The AL Cy Young race remains wide open with Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet as top contenders. Skubal has 26 starts and 166 innings, a 2.28 ERA, a 33.5% strikeout rate and a 3.9% walk rate, producing the best K-BB% in baseball. Skubal's ground ball rate sits at 40.7% and his 8.7% barrel rate ranks 15th among qualified AL pitchers. A recent start yielded six runs (one earned), and Skubal posted a 3.05 ERA with a 3.55 FIP in August. Garrett Crochet has posted nearly identical totals, logging 172 1/3 innings with a 2.40 ERA and a 31.1% strikeout rate while trailing more significantly in walk rate.
Skubal is still a strong contender for the award, of course, and perhaps even the favorite. Through 26 starts this year, the southpaw has logged 166 innings of 2.28 ERA ball. He's struck out 33.5% of his opponents with a phenomenal 3.9% walk rate, giving him the best K-BB% in baseball this year. That mix of strikeout stuff and pinpoint command is Skubal's bread and butter, as his other metrics this year have been closer to average than exceptional.
While Skubal's numbers haven't changed too drastically since June, he's found a rival for his position as the AL's best lefty strikeout artist in the form of Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet. The 26-year-old has more or less matched Skubal in virtually every stat. He had 166 1/3 innings of work to Skubal's aforementioned 166 through 26 starts, though Crochet's six-innings of two-run ball against the Orioles yesterday pushed his total up to 172 1/3.
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