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Sunday, June 01, 2014

Cueto getting early Cy Young respect

Johnny Cueto has had an amazing first third of a season.  To wit:

I mean, sheesh.  His velocity continues to be the highest it's been in the past three years, he control has been pinpoint, and he's striking guys out at easily the highest rate of his career.

David Pinto has produced a Cy Young tracker script that employs both Bill James' and Tom Tango's Cy Young point systems.  These systems are designed to predict Cy Young winners, not establish who is the best player.  Despite only having a 5-4 record, which matters for these point systems, Cueto has a sizable lead using Tom Tango's Cy Young points.

At least one mainstream outlet (albeit not necessarily a prototypical "mainstream writer" in Dayn Perry) has noticed, and tapped Cueto as the first third Cy Young winner:
This award belonged to Adam Wainwright before his Friday night stinker against the Giants. Now it falls to Cueto, who, that previous qualifier notwithstanding, is quite worthy. Presently, he leads the NL in innings and the majors in strikeouts. More to the point, Cueto boasts an ERA of 1.83, and opposing hitters are batting just .148/.207/.251 against him. He's also logged 10 quality starts in 11 trips to the mound.
I'm still not sure if we'll see Cueto in a Reds uniform by the season's end.  The Reds would have to go on one heck of a tear to get back in the division race, and Cueto, while not expensive for his production, should almost unquestionably bring more trade value now than he ever will.  But it has been awfully fun to watch him have this kind of season.

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