MLB Awards Watch: The Explosion of Bryce Harper

AL Cy Young

1. Sonny Gray, Oakland Athletics – Expectations for Gray were quite high heading into the season, but the 25-year-old has surpassed them to this point. In eight starts, the right-hander has posted a 1.61 ERA (2.40 FIP), and he has improved in both his command and strikeout ability when compared to the 2014 season. The ballpark will always help in Oakland, but Sonny Gray looks the part of a legitimate ace, and that is huge for the A’s moving forward.
2. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners – King Felix is still King Felix. I’m not at all worried about Hernandez’s most recent start, in which he allowed four earned runs, and his season-long numbers (2.30 ERA, 9.05 K/9, 1.98 BB/9) are in line with what a Cy Young contender looks like. It won’t hurt his case that traditional voters can see that Hernandez leads the AL with 6 wins, but even if you discount that (as I do), the individual performance speaks for itself.
3. Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros – It is entirely possible that this is the last time we will see Keuchel in this space. The left-hander has allowed four earned runs in each of his last two starts, and only a fantastic ERA baseline keeps him on this list. Still, Keuchel’s 1.87 ERA through eight starts is noteworthy, and the Astros being red-hot doesn’t exactly hurt his case.

Next: NL MVP