A.L. Cy Young 2010

Most of the argument in the American League this year surrounding the Cy Young has centered around whether or not Felix Hernandez should be penalized by the voters for his low win total.

Top 10 2010 A.L. Pitchers, Sorted by Patton $

#	Player	$	VORP	WAR
1	Felix Hernandez	$35	1st	3rd
2	Jered Weaver	$29	3rd	5th
3	CC Sabathia	$28	5th	8th
4	David Price	$28	2nd
5	Cliff Lee	$27	10th	1st
6	Justin Verlander	$26	6th	2nd
7	Jon Lester	$26	7th	6th
8	Rafael Soriano	$25
9	Trevor Cahill	$25	9th
10	Clay Buchholz	$24	4th

Other VORP Top 10:  Gio Gonzalez 8th.
Other Fangraphs Top 10: Francisco Liriano 4th, Zach Greinke 7th, C.J. Wilson 9th, Colby Lewis 10th.

This is a case where the Rotisserie numbers (wins, ERA, WHIP, Ks) speak to me as much or more than the other metrics that you might use to make your case. Even when you factor in Felix's 13 wins to the equation, he's still $6 better than the next pitcher. Felix dominated this year, so much so that a system that does factor in wins still puts Felix head and shoulders above everyone else.

The race for the American League Cy Young is really for 2nd place, and the level of passion surrounding these arguments have been quite silly given how close some of these pitchers are. There is almost a backlash too far in the other direction against CC because of his wins, leading to some arguments that David Price, Jon Lester, and/or Clay Buchholz are miles and miles ahead of CC. I could see putting any of those pitchers ahead of CC...but I could also see putting CC ahead of any of those pitchers also.

My ballot goes 1) Felix, 2) Jered Weaver and 3) David Price. Weaver was a mini-Felix in Anaheim, striking out more in total and per inning than Felix. Price and CC are closer than some Tampa fans would have you believe, but I give him a slight edge here.