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MLB Awards Watch: Zack Greinke chases Max Scherzer for NL Cy Young

By Brad Rowland

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke (21) pitches during the third inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke (21) pitches during the third inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (49) delivers in the sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (49) delivers in the sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports /

AL Cy Young

  1. Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox – I’ll take dominance over ERA luck, and that is the argument for Sale (as well as Scherzer in the NL). Chicago’s left-handed ace doesn’t lead the AL in ERA (2.86), but he has been lights-out with the best strikeout rate in the league (11.67 K/9) and the ability to simply dominate anyone in his path. He probably wouldn’t win an open vote, but Sale has been the best pitcher in the AL for my money.
  2. Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros – Keuchel has a fantastic profile, including an AL-leading 2.12 ERA and 144.1 innings through 20 starts. He is anything but the traditional ace, but Keuchel has quietly struck out nearly 8 batters per 9 innings on the season, backing up his lights-out ERA numbers. In a vacuum, I’ll still take dominance over an innings eater, but Keuchel has been fantastic and his performance shouldn’t be discounted.
  3. Chris Archer, Tampa Bay Rays – The third spot is wide open, including pushes from David Price and Corey Kluber, but I’ll go back to the well with Archer. In short, his season-long performance has been marred a bit by a July 8th outing in which he allowed 9 runs in 6 innings, but even with that hiccup, his ERA sits at 2.73 with big-time strikeout dominance (10.7 K/9) and supporting peripherals. He’s quite good.

Next: NL MVP

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