The ongoing narrative in the American League Cy Young race is that there hasn’t been any dominating pitching, and therefore, Zach Britton should probably win the Cy Young.  The narrative is flipped.  The case for Britton is that he has been historically dominant out of the bullpen, and therefore he should receive some consideration.  I did consider him, but ultimately, he wasn’t my choice for Cy Young.  Here is my ballot:

1st – Corey Kluber

To say that there hasn’t been a dominant starting pitcher is to ignore the type of season Kluber had with the Cleveland Indians this year.  In 32 starts, Kluber has pitched 215.0 innings.  Overall, Kluber is 18-9 with a 3.14 ERA, 1.056 WHIP, 9.5 K/9, 227 strikeouts, 1.056 WHIP, 149 ERA+, 3.26 FIP, and a 6.5 WAR.  He also led the American League in shutouts (2).

Coincidentally, when Kluber won the Cy Young Award in 2014, he was 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA and a 1.095 WHIP.  These two seasons are not that appreciably different.

They’re not appreciably different because Kluber had another fantastic season.  Kluber led the American League in pitcher WAR, shutouts, ERA+, FIP, adjusted pitching runs (33), and adjusting pitching wins (3.5).  He was also in the Top 10 in many of the major pitching categories.  Kluber was fifth in innings pitched, sixth in ERA, third in wins, eight in win-loss percentage (.667), fourth in WHIP, third in hits per nine (7.116), fourth in strikeouts per nine, fifth in innings pitched, third in strikeouts, fifth in games started, third in complete games (3), tenth in strikeout to walk ratio (3.983), fifth in homers per nine (0.921), fifth in batters faced (860), and seventh in WPA (2.7).

Overall, Kluber was the most dominant starting pitcher in the American League this season.  He was every bit as dominant as he was in 2014 when he won his first Cy Young Award.  Considering how he matched that level of dominance, he should be taking home his second Cy Young Award this season.

2nd – Rick Porcello

About a year ago, the baseball world was laughing at the Red Sox for not only trading away Yoenis Cespedes got obtain the 9-15 Porcello and his 4.92 ERA, but also because the Red Sox gave him a four year $82.5 million extension.  This year, it was Porcello and the Red Sox who were laughing.

The 2007 first round pick seemingly fulfilled his promise in his eight major league season going 22-4 with a 3.15 ERA, 1.009 WHIP, 145 ERA+, and a 5.91 strikeout-to-walk ratio.  This was clearly the best season of his career, and he was one of the main reasons the Red Sox won the AL East.

Overall, Porcello would lead the majors in both wins and strikeout-to-walk ratio.  He would also fair well in the Top 10 categories for American League pitchers finishing fifth in pitching WAR (5.0), fifth in ERA, second in win-loss percentage (.846), second in WHIP, seventh in hits per nine (7.789), second in walks per nine (1.292), fourth in innings pitched (223.0), eight in strikeouts (189), fourth in games started (33), third in complete games (3), fifth in home runs per nine (0.928), fourth in batters faced (890), second in ERA+, second in FIP, second in adjusted pitching runs (32), and second in adjusted pitching wins (3.2).

Porcello wasn’t that glamour ace that went out there and struck out 10+ batters a game and had the fans rhythmically clapping for that next strikeout.  Instead, he was a ground ball pitcher that was best suited for his team and his ballpark.  Twenty years ago, he probably wins the Cy Young Award as he had the most wins.  Now, with better information available, he finishes second.

3rd – Chris Sale

4th – Justin Verlander

At this point is where it gets more and more difficult to differentiate between players.  In many ways, Sale and Verlander were neck-in-neck for the next spot on the ballot.

Sale made 32 starts pitching 226.2 innings going 17-10 with a 3.34 ERA, 1.037 WHIP, 120 ERA+, 3.46 FIP, and a 9.3 K/9.  Verlander made 34 starts pitching 227.2 innings going 16-9 with a 3.04 ERA, 1.001 WHIP, 136 ERA+, 3.49 FIP, and a 10.0 K/9.

Both were in the Top 10 in multiple categories among American League pitchers.  Sale finished seventh in WAR (4.9), ninth in ERA, fourth in wins, third in WHIP, fourth in hits per nine (7.544), fourth in walks per nine (1.787), sixth in strikeouts per nine, third in innings pitched, second in strikeouts (233), first in complete games (6), second in shutouts (1), third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.178), second in batters faced (907), and third in FIP.

Verlander finished first in WAR (6.6), second in ERA, sixth in wins, first in WHIP, second in hits per nine (6.760), third in strikeouts per nine, second in innings pitched, first in strikeouts, second in games started, fifth in complete games (2), seventh in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.456), third in batters faced, sixth in ERA+, fourth in FIP, third in adjusted pitching runs (29), and third in adjusted pitching wins (3.0).

Overall, they were neck-in-neck.  The deciding factors were Sale went deeper into games, and Sale issuing fewer free passes while having similar strikeout numbers.

5th – Zach Britton

This very easily could have gone to any number of pitchers, including Michael Fulmer, who should be the American League Rookie of the Year.  However, a vote needed to be made for Britton who had a historically great year for a reliever.

Britton’s ERA+ this season is 827. No, that’s not a typo.  It is actually that high.  That’s better than anyone has ever posted in any single season in major league history.  Note, unlike Tim Keefe and Pedro Martinez, Britton does not have enough innings to qualify.

Among major league relievers, he has the lowest ERA (.054) and the highest WAR (4.3), and it wasn’t particularly close in either category. On the season, Britton made 69 appearnces going 2-1 with 47 saves, a 0.836 WHIP, 9.9 K/9, 827 ERA+, and a 1.94 FIP.  This has now become the gold standard upon which all reliever seasons will be judged.