American League and National League Cy Young Finalists revealed

MLB award season is upon us, and the Cy Young race is as hot as ever

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America votes before the start of the postseason, meaning any prolonged bias from the playoffs won’t have an impact on the finalists. With that being said, the American League and National League revealed their finalists for the Cy Young Award, which essentially amounts to the best pitcher on both sides of MLB.

American League Cy Young Finalists: Cleveland Indians pitcher Shane Bieber, Minnesota Twins pitcher Kenta Maeda, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu

National League Cy Young Finalists: Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer, Chicago Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish, New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom

Who are considered the favorites?

Indians pitcher Shane Bieber is almost guaranteed to win in the American League. It ought to be a landslide, as Bieber finally fulfilled his potential and led Cleveland to the postseason with an 8-1 record paired with a 1.63 ERA and .87 WHIP. While former Dodgers Maeda and Ryu deserve credit for adjusting to new teams on the fly, neither pitched to the caliber of Maeda, who was also named an MVP candidate in the AL.

The National League is far more complicated. The soon-to-be free agent Bauer is the most outspoken player in MLB, but it could easily be argued that Darvish or deGrom deserve the award. Darvish finally pitched up to his contract in Chicago, while deGrom’s consistency as one of the game’s best in arguably blinding us to his true greatness.