Best Active Pitchers Without a Cy Young

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will be recognized as one of the greatest pitchers of his generation, but the right-hander has never had the joy of winning the Cy Young Award. From 2018 to 2020, Cole finished fifth, second and fourth, respectively, in voting for the award in the American League. The flamethrower has another chance to win it this year, having finished among the three finalists in the Young Circuit. Winners will be announced Wednesday at 6 pm ET on the MLB Network.

If he can get past Robbie Ray and Lance Lynn, Cole will not only win the recognition, but he will also be removed from the list of the best pitchers who have never won a Cy Young Award, which has been awarded since 1956. (Lynn also hopes to win his first trophy this year).

Let’s take a look at the top active pitchers who haven’t had the good fortune to win the coveted trophy:

Cole Hamels, 2006-present (bWAR 59.3)

Best Performance: 5th Place LN, 2011

Hamels is fifth among active pitchers in bWAR behind Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, but unlike those four, the southpaw has never won the Cy Young. Due to injuries, the 37-year-old veteran has thrown only 3.1 innings since the start of 2020.

Adam Wainwright, 2005-present (bWAR 44.5)

Best Performance: 2nd Place LN, 2010, 2013

Wainwright was one of the top pitchers in the Big Top between 2009 and 2004, posting a 2.83 ERA and finishing in the top three in the NL Cy Young voting four times. In fact, Wainwright drew more first-place votes than anyone else on the Old Circuit in 2009, but he finished third behind Tim Lincecum and his Cardinals teammate Chris Carpenter in total points. The right-hander would then finish second behind Roy Halladay in 2010, and second behind Clayton Kershaw in 2013. At age 38, Wainwright has a 4.58 ERA since starting the 2016 season. The 40-year-old right-hander took a second wind. and posted a 3.05 ERA through 206.1 in 2021, but it wasn’t enough to make the National League Cy Young Award finalist shortlist.

Jon Lester, 2006-present (bWAR 44.2)

Best presentation: 2nd place LN, 2016

Lester made at least 32 starts each season from 2008 to 2018, with a 3.42 ERA in that span, but his Cy Young days appear to be over. The 37-year-old left-hander has a 4.67 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP since the start of the 2019 season.

Madison Bumgarner, 2009-present (bWAR 38.2)

Best Performance: 4th Place LN, 2014, 2016

While his postseason dominance is more than documented, Bumgarner was also a tremendous regular-round pitcher at the peak of his career, posting a 3.00 ERA and 1.08 WHIP with a 9.1K / 9 mark over a six-plus season span. of 200 innings pitched that began in 2011. However, he has not received a single Cy Young vote since that streak ended. And after signing for five years with the D-backs, the 30-year-old southpaw has posted a 5.07 ERA in 188 innings.

Johnny Cueto, 2008-present (bWAR 32.9)

Best Performance: 2nd Place LN, 2014

Among pitchers who pitched at least 1,000 innings between 2011 and 2016, only Kershaw had a better EFE + than Cueto (145), who finished second behind the left-hander in the 2014 NL Cy Young race. Cueto had his best major league season that year, posting a 20-9 record with a 2.25 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 242 strikeouts, leading the league. The 35-year-old Cueto has a 4.38 ERA in 394.1 innings over the past five seasons.

Chris Sale, 2010-present (bWAR 46.5)

Best Performance: 2nd Place LA, 2017

It’s really surprising that Sale hasn’t won Cy Young yet. His EFE + of 140 is the 16th best ever and his ratio of 5.4 strikeouts per walk is the best (minimum 1,000 innings). The southpaw finished in the top six of the voting on the Young Circuit in each season from 2012 to 2018. His closest was in 2017 (2.90 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 308 K), but was surprised by an exceptional Corey Kluber ( 2.25 EFE, 0.87 WHIP, 265 K). Sale underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020, but after returning to accumulate a 3.16 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 42.2 innings in 2021, the possibility of winning his first Cy Young Award cannot be ruled out for the left-handed ace.

Stephen Strasburg, 2010-present (bWAR 33.2)

Best Presentation: 3rd Place LN, 2017

As he made clear during the 2019 playoffs, Strasburg has the talent to be the best pitcher in baseball when he’s healthy and at the top of his game. What he did in 2017 (2.52 ERA, 2.72 FIP, 22.4 K-BB%) was very close to what Max Scherzer did (2.51 EFE, 2.90 FIP, 27.3 K-BB%), but Scherzer threw 25.1 more innings than his teammate to keep the award. Clayton Kershaw was second and Strasburg third. Strasburg is now 33 years old and was copied to just 26.2 innings from 2020-2021, so the right-hander will go uphill in his bid for his first Cy Young.

Gerrit Cole, 2013-present (bWAR 31.7)

Best Performance: 2nd Place LA, 2019

How come someone who wins 20 games and finishes with a 2.50 ERA, 326 strikeouts and 0.89 WHIP didn’t win the Cy Young that season? Well, when your teammate, Justin Verlander, also has an impressive year (21-6 with 2.58 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 300 strikeouts). He has maintained that great level since signing a historic nine-year, $ 324 million deal with the Yankees, finishing fourth in 2020 and placing in the top three this year.

Lance Lynn, 2011-present (bWAR 29.4)

Lynn has been a consistent Cy Young Award nominee for the past three years, finishing fifth in 2019 and sixth in 2020 before making the shortlist in 2021 for the American League alongside Cole and left-hander Robbie Ray. In that stretch, the right-hander has posted a 3.26 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP, ranking fifth in the majors in innings pitched (449.1), seventh in ERA + (145) (minimum 200 innings) and eighth in strikeouts (511).

Yu Darvish, 2012-present (bWAR 26.4)

Best Performance: 2nd Place LA, 2013

At first glance, a 35-year-old pitcher coming off a 4.22 ERA doesn’t seem like the best Cy Young Award candidate. But the Japanese finished second in voting in the 2020 National League race and was a candidate in 2021 before battling in the second half. With a diverse arsenal that has helped him post one of the highest strikeout-to-walk rates (11.1) in major league history, Darvish would still have a shot at his first Cy Young.

Others: Carlos Carrasco, Zack Wheeler, Sonny Gray, Aaron Nola, Hyun Jin Ryu, Marcus Stroman, Charlie Morton, Kyle Hendricks