Current American League Cy Young Ballot

As we near the end of the season, the favorites for the major awards become clearer and a “mock ballot,” if you will, becomes possible. I do not have a vote for the American League Cy Young, as I am not a registered baseball writer; however, I like to think that I have the knowledge available to create a pretty good, and accurate, ballot.

The American League Cy Young award is probably the one award that’s truly up in the air. The NL Cy Young comes close because of the Kershaw injury, but if he returns at some point this regular season he will probably still take the award. Because the race for the AL Cy Young is still very much up for grabs, it was slightly challenging to not only narrow a list of contenders to five players but to also rank those players. With that said, this ballot is the best representation of how I would vote for the American League Cy Young as things stand today.

There were some notable names that I left off that could still work their way onto the ballot. Chris Sale has had an impressive season, but he would have to switch back to the dominant, strikeout pitcher he previously was in order to sneak back in to the top 5. Danny Duffy is a surprising possible contender for the award, but his innings count has fallen slightly behind the rest of the top pitchers due to pitch count restraints. Danny Salazar seemed like a favorite for awhile, but he has walked a ton of batters and is now on the disabled list with an injury; if he returns from the injury and performs well, he could easily work his way back into the discussion. A final honorable mention goes to Cole Hamels, who is having a great season as the ace of the first place Rangers staff.

Next: An Odd Case