With summer drawing to a close and the weather beginning to get a bit cooler, we’re nearing the point of the MLB season where elite starting pitchers really show their worth. We took a look at the best in both the American and National Leagues, and ranked them by chance of winning the coveted Cy Young Award.
The names on this list all share the distinct quality of having been consistently dominant throughout almost the entire season, which is why they’re all worthy of pitching’s highest individual honor for 2016.
National League
4. Madison Bumgarner
Expectations skyrocketed soon after his otherworldly 2014 postseason performance — which ended in him receiving the World Series MVP. So, naturally, everything that he’s done since has been something of a letdown. But a 32-18 record, eight complete games, and nearly 500 strikeouts is nothing to overlook.
In fact, it’s adding to what’s already an impressive resume at age 27. For 2016, he ranks third in the NL in ERA (2.57), second in K’s (241), and fifth in strikeouts per nine innings (10.17).
If you do somehow question his success, MadBum would most likely take exception.
3. Jon Lester
On two occasions, Lester finished fourth in the Cy Young voting. There’s a very good chance he’ll better that as he nears 33. Lester started the year splendidly with a 1.83 ERA in April. Since the calendar turned to June, he’s been defeated only once and has tossed two complete games. Ranking second among NL pitchers in ERA, third in WHIP, fourth in hits per nine innings and is tops in win percentage. Although he’s arguably not even the best pitcher on his own team, his postseason experience will be invaluable come October.
2. Max Scherzer
How do you follow up a season which included two no-hitters (both of which could have easily been perfect games)? Easy. Post a record of 17-7 with a 2.78 ERA, and an MLB-best 0.93 WHIP for a team that’s on pace to win the NL East.
Throw in an NL-high 210.2 innings pitched and a league-leading 259 strikeouts for good measure. Twenty of those K’s came on May 11 at Nationals Park, at the expense of his former club, the Detroit Tigers. By reaching that mark, he joined just three others who have struck out that many in a single game.
1. Kyle Hendricks
For the second straight season, the NL Cy Young Award winner will likely be won by a member of the Chicago Cubs. But it’s not Jake Arrieta who’ll be receiving the honor this time.
While the reigning award winner has been more than adequate in helping the Cubs to the best record in baseball, his 2016 campaign has still been a bit disappointing, by his standards. This is due to both his own accomplishments from the year prior and the deeds of his fellow mound mates, Lester and Hendricks.
Hendricks, in his third big league season, is finishing strong (much like Arrieta did in ’15). He sports an ERA of 1.46 since the All-Star break and has extended his streak of consecutive starts allowing three runs or less to a remarkable 22.
American League
4. Masahiro Tanaka
He should be given an award for remaining relatively healthy over the duration of a season. But all jokes aside, Tanaka’s 2.97 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 193.2 innings has proven vital for a Yankees team that was desperate for good starting pitching.
He’s been especially good down the stretch, allowing just 16 hits and four earned runs over three September starts (totaling 20.2 frames) despite New York fading from the playoff chase. In a crucial contest at Fenway Park, the Red Sox managed just one run over seven innings — only to feast on the Yanks’ bullpen once Tanaka left.
3. Zach Britton
Only three times over the past 30 years (and never since 2003) has a relief pitcher won the Cy Young. For someone coming out of the bullpen to be considered for such high praise, his season-long performance has to have been exceptional.
Britton, in further defining the term of “shutdown closer,” does have a case. The most convincing argument is that he’s 45-for-45 in save opportunities. His latest came on Sunday, in which he also lowered his ERA to a microscopic 0.59.
Over 61.1 innings, Britton has fanned 67 batters and allowed four runs (one measly homer).
2. Corey Kluber
The way Kluber’s 2016 campaign began, you would think there was no way he’d end up with a chance to earn a second Cy Young. After allowing 13 earned runs over his first three starts, the 2014 winner had dug himself out of a monumental hole.
The process of climbing out of it includes a tremendous workload — having gone at least six innings in each of his previous 13 outings. During that stretch, Kluber’s won nine of 10 decisions and brought his ERA down from 3.61 to 3.12.
1. Rick Porcello
In a similar fate to Hendricks, the supposed top pitcher in the AL wasn’t even expected to be his own team’s No. 1 starter when the 2016 season began.
David Price garnered the majority of the headlines in Boston when he signed his mega-contract. Porcello, meanwhile, was coming off arguably his worst season – 15 losses and a 4.92 ERA.
Now, as the Red Sox close in on a postseason berth, they can credit much of their success to the 27-year-old right-hander who became the first pitcher to garner 20 victories, backed up by a league-leading WHIP of 0.98 and career-best 174 strikeouts.
For this year, the title of Boston’s rotation ace belongs to Porcello — proven once more with a complete-game effort Monday against Baltimore.
