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MLB awards watch: AL Cy Young race

By William Schneiderhan

CHICAGO, IL - MAY 02: Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito (27) delivers the ball in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox on May 2, 2019 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - MAY 02: Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito (27) delivers the ball in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox on May 2, 2019 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – MAY 10: Jake Odorizzi #12 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning of the game on May 10, 2019 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – MAY 10: Jake Odorizzi #12 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning of the game on May 10, 2019 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

2. Jake Odorizzi, RHP, Minnesota Twins

7-2, 61 strikeouts, 0.99 WHIP, 1.9 WAR and 2.16 ERA.

As winter broke into spring and the MLB season approached, you had the Minnesota Twins leading the AL Central by double-digits as May ended, right?

The Twins were one of those under-the-radar teams that had the potential to be a very good club, but no one thought they’d be 37-17 good. They are mashing the ball, leading the league with 106 home runs.

Led by Jake Odorizzi, the Twins also own the third-best rotation in the MLB right now. He has led the charge with Jose Berrios, leading the AL in ERA and tied for third in wins. In April, Odorizzi was touched up, going 3-2 with a 3.80 ERA. Since then, he has been a lock-down starter.

Odorizzi is 6-0 with an ERA of 1.09 over his last seven starts and has an ERA of 0.94 and 0.87 WHIP in May. He has been nearly unhittable for the Twins this month.

However, as is the case with Morton, Odorizzi has rarely pitched past the fifth or sixth frame. He hasn’t pitched 30 or more innings in a calendar month, and he’s only gone seven or more innings twice.

Again, Odorizzi may be like Morton, where their stuff drastically diminishes as they go through the lineup more frequently. But going deeper strengthens your Cy Young resume.

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