Max Scherzer- 24 starts, 17-1 record, 2.85 ERA, 161.1 IP, 181 K, 0.91 WHIP, 6.1 H/9, 0.8 HR/9, 2.1 BB/9, 9.9 K/9, 4.76 K/BB, 5.0 WAR, 5.0 pitching WAR, 19 QS, 6.04 RS per start, .192 BAA, 2 scoreless starts and 15 starts going 7 innings or more. Scherzer leads the American League in: wins, WHIP and tied for first in quality starts. There a couple of stats on this sheet that trouble me. He hasn’t had a lot of scoreless starts and is averaging 6 runs a start. When you have a 6 spot a game from the offense it is really easy for a pitcher to rack up the wins.

Felix Hernandez- 25 starts, 12-5 record, 2.28 ERA, 173.2 IP, 178 K, 1.08 WHIP, 8.0 H/9, 0.6 HR/9, 1.7 BB/9, 9.2 K/9, 5.39 K/BB, 5.9 WAR, 5.9 pitching WAR, 19 QS, 4.24 RS per start, .240 BAA, 7 scoreless starts and 16 starts going 7 innings or more. Hernandez leads the American League in: starts, ERA, innings pitched, tied for first in WAR and quality starts. The hits per 9 innings are a little high for Hernandez and batting average against is pretty high for the pitchers on this list. Felix has been his usual dominant self and his numbers are reminiscent of his Cy Young season in 2010.

Hiroki Kuroda- 24 starts, 11-7 record, 2.33 ERA, CG, SHO, 154.2 IP, 110 K, 1.02 WHIP, 7.5 H/9, 0.7 HR/9, 1.7 BB/9, 6.4 K/9, 3.79 K/BB, 4.9 WAR, 5.0 pitching WAR, 17 QS, 3.33 RS per start, .226 BAA, 9 scoreless starts and 14 starts going 7 innings or more. Kuroda has the most scoreless starts in the American League. He has been the most consistent starter in the Yankees’ rotation and has numbers that warrant some discussion in the Cy Young Award conversation.

Chris Sale- 22 starts, 8-11 record, 2.73 ERA, 4 CG, SHO, 158.1 IP, 167 K, 1.05 WHIP, 7.5 H/9, 0.8 HR/9, 2.0 BB/9, 9.5 K/9, 4.77 K/BB, 5.9 WAR, pitching WAR 5.9, 18 QS, 2.73 RS per start, .224 BAA, 3 scoreless starts and 17 starts going 7 innings or more. Sale leads the American League in: complete games and tied for the lead in WAR among pitchers. He has gone an unbelievable 17 starts of 7 innings or more this season. If Sale could receive more run support he could be seen as a more viable contender for the award? There have been pitchers that have won the award with not much run support in year’s past. Zack Greinke (’09) and Felix Hernandez (’10) won the award in back-to-back years with little to no run support from their respective teams.

Yu Darvish- 23 starts, 12-5 record, 2.64 ERA, 153.2 IP, 207 K, 1.00 WHIP, 6.0 H/9, 1.1 HR/9, 3.0 BB/9, 12.1 K/9, 4.06 K/BB, 4.8 WAR, 4.8 pitching WAR, 16 QS, 4.74 RS per start, .186 BAA, 7 scoreless starts and 12 starts going 7 innings or more. Darvish leads the American League in: strikeouts, hits per 9 innings, batting average against and strikeouts per 9 innings. He has put up some great numbers, but needs Felix Hernandez to falter to end the season in order to receive more traction in the Cy Young. Hernandez has similar, but better stats than Darvish has.  It looks like the award will be decided between Scherzer and Hernandez with Darvish a distant third at this moment in time