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MLB Awards Watch: The wasteland of American League rookies

By Brad Rowland

Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Steven Souza Jr. (20) hits a solo home run off Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez (50) (not pictured) during the second inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Steven Souza Jr. (20) hits a solo home run off Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez (50) (not pictured) during the second inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Chris Archer (22) reacts after getting the final out of the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Chris Archer (22) reacts after getting the final out of the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /

AL Cy Young

  1. Chris Archer, Tampa Bay Rays – The 26-year-old Archer has flown to the top of the list based on a ridiculous five-start stretch. In those five outings, the right-hander has allowed just 3 earned runs in 34.1 innings (0.79 ERA), and in that stretch, Archer has 50 strikeouts against just 5 walks. All in all, that has buoyed Archer to an AL-leading 2.8 fWAR and a sparkling 1.84 ERA through 13 starts, and he is a worthy selection for the top spot.
  2. Sonny Gray, Oakland Athletics – Gray leads the AL with a 1.65 ERA, and it certainly doesn’t appear to be a fluke. The former Vanderbilt star isn’t the prolific strikeout artist of some of his counterparts, but with nearly a 4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, he can easily get away with that small shortcoming. It hasn’t been a fun year in Oakland, but the slow start from the A’s hasn’t been the fault of Gray.
  3. Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros – It was inevitable that Keuchel would slow down after a blazing start, but the 27-year-old lefty leads the AL with 87.2 innings pitched, and he has been highly productive. Keuchel ranks behind only Archer and Gray in the ERA category (1.85), and he has been perhaps the brightest spot for a fantastic start from the Astros.

Next: NL MVP

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