Every year, Major League Baseball gives out a Cy Young Award for the best pitcher in both the AL and NL, as voted on by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. If a comparable award were given in fantasy baseball, the results likely would not match.
Many baseball pools focus primarily on wins, strikeouts and ERA, while others require the versatility and dominance of a flame-thrower who can pile up complete games and shutouts while eating innings.
Here's a look at the frontrunners for this year's Cy Young awards:
The NL contenders
As discussed among baseball's first-half surprises, Ubaldo Jimenez has easily been the most improved pitcher from last season. He's gone from posting a 15-12 record in the 2008-09 campaign to having a 15-2 record this season through July 26. Jimenez has pitched three complete games, two shutouts and one no-hitter while striking out 120, but his ERA has dropped to 10th in the majors at 2.75 after two recent rough outings. Plus, he has walked 55 batters. Unlike the other NL Cy Young candidates, Jimenez isn't a perennial top draft choice, so he's brought some unexpected fantasy value to his owners as the current league-leader in wins.
Josh Johnson (FLA - SP)Like Jimenez, Florida's Josh Johnson has been an all-around star pitcher this season, but has been exceptional in one particular category. Johnson leads the majors with a sparkling 1.61 ERA. The only other starter below 2.00 is St. Louis's Adam Wainwright at 1.94. At 10-3 with 141 strikeouts, which is good for second in the NL, just 29 walks allowed and a stellar 0.97 WHIP, Johnson likely has the edge over Jimenez at this point in the NL overall — and in terms of the best NL pitcher in fantasy baseball.
Roy Halladay (PHI - SP)Roy Halladay doesn't seem to mind pitching in the National League. Although he spent his entire career up until this season in the AL with the Blue Jays, Halladay has shown little need for a learning curve and is still the same dominant pitcher. Case in point: he is first in complete games (seven), shutouts (three) and innings pitched (162). He's fourth in ERA (2.28), seventh in strikeouts (140) and tied for eighth in wins (11). What's even more impressive is that Halladay has allowed the second-fewest walks (20) of any of the top 70 strikeout leaders in the majors, behind Cliff Lee, although Doc also has eight losses.
You know that the crop of pitchers in the NL is phenomenal when we're talking about Adam Wainwright fourth on this list. He's actually been the best pitcher in the majors over the past month. He's gone 4-0 with a complete game, 29 K's and an unbelievable 0.25 ERA. On the season, Wainwright is second in wins with a record of 14-5, fourth with four complete games, fourth among pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched with a 1.00 WHIP and second with an enviable 1.94 ERA. He's also fifth in the NL with 136 strikeouts.
The other half of St. Louis's one-two punch is also having a stellar season, as usual. Chris Carpenter is 11-3 with 122 strikeouts and a 3.09 ERA in 22 starts. The 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner has pitched 148.2 innings, good for third in the majors, but he has no complete games through July 26.
This list wouldn't be complete without two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum. Lincecum has a ways to go if he's to catch the aforementioned contenders or even match his stats from the past two seasons. San Francisco's ace is 10-4 with a 3.12 ERA in 21 starts. He leads the NL with 143 strikeouts, but has already surrendered 53 walks. By comparison, in 2009 Lincecum was 15-7 with a 2.48 ERA and just 68 walks, while in 2008 he went 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA.
The AL contenders
Cliff Lee (TEX - SP)If you haven't been paying attention to Cliff Lee's stats, you may think he was shipped out of Seattle because he's been underperforming. It's quite the opposite. The Texas Rangers acquired one of the best pitchers in baseball. Yes, he's only 9-4, but that's in just 16 starts. The 2008 Cy Young winner leads the American League with a 2.56 ERA and six complete games. He has also walked a measly seven batters all season, which is the fewest walks allowed among pitchers in the top 70 in strikeouts. Throw in the fact that Lee has the best WHIP among starters at 0.92 to go along with 101 strikeouts and you have yourself a frontrunner for the AL Cy Young Award.
Carl Pavano (MIN - SP)More than any other pitcher on this list, Carl Pavano is an excellent example of a pitcher who likely won't win the Cy Young, but probably would have won a fantasy baseball version if there was one. He doesn't lead any pitching categories after 20 starts with the Twins, but he's near the top in several of them. More important, though, he went largely undrafted or was a very late steal in Yahoo fantasy leagues. Pavano is tied for fourth in the majors in wins (12-6), tied for third in complete games (five), tied for second in shutouts (two) and is seventh in innings pitched (143.2). He has a respectable 3.26 ERA, 81 strikeouts and just 19 walks. Additionally, Pavano is fifth among pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched with a minuscule 1.01 WHIP and has pitched complete games in his previous two starts.
CC Sabathia (NYY - SP)
Baseball fans have become accustomed to the consistent dominance of CC Sabathia and again this year he's not disappointing. He's tied for first in the AL in wins with 13 and is third with 144.1 innings pitched. Sabathia also has three complete games, two shutouts, a 3.18 ERA, 119 K's and just three losses on the season. More important, he is 9-0 in his last 10 starts for New York.
David Price (TB - SP)The American League's starter at the 81st all-star game has had an up-and-down month, but David Price is still squarely in the race for the top pitcher award. The Tampa Bay starter is tied for first in the AL in wins with a career-high 13 (to go along with five losses) and, despite being higher up the list until recently, Price finds himself in fifth with a 2.90 ERA. The 2007 first overall pick has also obtained new personal benchmarks in strikeouts (108), complete games (two) and shutouts (one) and will add games started and innings pitched to that list shortly. You couldn't ask for much more from a late-round pick in your draft.
Felix Hernandez (SEA - SP)With Cliff Lee now in Texas, Felix Hernandez has resumed his role as the Mariners' ace. He's third in the majors in strikeouts with 145, second in innings pitched with 160.2 and tied for third with five complete games. Hernandez is also third in the AL with a 2.86 ERA, but has a record of just 7-7 in 22 starts. Like last year, it seems Hernandez could possibly be on pace for a better second half of the season though. In the past month, he's 2-2 with a 1.88 ERA, 40 strikeouts, three complete games and a shutout.
One fairly surprising candidate for the award this season is Jon Lester. In a stacked Red Sox rotation, which includes another potential contender in Clay Buchholz, Lester has a record of 11-5 with two complete games. He's tied for fourth in the majors with 143 strikeouts and has a 2.92 ERA, which is good for sixth in the AL.
Though his record and ERA are not leading the league through 21 starts (9-6, 3.22 ERA), Jered Weaver is one of the MLB's top flame-throwers in 2010. Weaver is second in the majors in strikeouts, just two behind his new teammate Dan Haren, with 147 and he has walked just 30 batters. Not bad for a guy who had a career-high 174 punch-outs last season in 33 starts.
Trivia: Who was the last Ranger pitcher to get a Cy Young award?
Trivia: Who was the last Ranger pitcher to get a Cy Young award?
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