Will Felix Again be King in the Al this year?

Will Felix Hernandez repeat as this year’s CY Young winner?   Let the record show that I don’t think he will.  I still think he will be a dominating pitcher this year, though, and his stuff might even be better.  The problem arises with his team, the Seattle Mariners.  In short, this is a terrible team.  It took a herculean effort from King Felix last year to muster 13 wins.  The Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels are considerably better than last year, and you still have to consider the Texas Rangers as the team to beat in the AL West.   So where is Felix going to get his wins from?  Even a low ERA might not be enough to sway voters a second year in a row.

So let’s take a look at this year’s CY Young candidates:

Baltimore Orioles: Brian Matusz has flourished under Manager Buck Showalter.  Will the Orioles be competitive enough to give Matusz serious consideration?

Boston Red Sox: Both Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester garnished votes last year.  The Sox are much stronger offensively, and defensively, than last year.   Will this upgrade result in wins for this dynamic duo?  I wouldn’t be surprised if both of them reach the 20 win plateau this year.  Especially Buchholz, if he remains in the third spot in the rotation.  Lester needs to shake off his annual slow starts.

New York Yankees: C.C. Sabathia will always be in the CY Young talks as long as he stays healthy.  Can Phil Hughes repeat last year’s performance?  If he can, then he will be in the running.

Toronto Blue Jays: The Jays have a good rotation, but not great.  Do any of their starters really stand out to you?  Not to me. anyways.  Unless they prove they can overtake the Sox or Yankees for the Division or Wild card, I don’t think any of their pitchers will get much attention.

Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays probably have the strongest rotation in the American League.  David Price is the ace of this staff.  He and Lester are probably the most dominate left handers in the league.  What could hurt Price is the number of no decisions he may be involved in.  This Rays bullpen is in shambles, they will struggle to preserve leads late in games.  How will that reflect on Price?  Who knows?

Detroit Tigers:  One name-Justin Verlander.  This Tigers team is going to be competitive in the AL Central.  Expect to see Verlander lead the charge for this team.  Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello aren’t too shabby either, but it is Verlander who will get the most of the attention.

Chicago White Sox: John Danks has looked good this spring.  Is he the kind of “sleeper” who can surprise everyone this year?  This is a good team with a lot of potential. 

Minnesota Twins: Carl Pavano and Francisco Liriano lead last year’s Central Division Champions.  I can’t imagine Pavano ever winning the CY Young, under any circumstances.  Will Liriano even be with the Twins all year?  He has been mentioned in a few trade rumors this spring.  However, what if Liriano finds himself donning a set of pinstripes at the trade deadline?  That will certainly fall in his favor.

Cleveland Indians: Can ex-Red Sox, Justin Masterson make a statement this year?  What about Fausto Carmona?  Like Liriano, he may not even be with the team all year.  Besides, this team is awful

Kansas City Royals: No Zack Greinke=no chance

Los Angeles Angels: Jered Weaver has really come into his own these past couple of years.  Ervin Santana is also worthy of putting together a good season.  There was a time when Scott Kazmir showed so much potential, but not anymore.  Now he is just another pitcher struggling with his command

Texas Rangers: Did losing Cliff Lee put too much pressure on this young staff?  We are going to find out soon enough.  But, any team that names C.J. Wilson as the ace would be a major concern to me.

Oakland Athletics: Trevor Cahill and Dallas Braden have the right stuff to walk away with this award this year.  Making the post season can do nothing but help these two when the votes get cast.

Seattle Mariners:  Long live the King.  Felix Hernandez is arguably the best pitcher in the Major Leagues, too bad he is stuck on this bottom dwelling team.  Would the Mariners be willing to listen to trade offers when they are 30 games out at the trade deadline? 

I predict that it is going to come down to this final four, Jon Lester, Felix Hernandez, David Price and Justin Verlander.  As much as I want to go with my heart and chose Lester, logic tells me differently.  I predict that this is going to be Justin Verlander’s year and he will be crowned the 2011 CY Young award winner.

a player I failed to name but you thought deserved to be considered.  Please comment with the name of the player I failed to list on the ballot.

Regular season is only a week away.  Cast your vote early.

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