2012 American League Cy Young Award Debate

Hello everyone,

Today I am going to examine the 2012 American League Cy Young Award candidates, and determine who should win the award. This race for the AL Cy Young Award, like all of the other major awards, is a close call. So . . . let's look at the candidates.

The Candidates:

1. Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

PROS: Justin Verlander is having another stellar season. He is 16-8 while leading the league in strikeouts (231), innings pitched (231.1), complete games (6), WAR (7.2), he is second in WHIP (1.06) and ERA (2.72), and has served as one of the main reasons that Detroit is in the hunt to win the American League Central title.

CONS: While he is having a tremendous season, it appears that it is a down year considering what he achieved last season winning not only the Cy Young Award, but the MVP as well.

I believe that Verlander has a legitimate shot at repeating as the Cy Young Award winner for a few reasons. First, his won-loss record is deceiving, because he is getting less run support than last season. Second, other than won-loss record, he isn't too far off from last season's numbers.

2. Jared Weaver, Anaheim Angels

PROS: Simply put, Jared Weaver is dealing. He is currently leading the American League in wins (19-4), WHIP (1.002), and Hits per 9 innings (7.0). He is also third in ERA (2.74). He is an ace in every sense of the word.
CONS: There are many issues factoring against Weaver winning this award. He has had durability issues this season. He has only logged 180.2 innings while his strikeout numbers are pretty low (136). For all of the sabermetric geeks out there, his 3.5 WAR will essentially lose any of their votes
All in all, I would say that Jared Weaver is a long-shot to win this award . . . at best.

3. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

PROS: "King" Felix had one of the most dominant pitching performances of the year when he pitched a perfect game against Tampa on August 15th. He also leads the American League in shutouts with 5.
CONS: While his overall numbers are as impressive as ever, he doesn't quite stack up against the best candidates.
If Felix Hernandez can win the Cy Young Award in 2010 with a 13-12 record, then why not in 2012 with a 13-8 record? In 2010 he was a much more dominant pitcher than in 2012. I think that it would be an enormous surprise if "King" Felix ended up with the award this season.


4. David Price, Tampa Rays

PROS: David Price is having the best season in his short major league career. He is leading the league in wins (19-5), ERA (2.56), he is second in WAR (6.2), and third in WHIP (1.10). He is also from Murfreesboro, Tennessee which definitely doesn't hurt his chances.
CONS: The only con against Price that I can think of is that he may not make the postseason this year, but that should not deprive him of any votes.
I think that Price is the primary threat to Verlander repeating as the AL Cy Young Award winner.

5. Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox

PROS: In his first year as a starting pitcher, Chris Sale has overachieved in every sense of the term. There is no way that the White Sox expected this kind of season from this kid. He is 17-7 with 185 strikeouts and a 2.86 ERA. He is third in WHIP (1.10) and WAR (6.1). He has been a major reason why the White Sox have been in contention this season.
CONS: While he is having a great season, he overall numbers do not match up quite as well as Justin Verlander and David Price, but I imagine that he will get some consideration for the award.
I believe that Chris Sale is a huge underdog to win this award despite the nice job that he has done.

WHO WILL WIN?

Here is how I see the vote play out.

1. Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
2. David Price, Tampa Rays
3. Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox
4. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
5. Jared Weaver, Los Angeles Angels

Who do you think will win?

Thanks for reading,
Marty Sabin