Awards season is upon us this MLB offseason. Just last week, we saw the Washington Nationals be crowned World Series champions, but now it’s time for the individual awards. All finalists for Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards for both the American and National League have been announced and will be revealed beginning November 11th. Now it’s time for the End of the Bench’s predictions for each award. Here, we are going to look at the Cy Young award in the American League.
AL Cy Young
Gerrit Cole, HOU
Charlie Morton, TB
Justin Verlander, HOU
Not a surprise who the finalists are for this one. We knew for years Gerrit Cole had the stuff to be a star. An All Star with the Pirates in 2015, Cole has done nothing but dominate since coming to the Astros in 2018. This year, he pitched to an AL leading 2.50 ERA, 326 strikeouts, 2.64 FIP, 0.895 WHIP and a 13.8 K/9 in 33 starts and 212.1 innings. He was arguably the best pitcher in the majors in 2019 and is due for quite the payday this offseason as he enters free agency. His teammate, Justin Verlander, knows a thing or two about winning Cy Youngs. A Cy Young winner in 2011 with Detroit and another six top 5 finishes, Verlander has a resume that will probably see himself in Cooperstown one day. It seems that just about every year, Verlander is in the running for the award. At 36 years old, he was still dealing in 2019, posting a 2.58 ERA, 300 strikeouts, WHIP of 0.803, 12.1 K/9 in 34 starts and 223 innings pitched. Morton, who was Cole and Verlander’s teammate in 2018, was able to reinvent himself in Houston and has put together two consecutive Cy Young worthy seasons. The ace of the Tampa Bay staff in 2019, he posted a 3.05 ERA, 240 strikeouts, 2.81 FIP and 11.1 K/9 in 33 starts and 194.2 innings. It seems that even though now after 11 seasons in the league and at age 35, Morton has only just begun.
Another category where you can throw a dart and whoever it hits wins with no arguments. It is clear that over the last several years, the Astros have been able to develop very good pitchers into perennial Cy Young candidates. This year, I’d have to give it to the Cole Train but it is a fairly close decision.
Winner: Gerrit Cole, HOU
