Justin Verlander (40, New York Mets) and Sandy Alcantara (27, Miami Marlins) voted for the 2022 Cy Young Young. Who will be the main character of the 2023 season?
MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, announced on the 7th (Korean time) that it selected and announced five dark horses for the 2023 Cy Young Young in both leagues.
The first player mentioned is right-handed starting pitcher Christian Javier (26, Houston Astros), who will be entering his fourth year in the major leagues.
Javier pitched 148 2/3 innings in 30 games (25 starts) last year, going 11-9 with a 2.54 ERA. 194 strikeouts.
In particular, Javier posted an ERA of 1.79 in 13 games (12 starts) in the second half of last year. That number has been lowered to 1.05 in the last 12 games, including the postseason.
Accordingly, it is evaluated that it is safe to engrave one’s name on the 2023 American League Cy Young Award trophy right away. In the 2023 season, he leads the Houston mound with Framber Valdes (30).
Right-handed starting pitcher Triston McKenzie (26, Cleveland Guardians), who will also be entering his fourth year in the major leagues, was named the Cy Young Young dark horse.
Mackenzie pitched 191 1/3 innings in 31 games (30 starts) last year, going 11-11 with a 2.96 ERA. 190 strikeouts.스포츠토토
McKenzie, who has an excellent curveball, had three games with 12 strikeouts or more and no walks last year. This is the 14th in MLB history.
Right-handed starting pitcher Pablo Lopez (27), who continued to transfer to the Minnesota Twins ahead of the 2023 season, was also evaluated as a Cy Young Young dark horse.
Lopez was evaluated as a strong National League Cy Young Award candidate through the first half of last season. His performance dropped significantly after being hit on his right wrist by a batted ball.
Accordingly, in the 2023 season, he is expected to recover from a wrist injury and use Target Field, one of the best pitcher-friendly pitches, as his home stadium and go out as a Cy Young Young dark horse.
Hunter Green (24, Cincinnati Reds), the only National League pitcher to be named, pitched 125 2/3 innings in 24 games last season, recording an ERA of 4.44.
But Green gave up just two earned runs over 29 innings over his last five games last season. His earned run average is just 0.62.
Green is currently the fastest-throwing pitcher in the major leagues. Last season, Green’s four-seam fastball averaged 99.0 mph.
Lastly, George Kirby (25, Seattle Mariners), who boasts the best player in his career, was named. Kirby is a right-handed starting pitcher who debuted in the major leagues last year.
His major league career is short, but his pitches are the best. Kirby walked just 15 in his last 15 games last year. He hits an accurate four-seam fastball that averages 95.4 mph.
None of these five pitchers were among the top 10 in last year’s Cy Young Young voting. However, they showed enough potential last season.
Therefore, it is not at all surprising that the main character of the Cy Young Award for the 2023 season appears among them. They have plenty of potential.