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Cleveland Indians Corey Kluber Deserves To Win AL Cy Young

By Glenn Moore

Jun 15, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber (28) throws a pitch against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 15, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber (28) throws a pitch against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /
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Does Cleveland Indians starter Corey Kluber deserve to be the American League Cy Young Award winner? Or does Felix Hernandez from the Seattle Mariners get the nod?

Cleveland Indians starter Corey Kluber didn’t make it out of the fourth inning in his first start of the 2014 MLB season against the Oakland A’s on April 2, giving up five runs and walking more batters than he struck out.

That wouldn’t happen for the rest of the season. And in the end, the Indians found their ace of the future and possible Cy Young Award Winner.

Kluber put together one of the best seasons as a starter for the Indians in the last 40 years, with Cliff Lee’s 2008 season as the only comparable season.

Finishing the season at 18-9 with an 2.44 ERA in 34 starts, Kluber deserves AL Cy Young consideration. In fact, he deserves to win the award over the Seattle Mariners Felix Hernandez.

Taking a look at some of the more controllable stats a starter processes (strike outs, walks, home runs), Kluber has the edge over Hernandez.

Seattle is known for having a ballpark in favor for pitchers at Safeco Field, which makes Kluber’s edge even greater.

But the x-factor between the two pitchers is the team’s defense.

The 2014 Indians defense has probably the worst in baseball this season, while Seattle’s was one of the best. Kluber and other pitchers on the staff had to overcome inconsistent defense behind them and were forced to pitch in extended innings.

Take that into effect, and Kluber has worked more for his numbers.

Kluber won AL Pitcher of the Month honors in September, but his best month came in May.

He posted a 2.09 ERA, with 60 strikeouts in 43 innings of work in May. His performance during the second month of the season carried over into the second half of the season.

Before diving into Kluber’s number for the 2014 season, you have to go back to last season to witness the the beginning of the career of the Tribe’s future ace.

In his first full season as a starter in the big leagues, Kluber finished 11-5 with a 3.85 ERA in 26 games (24 starts), while striking out 136 batters and walking just 33 in 147.1 innings.

Justin Masterson
Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /

Masterson went down with an oblique injury and Kluber stepped in, winning four of his five September starts, helping the Indians reach the postseason for the first time since 2007. Those wins came after Kluber suffered an injured finger and spent time on the disabled list.

If it wasn’t for the contributions of Kluber, who pitched in some big games late, the Indians wouldn’t have been in contention for a postseason spot in 2013. This would be a similar theme in the next season.

Going into the 2014 season, Kluber was pinned as the second starter in the Tribe’s rotation. Masterson was the Opening Day starter and was looking to score big with a new contract.

It didn’t work out well for Masterson, on and off the field, as he was traded on July 30 to the St. Louis Cardinals after posting a 4-6 record with the Indians and having an ERA of 5.51.

He didn’t fare too well with the Cardinals either, going 3-3 with an ERA of 7.04 in six starts. When the season ended, he combined for a 7-9 record with a 5.88 ERA in 25 starts.

Masterson won’t be getting the contract he desired before the season started.

While Masterson struggled in both the AL and NL, Kluber grabbed the reigns of being the ace of the Tribe’s staff and never looked back.

His second half numbers look like something from a video game set on the easiest level. Throwing 104 innings and striking out 127 batters, he posted a 1.73 ERA and only walked 19 batters.

He finished the season striking out at least ten batters in a game 11 times.

September 3, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Felix Hernandez (34) delivers a pitch against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
September 3, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Felix Hernandez (34) delivers a pitch against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

When looking at the possible AL Cy Young winner and see that Kluber should win the award, you have to take out their stats and see what the rest of their respective rotations fared.

MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian did just that late in the season, coming up with the Indians’ rotation numbers of a 31-45 combined record with a 4.32 ERA and 1.36 WHIP if you took away Kluber’s stats.

Doing the same with the Mariners and Hernandez, the result is a 46-49 record and a 3.92 ERA. Both pitchers were important to their team’s run for the postseason, which lasted late into the season. But without Kluber, the Indians had no real chance to contend.

Hernandez is well-known throughout MLB and Kluber came out of nowhere with his 2014 performance. In the end, King Felix might win the award based on a lower ERA and recognition. But Kluber truly deserves to be the AL Cy Young winner.

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