AL Cy Young Award Rankings: David Price Reenters Top 5, New No. 1 Takes Over

Zachary D. RymerJul 3, 2012

Tampa Bay Rays hard-throwing lefty David Price nearly won his first AL Cy Young award back in 2010, but the voters gave it to Felix Hernandez instead.

Price would have gotten it in years past when all voters cared about was wins, as he had Hernandez beat by a wide margin in that category back in 2010. He won 19 games. Hernandez won only 13. King Felix got the award because voters have come to realize that there's more to life than wins and losses.

Which, in case you're just now joining us, is very much true.

Nonetheless, all of us knew that it was just a matter of time before Price made another run at the Cy Young. Sure enough, that's exactly what he's doing this season.

It's been a while since Price cracked the top five in my weekly AL Cy Young rankings, but he's back in there this week. In addition, there's a new No. 1 at the top of the list.

Scroll ahead for the full breakdown.

Note: All stats come from Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

Honorable Mentions

1 of 7

Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers

His 3.59 ERA is merely decent relative to the competition and his 1.36 WHIP needs some work, but Darvish has established himself as one of the top strikeout artists in the American League. He's also put together four straight solid starts, so we'll see if he can make a move towards the top five in the second half.

Matt Harrison, Texas Rangers

Harrison is tied for the AL lead with 11 wins, and he also boasts a 3.16 ERA and a solid 1.24 WHIP. He's been death on lefties, as he's holding them to a .173 average thus far. I was worried that he would come back down to earth after feasting on NL competition, but he allowed two earned runs over eight innings in his most recent start against the Oakland A's. That's a good sign.

Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

Hernandez is trending towards the top five, and fast. He's allowed two earned runs over 23 innings in his last three starts, striking out 30 hitters in the process. Two of those starts were against weak-hitting teams, but the most recent one was against the Boston Red Sox. Keep an eye on King Felix going forward.

CC Sabathia, New York Yankees

Sabathia won't be pitching again until after the All-Star break due to a groin injury. A lot of people have labeled him as a weak link in New York, which is ridiculous. He's going to give the Yankees seven good innings nine times out of 10, and FanGraphs has him tied for third among AL starters with a 2.8 WAR. He's been good. He just hasn't been lucky.

C.J. Wilson, Los Angeles Angels

Wilson has been in my top five for a couple weeks now, but he's been bumped down to honorable mention status this week. His last couple starts have been hit-or-miss. He still has really good numbers for the season, but the dude occupying the No. 5 spot on this list has slightly better numbers. I shall explain.

5. David Price, Tampa Bay Rays

2 of 7

Last Week: Unranked (honorable mention)

David Price's 11th win wasn't an easy one to get. He was going up against the Detroit Tigers, and Justin Verlander was the opposing pitcher.

Despite leaving early with a sore back, Price got the better of Verlander. He allowed two earned runs over seven innings in a game the Rays won 4-2. He picked up his 11th win and dropped his ERA to 2.92.

His 11 wins tie him with Matt Harrison for the AL lead. His 2.92 ERA is good for fifth in the AL, and Price also ranks in the top 10 in innings pitched and strikeouts.

Yes, C.J. Wilson does have a lower ERA than Price by a considerable margin at 2.33. Price, however, is averaging more strikeouts and fewer walks per game than Wilson, and he hasn't gotten to enjoy as much good luck as Wilson has.

I'll give credit to Wilson for not giving in to hitters this season, but his .247 BABIP and 3.53 FIP (fielding independent pitching) show that he's benefited from good fortune. That no doubt has something to do with the Angels' terrific defense.

Price, meanwhile, is dealing with a .299 BABIP, a figure well above his career average. Both his FIP and his xFIP are lower than Wilson's. Goodness knows he hasn't had the luxury of an excellent defense this season.

The simple version of it is this: Price and Wilson have both performed well this season, but the only thing Wilson has on him is a low ERA, and that's not entirely his doing.

Price has been the better pitcher.

4. Jake Peavy, Chicago White Sox

3 of 7

Last Week: No. 5

Speaking of guys who can't catch a break, poor Jake Peavy has been asked to do the impossible his last four starts.

Peavy's last four starts have gone well, as he's allowed nine earned runs over 30 innings while giving up 27 hits and four walks. His ERA over his last four starts checks in at 2.70.

