MLB Awards Watch: The final ballot
By Brad Rowland
AL Cy Young
- David Price, Toronto Blue Jays – This was a photo finish. For me, it was a two-horse race in the American League, but Price wins by a nose on the strength of his strikeout edge and degree of difficulty. The left-hander changed teams mid-season, going from Detroit to Toronto, and while he landed on the best team in the AL, his new ballpark wasn’t exactly forgiving. Price responded by posting a 2.30 ERA in 11 starts with the Blue Jays, and leading the American League in ERA (2.45) and fWAR (6.4) for good measure. He deserves the nod.
- Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros – Keuchel was incredible throughout, and he certainly has a claim to stake on the honor. Personally, I’m unmoved by Keuchel’s AL-leading 20 wins, but his AL-leading workload (232 innings) certainly matters. Beyond that, he trails Price by just 0.02 in ERA while actually leading in bWAR by a comfortable margin. Keuchel wasn’t asked to change teams, but he did assume the task of anchoring a young staff in a pennant race. He was up to the challenge, even in a difficult ballpark to pitch in regularly. Either choice is perfectly acceptable, but I went with Price.
- Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox – There is a real drop-off from the top two, but Sale checks the most boxes for me. He led the AL in strikeouts (274) and strikeout rate (11.82 K/9) by wide margins, and Sale actually topped both Price and Keuchel in FIP (2.73) and xFIP (2.60) by nature of his dominant arsenal. Voters will undoubtedly punish Sale for a lack of team success and a so-so ERA (3.41), but much of that isn’t his fault, and Sale was tremendous on a nightly basis.
Next: NL MVP