is 15-7 with a 3.24 ERA in 24 starts with 5 complete games and 2 shutouts. He has given up 158 hits, 63 runs (61 earned), struck out 97 while walking only 29 for a WHIP of 1.11 in 168 innings pitched.
Rounding out the pack is Boston's Clay Buchholz at 13-5 2.49 ERA, New York's Phil Hughes at 13-5 3.92 ERA, Detroit's Justin Verlander at 13-7 3.72. There is one pitcher that I would consider a dark horse in this year's AL Cy Young Race and that is Oakland A's All-Star Trevor Cahill.
Cahill is currently 12-4 with a 2.56 ERA in 20 starts with 1 complete game and 1 shutout. He has given up 90 hits, 46 runs (38 earned), struck out 76 while walking 46 for a WHIP of 0.98 in 133.2 innings pitched. His consistent starting is one of the main reasons that the Oakland A's are 57-57, 9 games behind the AL West leading Texas Rangers. If last year's selections of Kansas City's Zack Greinke as the AL Cy Young with a 16-8 record and San Francisco's Tim Lincecum with 15-7 recotd for the NL Cy Young show that the voters for the Cy Young don't just look at wins and losses. It used to be that the Cy Young award winner consistently had 20-win seasons but the trend has been changed to looking at a myriad of metrics. This is why I say that Cahill is a legit contender to win the Al Cy Young. Now on to the NL.
A few weeks ago I had discussed the NL ERA Race and said that the three contenders for the ERA title (Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Johnson and Adam Wainwright) were the top contenders for the NL Cy Young. Well folks, the field has truly gotten wider since then.
I would still consider Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez to be at the top of the list. After a little slump, Jimenez has seemed to recharge himself. He is currently 17-3 with a 2.25 ERA in 23 starts with 3 complete games and 2 shutouts. Jimenez has given up 108 hits, 46 runs (44 earned) while striking out 143 while walking 64 for a WHIP of 1.11 with 155.1 innings pitched.
Next is the St. Louis Cardinals Adam Wainwright with a record of 17-6 with a 1.99 ERA in 25 starts with 5 complete games and 2 shutouts. He has given up 149 hits, 42 runs (39 earned), striking out 158 and walking 42 for a WHIP of 0.97 in 176.1.
Philadelphia's Roy Halladay has overcome some tough starts in his first season with the Phillies to put himself back in the thick of the Cy Young discussion. Halladay is 14-8 with a 2.34 ERA in 24 starts with 8 complete games (yes, that is correct 8 Complete games) and 3 shutouts. He has allowed 169 hits, 54 runs (48 earned) while striking out 168 and walking an amazing 22 for a WHIP of 1.03 in 185 innings pitched.
Overcoming a string of serious injuries is the Atlanta Braves' Tim Hudson who is currently 14-5 with a 2.13 ERA in 24 starts with 1 complete game. He has allowed 128 hits, 40 runs (39 earned) while striking out 89 while walking 54 for a WHIP of 1.07 in 164.2 innings pitched.
Rounding out the field is St. Louis' Chris Carpenter at 13-3 2.89 ERA, San Diego's Matt Latos 12-5 2.36 ERA and Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto 11-3 3.38 ERA.
A pitcher that has been serious derailed by his team's lack of offensive production is Florida's Josh Johnson. At the time of my last post, Johnson was 10-3 with a league leading 1.62 ERA. Now Johnson is still at 10 wins with a 10-5 records and a 2.27 ERA. I wouldn't discount his Cy Young chances if he makes a late season push getting his win totals near the 15 or 16 win mark. I can't see the voters selecting a pitcher with under 15 wins. I think 15 wins is even too low when you have pitchers winning 19 and in some cases winning 20 or more games. I still say that this year's Cy Young award winners in both leagues will win the award with 20 or more wins. There is still alot of baseball to be played so we'll see how those I profiled pitch down the stretch and I'll see if anyone sneaks up on them.
FH
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