MLB Awards Watch: David Price, Dallas Keuchel in two-way battle for AL Cy Young

AL Cy Young

1. David Price, Toronto Blue Jays – When in doubt, give me strikeouts. That is the rationale behind selecting Price over Keuchel at this moment, as the two pitchers sport virtually identical profiles. Price has the better strikeout rate (9.19 K/9) and the longer track record, and it might even be fair to give him extra credit for performing well with two different teams this season.
2. Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros – The case for Keuchel is simple. He leads the AL in innings (226) and wins (19), to go along with a sparkling 2.47 ERA (second only to Price). The left-hander has also been the lynchpin of Houston’s rotation throughout the season. It is fair to say that he deserves the award on the merits, and the AL Cy Young might come down to each pitcher’s final start.
3. Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox – There is a massive gap between the top two and everyone else, but Sale has still produced a strong season. He leads the AL in strikeout rate (11.92 K/9) and FIP (2.71) while maintaining a top-15 ERA in the league (3.48), and that is tough to argue against. The competition between Sale and someone like Sonny Gray is a personal preference thing between strong peripherals and strikeouts versus low ERA, but I’ll take the former and roll with Sale.

Next: NL MVP