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American League Cy Young: A candidate for every style

By Bill Felber

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 15: A Boston Red Sox fan holds up another K sign marking the number of strike outs the starting pitcher Chris Sale has thrown against the Baltimore Orioles during sixth inning action at Fenway Park in Boston on April 15, 2018. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 15: A Boston Red Sox fan holds up another K sign marking the number of strike outs the starting pitcher Chris Sale has thrown against the Baltimore Orioles during sixth inning action at Fenway Park in Boston on April 15, 2018. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
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American League Cy Young
CLEVELAND, OH – APRIL 6: Corey Kluber #28 of the Cleveland Indians receives his 2017 Cy Young award prior to the game against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field on April 6, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians defeated the Royals 3-2. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Corey Kluber /

In the American League Cy Young Award race, there’s a candidate for every style.

American League Cy Young award voters will have their choice of every style of pitcher. If you like workload, Justin Verlander has already piled up 188 innings. If you believe in earned run average, Chris Sale, Trevor Bauer, and Blake Snell all register below 2.25. If you’re an old-school wins person, you’ll be attracted to the 17 victories of Snell, Luis Severino, or Corey Kluber, either (or all) of whom could reach 20 by season’s end. If all-around performance is your thing, Sale or Gerrit Cole may stand out.

New-schoolers can tout the case for Oakland’s Blake Treinen, whose 5.7 Win Probability Added leads the league. More traditional bullpen advocates – if there is such a thing – can point to the 52 saves already compiled by Seattle’s Edwin Diaz.

In short, with a bit more than three weeks remaining in the 2018 season, the contest shapes up to be one of both statistics and styles. That means the eventual winner could be determined by which styles voters prefer as well as by how the candidates fare.

There could be a familiar tint to the voting. Of the top six vote-getters last season five are considered to be viable candidates again this year. Kluber won in 2017 with 28 of 30 first place votes. He did so on the basis of clear advantages in WAR and ERA, two categories that have tended in recent seasons to be bellwethers. While he could repeat, the competition appears to be much closer this season.

For the record, here are the top six from 2017: 1. Kluber;  2. Sale;  3. Severino;  4. Carlos Carrasco;  5. Verlander;  5. Kimbrel.

Here’s a closer look at the cases for and against the leading candidates for the 2018 award.

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