Last season, the Cy Young award was dominated by two southpaws. In the National League, Chris Sale saw a career revival and launched himself to the top of the league. Sale took over for the injured Spencer Strider and led the Atlanta Braves' rotation. Sale had a competitive race with a few other pitchers while Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal dominated the American League.
For Sale, it seemed like he won the award in a landslide considering the lefty won the triple crown in the NL. But, Sale's top competition, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes, wasn't eligible for the ERA title and didn't rack up a typical amount of starts because he began the season in the minor leagues.
This season, Skenes is the favorite to win the Cy Young award after a dominant rookie season. The righty, if he stays healthy, could make 30-plus starts this season which could leave to a strikeout total need 300. At this rate, it's hard to imagine anybody beating him for the award.
Skenes' biggest competition for the Cy Young award might be a pitcher within his own division.
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Hunter Greene could be Paul Skenes' biggest Cy Young competition
While Skenes could have solid competition from guys like Sale, the top competition to Skenes could be Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene. Greene has looked tremendous to begin the season after reportedly losing some weight and packing on muscle this past offseason.
Greene has made two starts and thrown 12 innings so far this season. He's surrendered just six hits, one being a home run, two walks, and three earned runs. The righty has struck out 16 batters on the campaign.
But beyond his counting stats, the righty has looked incredible. His fastball velocity is up even higher this season, which is a surprise for somebody who's already at the top of the league in fastball velocity. Greene is comfortably sitting above 100 mph on his four-seamer early this season, and the velocity should continue to tick up as he logs innings and the weather gets warmer.
It's too early to look too deep into the stats, but the underlying metrics including velocity and movement profiles indicate this success will be sustained. If Greene can keep his walk rate down under six percent with a strikeout rate over 35 percent, it's hard to imagine he won't be competing for the Cy Young award with Skenes at the end of the season as long as they both stay healthy.