We continue our look at the potential award winners of 2010 by taking a glance at the candidates for the American League Cy Young Award.
Stats are as of September 20:
3.) Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
12-11, 2.35 ERA, 222 Ks, 1.07 WHIP
You might be wondering why you're seeing Felix Hernandez in this list. You might even be saying to yourself, "why is a pitcher with a record barely over .500 being considered for the Cy Young?" Well, this is indicative of the changing voting trends among the writers. They no longer look at just part of the package in wins and losses, rather, they look at the pitcher's entire body of work, regardless of his team's place in the standings. The precedent was set with Zack Greinke winning the award last year for the last place-Royals, despite his modest win total of 16.
Nobody disputed the fact that Greinke was the best pitcher in the AL last year, and this year, you can almost make the same case for Hernandez, who is putting together a spectacular year for the last place-Mariners. He is currently leading the AL in ERA with a mark of 2.35, and he is also the league leader in innings pitched (233.2) and strikeouts (222). His walks and hits per innings pitched (aka WHIP) is third in the AL at a spectacular 1.07.
So what's the deal with Hernandez? Why isn't he getting the same amount of publicity that Greinke received in Kansas City last year? Well, as unfair as it might sound, Hernandez did not get off to the blistering start that Greinke got off to last year. Greinke went his first four starts before giving up a single earned run. He also went into July before seeing his ERA rise above two. Hernandez, on the other hand, saw his ERA peak around four in early May, and it has never fallen below two all year. While Hernandez's year is fantastic, it doesn't quite match up to Greinke's dominance in '09, even if "King Felix" is the league leader in several major statistical categories.
2.) David Price, Tampa Bay Rays
17-6, 2.79 ERA, 172 Ks, 1.19 WHIP
In just his second full big league season, David Price is starting to reach the potential that everybody predicted he would get to. He is quickly becoming the ace of the Rays' loaded pitching staff, as he is third in the AL in wins (17), third in ERA (2.79), and is tied for tenth in WHIP with a 1.19 mark. With the season he's having, and with Tampa Bay essentially being assured of a playoff spot, Price has the chance to become the first player in team history to win the Cy Young Award.
1.) CC Sabathia, New York Yankees
20-6, 3.05 ERA, 183 Ks, 1.18 WHIP
Sabathia, in my opinion, has been the top pitcher in the American League this year, and I believe that he will wind up becoming the Yankees' first Cy Young winner in nine years. He reached the 20-win plateau for the first time in his career in his last start against Baltimore back on September 18, and that win also gave him the major-league lead. He is also second in the AL in innings pitched (224.0), sixth in strikeouts (183), sixth in ERA (3.05) and ninth in WHIP (1.18). While Felix Hernandez has him beat in all of the aforementioned categories except for wins, some credit has to be given to Sabathia for putting up comparable numbers in the thick of a pennant race. Sabathia has also had a greater percentage of starts against tougher opponents in the cutthroat American League East, where he had to take on the likes of the Rays, Red Sox, and even the Toronto Blue Jays, who lead the AL in home runs by a whopping 29 over the next best team. While it is not Hernandez's fault that his team is terrible and that his division is sub-par (sans Texas), Sabathia should not be penalized for putting up comparable numbers in the toughest division in baseball.
Check back soon for the NL Cy Young Award candidates!
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