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New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Top five American League Cy Young contenders

By Beau Adams | Last updated 6/8/23

As we get deeper into June, division races are taking shape and great players are separating themselves from the rest of the league. The new MLB rules clearly have impacted the game, especially in the pitching department. Here are the top five American League Cy Young contenders in inverse order.

5. Luis Castillo, Seattle Mariners, RHP

Castillo (4-3, 2.55 ERA) is having an outstanding season, but the Mariners (30-31) are only so-so, and a lack of run support for the righty has harmed his candidacy.

Castillo is top five in the AL in WHIP (.98) and batting average against (.203). He has an impressive walks (16) to hits (53) to strikeouts (82) ratio, at 1.18 strikeouts for every base allowed. He has also allowed only six home runs.

Two of Castillo's three losses were by one run to the Texas Rangers (40-21). He is pitching far better than his statistics show, and if the weak-hitting Mariners can start to score before the fifth inning, Castillo should be a finalist for the AL Cy Young.

Luis Castillo's 4Ks thru 4. pic.twitter.com/hfkde1cZJR
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 3, 2023

4. Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees, RHP

The Yankees (36-26) have been rocked to their core with injuries to their starting rotation, but Cole has been exceptionally solid amid the uncertainty.

In 13 starts, he hasn't lost a game (7-0, 2.86 ERA). He is top five in the AL in wins and strikeouts (84), and his 1.28 innings pitched to hits are second only to Shohei Ohtani. Cole will be in every AL Cy Young conversation this year.

Gerrit Cole's 2Ks in the 5th. pic.twitter.com/BJccFT2pr8
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 4, 2023

3. Nathan Eovaldi, Texas Rangers, RHP

Eovaldi (8-2) is a newcomer to the AL Cy Young conversation The 33-year-old journeyman is on pace to win 21 games. This is even more impressive given that he has never won more than 14 games in a season during his MLB career.

Eovaldi has won eight of his 12 starts for the Rangers (40-21) and owns an elite .213 batting average against and a .98 WHIP. His 2.24 ERA is more than a full run better than his career best of 3.33 in 2018 for the Boston Red Sox.

Eovaldi has only given up three home runs this season, which leads the MLB among pitchers with at least 70 innings of work.

2. Shane McClanahan, Tampa Bay Rays, LHP

The Tampa Bay Rays (45-19) are outstanding, and McClanahan is one of the leading reasons why. Winning nine of his 13 starts, he is on pace to win 23 games and has consistently been key to the Rays' dominance.

McClanahan leads the AL in ERA at 2.02 and wins (nine), but a deeper look into his stats indicates he may not retain his ranking on this list for much longer.

McClanahan has allowed eight HRs, accounting for well over 60% of his runs allowed. While his ERA is 2.02, his expected ERA (xERA) is 3.59. If and when these numbers catch up with him, he will likely fall off the AL Cy Young contenders list.

1. Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays, RHP

Gausman has been electric this season, leading the league in innings (82), strikeouts (113), quality starts (10) and SO per nine innings (12.40).

Kevin Gausman led the AL in 2022 with a 2.38 FIP.
Kevin Gausman leads the AL in 2023 with a 2.30 FIP. pic.twitter.com/O2GzDRFdIi
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) June 7, 2023

Gausman’s two starts in June (two wins, 0.66 ERA in 13.2 innings) have propelled him up the Cy Young contenders list. He has also struck out 24 batters while just walking two in that span.

Gausman's 3.1 WAR is tops in the MLB for pitchers, better than Ohtani's combined WAR of 2.8. Overall, Gausman is 5-3 with a 2.63 ERA.

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