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MLB awards watch: Cy Young races

By John Buhler

May 28, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
May 28, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /
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We’ve made it through Memorial Day weekend in the 2017 MLB season. Here are the leaders for the 2017 Cy Young Award race in both leagues through two months.

Roughly two months of the 2017 MLB season is in the books. We’ve still got plenty of baseball left to be played, but this is the part of the season where the good starts to separate from the bad. For a few clubs, World Series aspirations are just not in the cards. Then there are other teams where that is still a very real possibility as we enter early June.

Not to say that any of these 10 starting pitchers will end up winning the Cy Young Award, but here would be the top-five in each league if the 2017 MLB season were to end today.

Fifth Place

American League

5

Jason Vargas

LHP, Kansas City Royals

It hasn’t even been two years since the 2015 Kansas City Royals won their first World Series in 30 years. From the looks of it, Kansas City will begin another rebuild as soon as August. The Royals may only be 21-29 through 50 games, but left-handed starter Jason Vargas has shined bright for Kansas City these first two months.

Vargas has a 6-3 record this season with a 2.4 WAR. While he has only struck out 51 batters this season, Vargas has a 2.39 ERA and a 1.127 WHIP through the first two months. Should Kansas City continue to hang out in the AL Central cellar, Vargas could be a prime candidate to be traded to a contending team in need of top-three starting pitcher to better fill out its rotation.

National League

5

Stephen Strasburg

RHP, Washington Nationals

Though the NL East has been all sorts of dreadful this season, let’s not overlook the first-place Washington Nationals for what they’ve done so far. Washington feels like the closest thing to a lock to reach the NL Postseason in Senior Circuit in 2017. The Nationals are 31-19 through 50 games.

A big reason for the Nationals’ success has been right-handed fireballer Stephen Strasburg. Strasburg has stayed healthy due to finally fixing his faulty mechanics. Should he stay healthy, he could be in the mix to win the NL Cy Young. Through late May, Strasburg has a 6-1 record with a 1.9 WAR. He also has struck out 74 batters with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.054 WHIP.

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