For your WAY too early consideration: Cy Young Award

With one month of the season complete, who are the pitchers that are cause for conversation in early Cy Young Award discussions?

Continuing on with our ‘For your WAY too early consideration’ series, it is a chance for us to continue speculation on some of the best players from the past month. This time, we look at early Cy Young Award contenders in the league through the first month.

Some cases are more obvious than others as some pitchers continue to dominate their opponents, while younger, fresher faces have blossomed onto the scene.

The best part is that because so many pitchers are dominating, whittling the group down to just three finalists is taxing.

But that’s the fun of speculation right?

So without further adieu, here are your WAY too early Cy Young award picks.

Trevor Bauer

Cleveland Indians

Hopefully, this pick doesn’t create controversy given his behavior with the media and on his personal social accounts.

But getting past that, Bauer may be the front runner for the Cy Young Award with one month down.

He has thrown the most innings of any qualifier, which is a good thing because it means he is obviously pitching well if he is getting all those innings. The stats back up his load as well.

He has a 4-1 record, 2.45 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 55 strikeouts. He is also holding hitters to a .167 batting average. All of these numbers put Bauer in the top 10 – if not top three – in the American League.

Bauer had been previously overshadowed by rotation mates Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco, but now he is the standout, and ready to continue his dominance as the season rolls on.

Marcus Stroman

Toronto Blue Jays

This third option for the Cy Young Award was tricky because early on there are so many great candidates. Heck, there are two of Stroman’s teammates who I would have considered – well one because Matt Shoemaker is out for the season.

Stroman got the tip of the cap here because when considering his statistics and the number of innings he has thrown in comparison to other qualifiers, it seemed the justest.

So what are those statistics?

His ERA is the lowest in the American League at 1.43. He has struck out 36 batters. He has held to opposition to a .197 batting average. His WHIP is 1.09. If there is one comp to his start this season, it is Jacob deGrom.

You could argue it is because of the similar numbers, but for me, it is because of his current record; 1-3.

deGrom was talked about so much last year because he was pitching great but he was getting very little offensive help. This is also the case for Stroman.

Given that additionally two of Stroman’s teammates have started the year well in Shoemaker and Aaron Sanchez – and they both had winning records at 3-0 and 3-1 respectively – Stroman just gets the unlucky draw.

If he continues to pitch at this pace, the offense will eventually support him. But right now, he is the dark horse Cy Young Award candidate.

Justin Verlander

Houston Astros

Hopefully, Kate Upton won’t lash out at me for only making Verlander an honorable mention as opposed to the runner-up.

But regardless, Verlander is once again pitching like he is a young man – in baseball terms.

With a 4-1 record, he is sitting on a 2.45 ERA in 44 innings. He has struck out 53 batters while holding them to a .171 batting average and a 0.86 WHIP.

Damn impressive as usual for Verlander.

He is now the undisputed leader in a rotation with Gerrit Cole and Wade Miley.

Certainly, you can’t expect Verlander to fall off the wagon so to speak because his move to Houston has clearly re-awoken his dominance on the mound.

Since arriving, Verlander has a 25-10 record, a 2.34 ERA, 386 strikeouts, and only 53 walks.

Whatever Houston is giving Verlander, it’s working.

Luis Castillo

Cincinnati Reds

Just to preface the National League options for the Cy Young Award, you may have only heard of one, if none, of the guys I am about to mention, but give each a respectful round of applause because they certainly deserve it.

For starters, and probably the runaway favorite after a month is the Reds’ youngster Luis Castillo.

Castillo has the best ERA among pitchers with more than 40 innings at 1.45. In those 43.1 innings, he has also struck out 50 batters while holding them to a .177 batting average and a WHIP of 0.99.

Castillo is technically the ace of a rather misfit rotation in the National League. You have Castillo, Tanner Roark, Sonny Gray, Alex Wood, and Anthony DeSclafani.

While the pieces don’t appear to fit on the outside looking in, Castillo has held down the fort at the top and will look to carry the momentum in what could be considered the most competitive division.

Joe Musgrove

Pittsburgh Pirates

Again, not your top-of-the-list all stars but certainly one to keep your eyes on.

Remember earlier when I mentioned the Pirates acquiring Archer from the Rays and giving away Glasnow? Well, Musgrove played for the Astros until he was traded to the Buccos as part of a Gerrit Cole trade.

So they traded Cole and Glasnow for Archer and Musgrove essentially and well the Pirates got a good chip back on their side too.

Musgrove, for a while, had an ERA below 1 until this point. Even so, it sits at a modest 1.54. With that, he has 31 strikeouts, a 0.89 WHIP and has held the opposition to a .192 batting average.

This is Musgrove’s opportunity more than anything. The Pirates rotation is younger and filled with newer faces. The fact that Musgrove is contributing at such a high level this early only serves to benefit the Pirates because he is more in the middle of the rotation than the top.

German Marquez

Colorado Rockies

As one of many in a youthful movement for the Colorado Rockies, Marquez is slowly climbing the ladder of ‘ace’ status to the rest of the league.

With guys like Kyle Freeland and Tyler Anderson on the outside of his rotation spot, Marquez is the workhorse; eating up innings and mowing down hitters left or right.

In 46 innings this season, Marquez has a 2.93 ERA, 43 strikeouts, a 1.02 WHIP and has held opponents batting average of .219.

Marquez is also the closest to a no-hitter this season when he got as far as the eighth inning against the Giants back on April 14.

He, as well as the other Rockies pitchers, are trying to prove they can stand pat with the rest of the league despite pitching in one of the most difficult hitters parks in the league.

Though a little unbalanced right now – 10 earned runs at home versus 5 on the road – if Marquez can silence your bats in your park, you’re in trouble.

Chris Paddack

San Diego Padres

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Remember him?

Yeah, the other Padre who is in consideration for rookie of the year as well?

Well, turns out being a really good rookie pitcher has also translated into Cy Young Award candidacy.

He has the best rookie numbers for starting pitchers and those numbers put him in the top ten in the league currently.

With a 2-1 record, his ERA sits at 1.91, with 35 strikeouts, a 0.70 WHIP and a .126 opponents batting average; the lowest in the league.

Paddack has impressed in what is also a youthful rotation; one that received plenty of questions when the year began for the Padres because there was no true standout or veteran presence. In fact, the oldest player in the Padres rotation is Matt Strahm at 27.

Paddack has blossomed into what could be a future number one starter, and he has certainly earned every last bit of praise since he was given a spot in the Opening Day rotation.