2. Chris Sale holds on for a Cy Young
The American League Cy Young was lefty Chris Sale’s to lose last year after a dominant first half. He would wind up second to Cleveland Indians ace Corey Kluber after faltering in the month of August. Sale is off to the same type of start in 2018, and will not fall off like he did last season down the stretch.
Sale’s biggest competition this year appears to be Houston Astros duo Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole. Depending on who you want to believe, there may be some funny business going on in H-Town that is fueling the sub-two ERAs of Verlander and Cole. Verlander, specifically, is putting up some crazy numbers, striking out 70 in his first 53.2 innings this year while carrying a 1.17 ERA.
As good as Verlander has looked, sustaining those numbers is not possible. I’ll take the quiet dominance of Sale to lay in the grass while building up his own Cy Young candidacy. The 29-year-old has been in the top-five for five years in a row.
After years of waiting, this is finally the year Sale gets to lift the AL Cy Young. He has had a year to get up to speed on pitching in the AL East and appears to be thriving on the pressure. It’s not his award to lose right now, but it will be by the end of the year.