MLB Cy Young Power Rankings: We’re all living in Justin Verlander’s world
1. Justin Verlander, RHP for the Houston Astros
7-2, 1.11 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 32.3 strikeout rate, 3.2 WAR
Simply put, Verlander is the best pitcher on the planet as of this writing. This particular tweet isn’t solely about this year, but his performance as a Houston Astro is just mind-boggling.
Justin Verlander has allowed 14 earned runs in 17 starts since being dealt to the #Astros. He has a 1.09 ERA with 141 strikeouts to just 85 baserunners allowed over 115⅔ innings pitched during that span.
— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) May 29, 2018
As far as this season goes, you basically can’t get on base against Verlander. His fastball still is averaging just about 95 Mph and then he throws this evil breaking stuff up there.
https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1001186573860339712
There’s just no way to defend the fastball and pitches like this if you’re a hitter. It’s some type of sorcery and you almost feel bad for Aaron Judge, flailing around like a fish out of water. The ERA is closing in on a full run better than any other starter in baseball. We’re not talking about splitting hairs at this point. His WHIP is way better than anyone else and his strikeout rate is very close to being just as good as Cole or Scherzer.
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Verlander has an MVP and Cy Young season under his belt and this is still on track to be his best season ever. Much like Cole and Scherzer, Verlander takes the ball every fifth day and pitches a strong six innings just about every time out. He pitched 5.2 innings against Baltimore towards the start of the season and every other time has been at least six strong. That’s also the only time a team has put three earned runs on him. Verlander has given up either zero or one run in 10 out of 12 starts. Things could change over the next four months but as of now, Verlander is the easiest choice in baseball for the Cy Young award.
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