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MLB Awards Watch: Cy Young races

By Nicholas Ian Allen

Apr 15, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (right) delivers to the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 15, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (right) delivers to the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 20, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (41) delivers a pitch against Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 20, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (41) delivers a pitch against Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox

The top trade target of the offseason, the Boston Red Sox acquired five-time All-Star Chris Sale from the Chicago White Sox over the winter, adding one of the top aces in all of baseball. Sale has finished in the top six of the voting for the AL Cy Young Award in each of the last five seasons (though he has yet to finish higher than third), and even earned MVP votes in 2015 and 2016. There’s hope, thanks to a strong start, he can break through and win the award in 2017.

Sale has been consistently great throughout his eight-year major league career, but is off to an even better start than expected. The lanky lefty has posted a 0.91 ERA in 29.2 innings across four starts, and has a 1-1 record to his credit, but the Red Sox are 3-1 in his starts entering Wednesday. The only blemish came in a 2-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers April 10.

No pitcher in MLB has a better WAR (1.5) to date, and no one has recorded more strikeouts (42). Sale also leads the AL with a 1.16 FIP, and leads the majors in strikeout rate (38.9 percent) among qualified starters, which is 6.8 percent better than his current career high mark.

For those adept in advanced analytics, Sale ranks second in K/9 (12.74), ERA- (22), FIP- (27) and SIERA (1.92). He also has allowed just 15 hits and six walks so far, which is good for a 0.708 WHIP – the second best in baseball behind Ervin Santana. Sale also ranks third with a .147 batting average against.

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