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Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet is one of the best pitchers in the American League, and he’s competing with Tarik Skubal for the league’s Cy Young award.
While Skubal has been the favorite to win for most of the season, CBS Sports writer Matt Snyder believes the race is closer than many believe.
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“Notably with the stinginess in allowing baserunners (WHIP) and the insane strikeout-to-walk rate, Skubal has a bit of separation here,” wrote Snyder. “It shouldn’t be a question that he’s the leader right now. It’s reasonable, however, to believe that Crochet is within striking range, considering we’ve got a month-plus left to play. Even with Skubal in the lead, it isn’t a blowout anymore.”
Below is the breakdown of stats between Skubal and Crochet.
- Skubal: 11-4, 2.28 ERA, 184 ERA+, 0.87 WHIP, 212 K, 25 BB, 166 IP, 5.8 bWAR, 6.1 fWAR
- Crochet: 14-5, 2.38 ERA, 172 ERA+, 1.06 WHIP, 207 K, 42 BB, 166 ⅓ IP, 5.2 bWAR, 5.3 fWAR
Crochet is behind Skubal in almost every category, but he’s not far away. He has just five fewer strikeouts going into the final few weeks of the regular season, but Skubal has 17 less walks.
Snyder pointed out two elements that will decide the race for the award.
“The two biggest takeaways there show us one in favor of each pitcher,” wrote Snyder. “First off, Crochet has an extra start, giving him the chance to build up those counting stats and carve into Skubal’s lead here. The second one, however, is that — just eyeballing it! — Crochet seems to have a much tougher remaining schedule.”
Crochet is looking to become the first Red Sox pitcher to the win AL Cy Young since Rick Porcello in 2016 while Skubal is looking to win the award for the second consecutive year. He has some work to do to leapfrog Skubal, but a lot can change over the final month of the year.
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