Top A.L. Cy Young Candidates

By Chad Hollingsworth
Love of Sports Correspondent

Suffice to say, my list of NL CY Young contenders was an eye-brow raiser. After reading through the inevitable “how could you add this guy and forget that guy,” I couldn’t help but wonder what to do for an encore? Despite the fact that I’m practically asking for criticism, running down the list of AL contenders pretty much seems like the obvious path to take, doesn’t it?

Amazingly enough, the AL list was just as challenging to decipher (in terms of a leading contender) as the NL was. Prior to the 2008 season, our favorite prognosticators were boldly predicting that Josh Beckett would have a decent year, but wasn’t likely to be in the CY Young discussion. Chien-Ming Wang was a popular selection coming into the season, but now we’re only certain that the Yankees will do their best to make sure he doesn’t pitch in an Interleague game, ever again. Then there was the Justin Verlander chatter, and even though he seems to be turning his season around, it’s likely too late to overcome his slow start. A trade and an injury successfully eliminated preseason favorites CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona from the discussion, and then there’s Eric Bedard, nuff said.

Without further ado, here’re my AL CY Young contenders, so far. And do prepare to be upset, offended, and angered once again.

TOP 5 A.L. CY YOUNG NOMINEES

5. A.L. Closers

Consider this the ultimate out on my part. The problem is if I put one, someone else deserves to be here as well. Mariano Rivera’s having one of his best seasons ever (which is definitely saying something), but K-Rod’s probably going to save at least 60 games. Joe Nathan’s been more dominant than normal (which is also saying something). Joakim Soria averages about a strikeout per inning, and has a miniscule 0.72 WHIP. Then, of course, there’s Jonathan Papelbon, who’s blown a few saves, but certainly has the stats to merit consideration. Even though all of these guys are having fantastic seasons, it’s plain to see that the starters on this list have the numbers to beat them out. Having said that, they simply merited mention, as the quality of closers in the AL is quite astounding, and a few of these guys will definitely get votes.

4. Ervin Santana, Los Angeles Angels

This is the pitcher that Santana was supposed become after bursting onto the scene back in the 2005 playoffs. Unfortunately, he experienced an average 2006, and 2007 was flat-out disastrous. Thankfully for Anaheim, he seems to have recaptured the flashes of brilliance from 2005. However, one knock against him has always been an inability to pitch on the road, and even that critique’s slowly disappearing. Santana currently boasts an 11-3 record, and has gone the distance twice this year. His ERA is a serviceable 3.34, with an above average 1.12 WHIP. If Santana can keep his stats at this level, odds are he’ll definitely earn some CY Young votes, and while it’s a good problem to have from a team standpoint, there’s the potential dilemma of having to split votes with his teammates John Lackey and Joe Saunders.

3. Justin Duchsherer, Oakland

Choosing between Duchsherer and my No. 2 guy was an agonizing experience, but part of me believes that his best pitching has already happened. As a result of Billy Bean unloading the likes of Rich Harden and Joe Blanton, Duchsherer is now the de facto ace of the Oakland staff. That’s a lot of pressure to throw on a guy who used to close when Huston Street was hurt, or predominantly worked in a setup role. Still, there’s a lot to like about him. He currently has the lowest ERA and WHIP among starters in all of Major League Baseball, and boasts a 10-3 record with one complete game. He spent some time on the disabled list in April, which is why he hasn’t logged as many innings as the other starters on this list.  Still, if Duchscherer somehow manages to maintain the outstanding pace he’s set so far, it’ll be hard not to move him up in this list.

2. Roy Halladay, Toronto

If you look up the word “horse” in the dictionary, you’ll probably see a drawing of Mr. Ed or something. However, if there’s a “horse” in baseball, the definition is Halladay. He takes the ball every fifth day and basically plans on staying out there for at least seven innings. If he doesn’t stay out there that long, something must’ve gone wrong. He’s logged 152 innings in 21 starts, which contributes to his modest 11-7 record. However, he’s got a 2.89 ERA, and a 1.03 WHIP. While not mind-blowing, those numbers are quite impressive when you consider the number of innings that he’s pitched. And speaking of impressive, Halladay’s gone the distance seven times this season. In an age where pitch counts and bringing pitchers along slowly are the norm, Halladay’s an exception. Not only does he have the ability to pitch deep into games, but he can do so while being flat-out dominant. No discussion of the AL CY Young can be had without mentioning Mr. Halladay.

1. Cliff Lee, Cleveland

If I were to tell you at the beginning of the season that a pitcher from the Indians had a great shot at winning the Cy Young, how many guesses would you have gone through before getting to Cliff Lee? I’m going to guess as many as it took to go through Sabathia, Carmona, Byrd, and maybe a couple of the bullpen guys. I do believe that most people would’ve guessed Lee before Joe Borowski, right? Let’s face it, Lee hadn’t been pitching like the guy who won 18 games in 2005. However, in a comeback that no one saw coming, Lee’s turned into the ace of the Indians. In a season full of disappointments for the Indians and their fans, Lee’s been a lone bright spot. His jaw-dropping ERA of 2.29, combined with a WHIP just a tad over 1.00 and 13-2 record are truly CY-worthy numbers. He’s also got 110 strikeouts in 133 innings, and has two complete games. The fact that the Indians hit only .250 as a team and barely get over .400 in slugging percentage shows that Lee can’t always rely on his offense to back him up. Simply put, Lee’s leading the pack when it comes to potential CY Young candidates for the AL.

HONORABLE MENTION

--John Lackey, Los Angeles Angels
--John Danks, Chicago White Sox
--Joe Saunders, Los Angeles Angels
--Shaun Marcum, Toronto
--Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay

Given the fact that the season’s only a bit past the halfway mark, it’s quite likely that there could be some definite shuffling of all these pitchers, and don’t forget there’re several pitchers ready to join the fray. So for now, let’s just show some love to the guys who’ve done the best job of taming AL lineups so far this season.