2019 MLB season: AL CY Young Awards Predictions
The AL Cy Young race has been dominated by the few greats, while the NL has been a far wider field. These three pitchers are the best candidates for this hardware come November.
The AL’s elite also could possibly dominate awards season, as the Houston Astros represent the most qualified candidates for the AL Cy Young award. Those candidates come in the form of Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander. However, there are a few other names deeply entrenched in the battle for the third spot.
Here are some honorable mentions. They deserve recognition, but in all likelihood will not be close to the third spot on the ballot.
Lance Lynn, Texas Rangers
Sporting a 6.5 WAR, Lance Lynn has revitalized a career that seemed to be stagnated upon his departure from St. Louis and arrival in the Twin Cities. However, a brief stint on the Yankees to cap off 2018 was able to be parlayed into a three-year contract worth $30 million with the Texas Rangers.
Lynn currently has amounted 188 innings and is well on his way to crossing the 200-inning threshold, while he has already done so in terms of strikeouts. The right-handed hurler has posted career-highs in ERA+ and FIP in a late-career sure- similar to fellow AL Cy Young candidates Mike Minor and Charlie Morton.
Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox
For context, this breakout starter has a career WAR of 5.8 and a WAR of 6.0 on the season. This is the first evidence of his pitching prowess that had always been promised, ever since he was a budding star in the Washington Nationals system.
Giolito is unlikely to power a fastball past the bat of his opponents with regularity, however, his wicked movement has often befuddled batters, as his pitches tend to elude bats. That is not to say his fastball lacks swinging strikes. Quite the contrary, actually.
His fastball averages at 95 mph, yet adding his 82 mph change-up and 85 mph slider makes the 95 seem as if it were 99. Also, it has a certain degree of backspin- the aforementioned movement- that has given many a batter significant difficulty.
His tendency to walk opposing batters and allow the long ball are the only real things holding him back, however slightly, it indicates a lack of control. Yet, as he ages, this will round into form. It is abundantly clear that he has put together a high-quality season.