MLB Awards Watch: Top 5 AL Cy Young candidates thru May
By Josh Sippie
4. Chris Archer – 12 GS, 6-2, 2.01 ERA, 97 K, 2.6 WAR
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Archer was the front runner of our April rankings, but May was not so kind for him. While he has gone 2-2 in the month, his ERA for the month was a 3.28 compared to his 0.84 from April. His earned runs for the month have gone from 3 to 13.
Maybe hitters are starting to key in on him or maybe he’s just coming back to earth. However, he still leads the league with 97 strikeouts, thanks largely to his outstanding June 2nd start (but that was June so it doesn’t count).
Regardless though, Archer is still in prime condition to make a run for the Cy Young. No one misses more bats than him. Likewise, no one keeps people off the bases like him either. His WHIP is a minimal .96. This young pitcher is something special and even if he can’t find the Cy Young this year, you can bet he’ll be in the running for many years to come.
Next: Number 3