Yet he's lost all four of these starts, and that's because the White Sox have managed to give him a grand total of two runs.

Peavy now knows what Matt Cain felt like between 2007 and 2011.

As a result of his four-game losing streak, Peavy now bears a 6-5 record that doesn't look very good.

So here's a hint: Don't look at it.

Instead, look at Peavy's 2.96 ERA, which ranks sixth in the AL. Also look at his 0.99 WHIP, which ranks fourth in the AL. He ranks third in innings pitched and sixth in strikeouts. His FIP, according to FanGraphs, is 3.30. That ranks him above both of the AL's 11-game winners.

Peavy's WAR, meanwhile, is 2.8. That ties him with CC Sabathia for the third-best mark among AL starting pitchers.

He doesn't have the wins, but he has everything else.

TOP NEWS

Bleacher Report18h

Bleacher Report3h

Bleacher Report7h

3. Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels

4 of 7

Last Week: No. 3

Jered Weaver has now made three starts since being activated off the disabled list, and it's safe to say that he's shown no ill effects.

Weaver is 3-0 since returning, and he's allowed just one earned run on 13 hits and six walks in 19.2 innings. That's good for a 0.46 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP.

For the season, Weaver now has his ERA down to an AL-best 2.13 and his WHIP down to an AL-best 0.94. He's holding opponents to a .194 batting average, tops among AL hurlers.

Yes, Weaver has also benefited from good fortune and the Angels' excellent defense, but not nearly to the same degree Wilson has. Weaver's 2.13 ERA isn't that far removed from his 2.99 FIP, a figure that ranks third in the American League, according to FanGraphs.

All Weaver needs to do to keep climbing these rankings is log more innings, and that shouldn't be too much to ask of him going forward. He threw over 100 pitches for the first time since he was activated his last time out, a sign that the Angels aren't going to baby him any longer.

If there's a Cy Young candidate to watch in the second half of the season, it's Weaver. Here's hoping he doesn't break down in August like he did last year.

2. Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

5 of 7

Last Week: No. 1

Justin Verlander has spent more time at the top of my weekly rankings than any other pitcher in the American League, but there are reasons to be worried about him.

Verlander was excellent in interleague play this season, going 4-0 in five starts with a 1.62 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 39 innings pitched. He was particularly tough against the Pittsburgh Pirates, throwing two complete games against them.

However, Verlander looked awfully human in his first post-interleague start, as the Rays battered him for four earned runs on six hits in six innings. Three of those hits left the ballpark.

This was a continuation of a trend that started to develop just before interleague played pick up again in early June. Verlander was knocked around by the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, giving up 10 runs (eight earned) over 12.1 innings.

All of this suggests that the AL is not that overmatched against Verlander. Or at least not the AL East, anyway.

Verlander still checks in at No. 2 on this list anyway because you simply cannot hate on the numbers. He's got a 2.69 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP, and he ranks first in the AL in innings pitched and strikeouts. Per FanGraphs, he also leads all AL starters with a 3.6 WAR.

He's still very much a Cy Young contender. He just needs to show that he can dominate AL teams before he can reclaim the No. 1 spot.

1. Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox

6 of 7

Last Week: No. 2

We come at last to Chris Sale, who is quite good at this whole pitching thing.

Sale had a slight hiccup against the Los Angeles Dodgers back on June 15 when he allowed five earned runs on seven hits and four walks in just 5.2 innings. Since then, though, he's given up just two earned over 15 innings.

Dating back to May 17, Sale has now allowed two earned runs or fewer in seven of eight starts. It's a very Jarrod Parker-like run of success.

In the process, Sale has run his record to 9-2 and dropped his ERA all the way down to 2.27. He also boasts a 0.97 WHIP and an 8.87 K/9 that ranks fifth in the American League. His 3.92 strikeout-to-walk ratio also ranks fifth.

Sale's success this season is not a mirage. He ranks first in the AL in FIP and second in xFIP, according to FanGraphs. That's as good a sign as any that his dominance is absolutely for real.

The one issue with Sale is that he's already pitched a career-high 95.1 innings. He's on pace to pitch 95 more before the season is over, so we'll see how long he can keep up the good work before he starts to wear down.

But if the season ended today, he'd be the 2012 AL Cy Young winner. Hands down.