Five Early Favorites to Win the AL Cy Young Award
4. David Price – Boston Red Sox
Sticking with the theme of proven dominant starting pitchers, David Price has been one of the top pitchers in the AL for many years now. Price broke into MLB with Tampa Bay in 2008 and pitched in the postseason that year. Since then, the 30 year-old left hander has continued to produce at a high level.
Price was the first pick in the 2007 MLB draft, and immediately jumped to becoming the top prospect in all of the minor leagues. Price was hyped by many baseball pundits because of his dominant pitching arsenal that features a mid-to-upper-90’s fastball and a drop-off -the-table changeup. This pitching arsenal, along with his ability to control the strike zone has made him one of the most difficult pitchers to face in the league.
Even with Price being so good during the past couple seasons, he was still moved at the trade deadline the past two seasons. This past year, Price was able to lead the Blue Jays to their first playoff appearance since 1993.
With Toronto, he posted a 2.30 ERA and struck out more than 10 hitters per nine innings. Not many pitchers have the pure stuff that Price has, and that was on full display in his stint with the 2015 AL East champs.
In addition to dominating for as long as he has, Price has been one of the most durable pitchers in the league. He has been able to start 30 games in five of the past six seasons. This should give the Red Sox, who signed the lefty to a 7-year, $217 million deal this offseason, hope that they’ll be able to rely heavily on him in 2016 and beyond.
Price’s stuff has not really declined over the past couple seasons and he should be able to continue his dominance with Boston in 2016. He has plenty of experience pitching in the AL East and in Fenway Park. In 11 career starts there, he is 6-1 with a 1.85 ERA.
Even though Price won’t be pitching in a contract year this season, he should still be able to continue his success in 2016. All of this makes Price a good bet to be a top contender for the AL Cy Young award in 2016.
Next: 3. Carlos Carrasco - Cleveland Indians