The Cleveland Guardians might have a darkhorse AL Cy Young award candidate on their roster.
No, it’s not Shane Bieber, who went down with an elbow injury two starts into his season.
No, it’s not Tanner Bibee, at least not yet (he could definitely get into the mix in a few weeks).
Actually, it’s not even a starter.
Analysts believe Emmanuel Clase might have a case to be considered for the AL Cy Young award.
His numbers are certainly otherworldly.
Could Emmanuel Clase realistically contend for the AL Cy Young?@JLEWFifty and @AlPawlowski state their case for the @CleGuardians All-Star closer and what his path to securing the award would have to be 🏆#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/Q1Cs0gXlHM
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) July 11, 2024
He throws the question out there for the world to see and analyze, but the answer is very clear: he at least deserves to be considered.
To this date, Clase has a ridiculous 0.83 ERA in 43.1 innings.
We are not talking about 15 or 20 frames: he has thrown, before taking the field for Thursday’s game, 43.1 innings.
In those 43.1 innings, Clase has conceded just four earned runs: four!
He also has an elite 5/39 BB/K ratio, plus an American League-leading 28 saves.
Among MLB pitchers with a minimum of 40 innings pitches, Clase has, by far, the best ERA.
The second-best is actually his teammate, Hunter Gaddis, with 1.25 entering play on Thursday.
The short answer is yes: Clase definitely needs to be considered a Cy Young candidate at this point.
Sure, Corbin Burnes, Seth Lugo, Tarik Skubal and Tanner Houck have all been magnificent and are starters.
But Clase has taken his play to another level and deserves to be a candidate.
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