The American League Cy Young picture is starting to narrow, but it’s not locked up yet. MLB.com’s latest poll puts Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler on top, with Dylan Cease, Drew Rasmussen, Parker Messick and Sonny Gray filling out the rest of the top five.
Schlittler has been the headliner all season, and the numbers explain why he’s still holding the No. 1 spot. He leads the AL with a 2.16 ERA, 152 innings and 5.1 bWAR. He’s also posted a 0.94 WHIP, and opponents are batting just .196 against him.
Cease is the one breathing down his neck. The Blue Jays right-hander leads the league with 201 strikeouts and has paired that punchout total with a 2.42 ERA. He’s been especially sharp since July 3, when he’s put up a 1.49 ERA across eight starts.
Rasmussen has quietly forced his way into the conversation for Tampa Bay. His 0.91 WHIP is the best in the American League, and he’s walked only 23 batters. Over his last five starts, he’s worked to a 1.20 ERA.
Messick gives the Guardians another name in the award mix, and he’s doing it while also pushing for AL Rookie of the Year. His 2.59 ERA ranks third in the AL, and since July 4 he’s been even better, posting a 1.96 ERA.
Gray rounds out the list for Boston, and he’s built his case in a different way. He has 15 wins, which ranks second in the majors, along with a 2.65 ERA that sits fourth in the AL. The Red Sox have also gone 17-6 in his starts.
In Other News...
Rays Fans Just Got Their First Real Look At Emersons Path
Grady Emersons first stop as a pro is now clear, and it gives Rays fans their first real glimpse of how the organization plans to handle one of its most important young pieces. The second overall pick in the MLB Draft has been assigned to Single-A Charleston to open his career, a logical landing spot for a player Tampa Bay believes can grow quickly if everything goes to plan. Emerson, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 10 prospect, arrived with plenty of attention after signing for a record high school player bonus.
For the Rays, the assignment is about more than just getting Emerson on the field. Charleston should give him a first taste of the day-to-day demands of pro baseball, from the routine to the travel to the pace of a full minor league season. Tampa Bay has long been deliberate with young talent, and this looks like the start of that familiar process, with each stop designed to help Emerson adjust before the next test arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Ian Seymour Has Become A Rays Rotation Answer Nobody Saw Coming
Ian Seymour arrived in the middle of the season as a bullpen arm, but the Rays saw enough to give him a turn in the rotation and find out what he could do over a longer stretch. Since that first start on June 8, he has looked more and more like a pitcher who belongs in that lane, carrying a 3.58 ERA across 65.1 innings while missing bats at a strong clip and giving Tampa Bay a useful, unexpected option in a role the club did not seem set on when the switch was made.
For the Rays, the significance goes beyond one hot run. With other pitchers back in the mix and the rotation getting fuller, Seymour has still held his spot by keeping hitters off balance and giving the team a steady answer it did not appear to be counting on. What makes this development notable is not just the numbers, but how quickly he turned a trial into something that now looks a lot more permanent. [Read more 🡒]
Theo Gillen Is Giving Rays Fans One More Reason To Pay Attention
Theo Gillen has become one of the more intriguing names in the Rays system, and the buzz is only growing as the season moves along. FanGraphs now ranks him as the organizations top prospect, and he is also being mentioned as a candidate for Minor League Player of the Year, a sign that his performance has started to separate him from the rest of Tampa Bays deep farm group.
There is plenty else to watch behind him, too, with Aidan Cremarosa still holding the top spot among pitchers after his recent return, while other young players continue to move through milestones of their own. Grady Emerson and Blake Morgan have logged recent debuts and promotions, and Xavier Isaac is drawing notice for the way his bat has taken a step forward, which only adds to the sense that the Rays prospect pipeline keeps finding new ways to matter. [Read more 🡒]