MLB Awards Watch: Top 5 AL Cy Young candidates thru May

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Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

The second month of the season has been completed and we’re starting to get a good indication of what pitchers are for real and what pitchers were just riding the momentum of a new year. Likewise, some pitchers have erupted back onto the scene and joined the conversation.

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One particularly noteworthy change is that May has seen quite a bit more hitting and a bit less dominant pitching. For starters in the month of April, there were a handful of guys with an ERA under 1.00. Dallas Keuchel, Scott Kazmir, and Chris Archer were three of those guys.

In May however, those pitchers that were so elite in April have taken a couple steps back. Dallas Keuchel for instance has a 2.62 ERA for the month of May and Chris Archer has a 3.28 ERA. Not awful numbers by any means, but not April numbers either.

Some pitchers who were nonexistent in April made strong showings in May, but they aren’t ready to be mentioned in the Cy Young conversation just yet. Consider Kyle Gibson of the Minnesota Twins for instance. In April, he was 1-2 with a 4.84 ERA. That’s pretty forgettable. But then in May he went 3-1 in six starts with a 1.36 ERA.

And so without further ado, here’s an updated list of the top American League Cy Young candidates through the month of May. You may think that one month isn’t enough to upset April’s rankings, but one month can change everything. Some names will still weigh in on the list and some will be newcomers.

Next: Number 5

5. Andrew Miller – 17/17 SVO, 1.08 ERA, 40 SO, 1.4 WAR

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Andrew Miller remains the outlying candidate in our race for the American League Cy Young award winner. While he had a whopping 0.00 ERA last month, he’s still maintained his perfect 16/16 saves record and his ERA is still a minuscule 1.16. Yeah, that’s bigger than 0.00, but I think we can forgive him.

Miller has two particular number that are just impossible to ignore: an opponent batting average of 0.89 and a WHIP of 0.69. It’s safe to say that when this guy comes into the game, he will not be beaten. Then there’s his 14.27 K/9 that ranks second only to his team mate Dellin Betances. We’ve got quite the special pitcher on our hands.

With the elite crop of starters taking a few steps back, Andrew Miller’s hopes of getting a Cy Young as a closer are increasing, even if it’s a slight increase. His dominance is impossible to ignore. He also has the fact that he’s playing for the division leading New York Yankees in his favor. It appears that the spirit of Mariano Rivera is alive and well in the Yankees closer spot.

We mentioned last time that Eric Gagne is the last closer to win a Cy Young. He picked up 11 saves in May, whereas Miller has only put up another eight. It’s a minor detractor, but given the stock of starting pitchers, it’ll be tough for Andrew Miller to swing the vote in his favor.

Next: Number 4

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

3. Felix Hernandez – 11 GS, 8-2, 2.63 ERA, 75 SO, 2.2 WAR

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

The King is always going to be in Cy Young contention. He is the gold standard of what a starting pitcher should be in this day and age. That being said, coming in at third on the list may be a bit surprising given his perpetual dominance. That dominance continued in April when he went 5-0.

2. Sonny Gray – 12 GS, 7-2, 1.65 ERA, 73 SO, 3.7 WAR

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

It’s normally rare for a Cy Young award winner to play for a losing team, particularly one that’s rocking out at the bottom of a very mediocre American League West, but it’s impossible to ignore just how good Sonny Gray has been.

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Gray is in the top three in ERA, WHIP, opponent average and wins. Whereas Chris Archer dominates in strikeouts and WHIP and King Felix excels in wins and WHIP, Sonny Gray excels in everything and he does it on a team that provides him with very few winning opportunities.

Gray has only given up over three runs once in this campaign, that’s quite the feat. That one time he did give up more than three, it was a whopping four runs surrendered. Not exactly breaking the bank there either.

Gray is also one of the few pitchers that saw his ERA drop from April to May. Therefore it leaves no question as to why he moved up in the Cy Young race.

Next: Number 1

1. Dallas Keuchel – 11 GS, 7-1, 1.76 ERA, 60 SO, 3.5 WAR

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Keuchel just continues to do his job. He hit a rough patch for a couple starts, but a rough patch for him entails actually giving up runs. After giving up just three runs in all of April, Keuchel did manager to surrender 13 in May.

But that didn’t stop Dallas Keuchel from retaining the best ERA in the league, the lowest WHIP in the league and the lowest opponent batting average in the league. He’s only given up three home runs as well. Needless to say, he’s become the absolute hardest pitcher in the game of baseball to solve, and that’s about all you need to win the Cy Young.

But a 7-1 record will help.

Strangely enough, Keuchel also had a very heavy strikeout-laden May as well, as he K’d 38 batters, good for 8th in the league. If Keuchel starts striking people out as well as forcing them to drill the ball into the ground continuously, there’s no telling how high his ceiling is.

He may not be as demonstrative as some of the other guys on this list, but between the beard and the best numbers in the league, Dallas Keuchel is our choice for Cy Young thus far into the season. Not to mention he’s won American League pitcher of the month for the only two months of the year.

Next: Top 5 NL Rookie of the Year Candidates

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