Like I did a couple weeks ago with the MVP awards, today at The Hardball Times I used a similar machine learning model to predict the 2018 Cy Young races:
The American League finalists each have strong credentials. Justin Verlander had a traditionally dominant season, leading the league in strikeouts and pitching nearly as many innings as the leader, Corey Kluber. Blake Snell won 21 games for a surprise Tampa Bay Rays team and finished with an eye-catching 1.89 ERA. Kluber had a sensational season himself, winning 20 games and walking just four percent of the batters he faced.
The National League also features three excellent candidates. Jacob deGrom finished with the second-best FIP and fourth-best ERA of any qualified starter in the past 30 years. He, or rather his teammates, also made headlines for not scoring many runs while he was on the mound. Max Scherzer turned in another incredible season in what likely is a Hall of Fame career. Gunning for his third straight Cy Young award and fourth overall, the Nationals righty struck out 300 batters and led the NL in innings. Rounding out the top three candidates is a breakout season from the Phillies’ Aaron Nola.
Who takes home the hardware, according to our robot overlords? Read on to find out.
(Photo credit: slgckgc on Flickr)