Baltimore Orioles: Could Zach Britton Win the Cy Young?
By Matt Weyrich
Baltimore Orioles closer Zach Britton has separated himself as one the premiere bullpen arms in the game, and a serious case could be made for his Cy Young candidacy.
Stop the presses, the debate is over. Zach Britton is the best closer in baseball, and it really isn’t close. As if his miniscule 0.56 ERA and American League-leading 35 saves weren’t enough, Britton just surpassed Craig Kimbrel and Brett Cecil for the record of consecutive appearances without allowing an earned run (39). That’s right, the 28-year old closer hasn’t given up an earned run since April.
With no clear frontrunner in the AL Cy Young race, is Britton poised to snap a thirteen-year stretch of the award being handed solely to starters? His performance this season has truly been historic. Britton’s only allowed one home run the entire season—kudos to you, Mookie Betts—and his 32% weak hit percentage is the highest mark by any pitcher with at least ten innings in all of baseball.
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There’s no way a closer deserves to win the Cy Young, one might argue, they’re not on the field enough to justify their selection. How is it then, that Baltimore is still in the hunt for the AL East title? Their offense is just as potent as the likes of Toronto and Boston, but not much better. It certainly isn’t their rotation, which holds the fifth highest ERA in the Majors. Rather, it has been the Orioles’ bullpen holding the team above water—and Zach Britton has been the biggest anchor of them all.
Sure, the Indians have a surplus of arms that more than warrant consideration. Cole Hamels is having himself a year in Texas and Steven Wright has taken the torch from R.A. Dickey as the best knuckleballer in the game. And when Chris Sale isn’t busy cutting up jerseys, he’s pretty darned good out on the mound. The biggest difference between Britton and all these front-line starters, however, isn’t just which inning they take the field, but how commanding their presence is when they do.
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Britton may not be a starter, but he is capable of shutting down a lineup unlike any other arm in the sport. He has not blown a single save all season—something that would probably be pretty difficult to do anyway when no one scores off of you—and is at the forefront of one of the best bullpens in the league. Zach Britton isn’t just the best closer in baseball, he deserves a Cy Young.