Now that we have reached the end of the MLB regular season, it is time to look ahead to awards season. Let’s begin with the American League Cy Young award race.
Throughout the 2017 MLB season, there have been some impressive pitching performances around the game. Pitchers came out of nowhere to emerge as staff aces, and players previously left for dead have resurrected themselves as viable options. Then there were those pitchers who performed well last season, only to fall apart this year and struggle to find themselves along the way.
Over the course of the year, various pitchers had hot stretches. Jason Vargas looked like a contender for the American League Cy Young award at the start of the year, returning from Tommy John surgery to put together an incredible first half of the season. However, he faltered over the second half, dropping out of contention. Meanwhile, Sonny Gray has been excellent since joining the Yankees, but his overall body of work leaves him on the outside looking in.
The Cy Young award is given to the best pitcher in the league. While that may be a pitcher who had an excellent month, or even half of the year, it is an award for putting together a complete season. And there have been a couple of great ones in the American League this year.
Who walks away with the 2017 American League Cy Young award? Here are our projections.