MLB: Top 5 AL Cy Young Contenders For June
By Ron Juckett
June is in the history books and the American League Cy Young race starts to show clarity as the playoff races shake out at the halfway point of the MLB season.
With the 2016 MLB season hitting the halfway point, the American League Cy Young Award race is showing signs of separation.
In this month’s group, we see our first closer attract attention and a pair of Texas Rangers climb the list. As the pennant races spread out, with the best race now for the two Wild Card spots, you can gaze into the crystal ball and see how those races play out.
For your approval this month, we see a rookie crack the top 10 along with a closer. The metrics used to put the rankings together—a mix of WAR, WHIP and ERA—netted 16 pitchers total including the entire Cleveland Indians starting rotation. As they reflect on the end of a 14-game winning streak, it is amazing that an entire rotation is that good.
While the Indians rise, the Chicago White Sox stumble. Now with a 41-40 record, their grip on last month’s ratings list is gone.
A bunch has changed in the last 30 days, but with the Indians and Rangers holding big leads in their respective divisions, the rankings should be stable the rest of the way. If not, there are bigger problems for those two teams then award votes.
A note of silver lining for Boston Red Sox fans, would you believe Rick Porcello is tenth in WHIP at 1.140? Some mighty decent pitching this year in the AL.
(All bolded statistics are as of June 30.)
Next: The Rest of the Top 10