For most of the season, it has been a virtual lock that Justin Verlander would win the American League Cy Young award in his first year back from Tommy John Surgery. But over the past few weeks, Verlander being out with the calf injury has brought back into play a few candidates in the American League. Dylan Cease has been excellent for the White Sox this season and has a chance and the same can be said for Shane McClanahan of the Rays (who is also dealing with an injury) and Alex Manoah of the Blue Jays. You can even make a case at this point for Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, so with all that being said, there are plenty of pitchers in the American League having Cy Young caliber seasons.
As we sit today, the easy bet is still on Verlander to win it once again. He is slated to return soon and there is little reason to think he will not come back and add on to his incredible season that he has already put together. He still leads the American League in wins and all of baseball in earned run average, while being tied for the league's best WHIP with McClanahan. But while Verlander still feels like he has the edge for the award, it is time that his teammate truly starts getting some run in the conversation. Last night in Detroit, Framber Valdez tossed his second complete game of the season and first career shutout, extending his quality start streak to twenty four games, tying the all-time mark for longest quality start streak in Major League Baseball history, set by Jacob deGrom's record back in 2018. deGrom would go on to win the Cy Young that season in the National League. There has been just one starter in MLB history to have a quality start streak of twenty games or more and to not win the Cy Young Award in that season. The unfortunate non-winner in that category was Luis Tiant.
The quality start streak does not guarantee that Valdez wins this award, nor should it. But it absolutely is a story that has to be told as part of this race as he has at worst put himself in position to where he finishes top three in the voting this year. Framber will never lead the league in some of the categories that today's voters love, but they are voting improperly if that is why they are not giving him some love. It should not be overlooked at how much of a workhorse he has been for his club and how ever time he goes out he is going to post. Framber might not win this award, but the man deserves some serious run.