Boston Red Sox predictions: David Price wins 2017 Cy Young
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Rick Porcello has won the 2016 Cy Young Award. David Price is set for a bounce-back year, and looks to take home another Cy Young for the Sox.
The Boston Red Sox were quickly disposed of in the 2016 postseason. While the the Red Sox claimed another division title, Rick Porcello‘s AL Cy Young Award has been the most celebrated accolade of the season to this point. Porcello’s season was an outstanding rebound after a rough 2015 campaign, something David Price can model as we head towards the 2017 season.
Coming off his first season in Fenway with a 4.92 ERA and 1.36 WHIP, a 2016 Cy Young Award did not appear to be in the cards for Porcello, but that’s excatly what happened. Similarly, Price struggled through the early portion of 2016. Price ended his previous season on a high note however, and already has one Cy Young from his days in Tampa.
In his 2012 season, the lefty barely edged out Justin Verlander for the Cy Young Award (sound familiar?). Price nearly won the award again in 2015 when he pitched in Toronto and Detroit, boasting even better numbers than than his 2012 stats. Over 32 starts, he had a 2.45 ERA and 1.08 WHIP to go along with a combined 18-5 record between the two clubs.
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On an interesting note, the four Cy Young Award winners in Red Sox history (Jim Lonborg, Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, and Porcello) all won the award in their second or third year in Boston. Roger Clemens went on to win the trophy later in his Boston career as well. So if history is any indication of Cy Young success in Boston, Price could be in store for a career year in the next two seasons.
2016 marked the third season of David Price‘s career that his ERA hovered around 3.50 or above. The first occurrence was in 2009. The year following, Price finished runner-up in Cy Young voting behind Felix Hernandez. His second down year was in 2011, which he would follow up with a 2012 Cy Young.
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Only time will tell if Price can get back to his old, dominant ways on the bump. I believe he has the mindset, surroundings, and talent to win the 2017 Cy Young Award. I predict that in 32 starts, David Price will finish the season with a 2.50 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 250 K, 19-4 record, and an AL Cy Young Award.