MLB Midseason Awards: A.L. Cy Young Award

Now that we are at the midway point (or a little past it), I will post my choices as midseason leader for Cy Young and MVP in both leagues at the All-Star Break.

The perennial choices for AL Cy Young are either Justin Verlander or Felix Hernandez, who have consistently been two of the game's top pitchers over the last several years.

A couple of other guys like David Price (last year's winner) or Jered Weaver are usually in the discussion as well, along with a surprise or two that pop up every year.  Last year, Chris Sale was the guy who emerged, and was the favorite to win the award heading into the second half of last season.

This year, Bartolo Colon makes a strong case at 12-3 with an ERA of 2.70, currently third in the AL.  Colon's connection with PEDs, however, may be what largely accounts for his return to the dominance of his prime at the age of 40.  Nonetheless, he has not yet been suspended, and has a legitimate claim to the midseason AL Cy Young award.

I'm going to go another way, though.  Max Scherzer, who is not even the best pitcher on his own team, is leading the pack at the midway point.  With an ERA just a shade over three (3.19 at the moment), Scherzer is an incredible 13-1 in 19 starts.  He is averaging more than a strikeout per inning (10.55 K/9), and has a WHIP under one (0.98).

I'll take Scherzer for my midseason AL Cy Young award winner/leader.

[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives).]

Felix Hernandez, Mariners finalize 7-year, $175M deal

The Seattle Mariners and staff ace Felix Hernandez had agreed to a seven-year deal worth $175 million last week, but some concerns about the long-term risks of King Felix's elbow held the deal up.

With some protective language added, the deal was finalized today.

"I would send along my congratulations to [Hernandez's agents] Scott Pucino and Wil Polidor. They were very professional in working this agreement with us. I think it's a great thing for the Seattle Mariners and it's a great thing for Felix Hernandez. We're looking forward to this guy being here for a long time, obviously," said GM Jack Zduriencik, per Greg Johns of MLB.com.

Although Hernandez had two years remaining on his existing contract, this deal will replace those two years and he is now under contract through the 2019 season.

Now the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history, Hernandez is my fourth-ranked fantasy starter in my 2013 fantasy baseball rankings.

A workhorse and a model of consistency, Hernandez has struck out 217-plus batters in four consecutive seasons.  Despite posting a cumulative ERA of 2.92 over the past three seasons, however, Hernandez is only five games above .500 during that span (40-35) and lack of run support is only real concern from a fantasy perspective.

Year	Age	W	L	ERA	CG	SHO	IP	SO	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2005	19	4	4	2.67	0	0	84.1	77	0.996	6.5	0.5	2.5	8.2	3.35
2006	20	12	14	4.52	2	1	191.0	176	1.335	9.2	1.1	2.8	8.3	2.93
2007	21	14	7	3.92	1	1	190.1	165	1.377	9.9	0.9	2.5	7.8	3.11
2008	22	9	11	3.45	2	0	200.2	175	1.385	8.9	0.8	3.6	7.8	2.19
2009	23	19	5	2.49	2	1	238.2	217	1.135	7.5	0.6	2.7	8.2	3.06
2010	24	13	12	2.27	6	1	249.2	232	1.057	7.0	0.6	2.5	8.4	3.31
2011	25	14	14	3.47	5	0	233.2	222	1.220	8.4	0.7	2.6	8.6	3.31
2012	26	13	9	3.06	5	5	232.0	223	1.142	8.1	0.5	2.2	8.7	3.98
8 Yrs		98	76	3.22	23	9	1620.1	1487	1.212	8.2	0.7	2.7	8.3	3.10

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Mid-season Awards: A.L. Cy Young

There is a lot of baseball left to be played this year - roughly, half the season.

That being said, I made my pick a couple of weeks ago for N.L. Cy Young based on all the games played (pitched) up to that point. While I may or may not change my choice (see who here), I'm back at it to pick his A.L. counterpart.

Later this weekend, I will pick my Mid-Season A.L. MVP as well. (Click here to see my N.L. MVP.)

Drum roll please ...

A.L. Cy Young: Zack Grienke, Royals - Grienke got the season off to a perfect start with 38 scoreless innings to begin the season. Although Grienke has hit a bit of a rough patch (losing three of last five decisions), he still leads the majors in ERA (2.00) and is one of only five 10-game winners in baseball.

He has five complete games, which also leads the majors. He is second in the American League in strikeouts (120).

The Royals recent slide has knocked them 11 games out of first in the A.L. Central and has put them 13 games under .500. In the games Grienke (10-4) doesn't get the decision, the Royals are 23-42.

Runner-up: Roy Halladay, Blue Jays - It doesn't get much better than Halladay. He began the season with 13 straight starts of 7 innings or more. In addition, Halladay has thrown three complete games trailing only Grienke.

He's one of only five pitchers to win 10 games on the season. He's third in the A.L. in ERA (2.56) and has given up the fewest walks (14) of pitchers who have thrown 100+ innings. Grienke is the only other player with fewer than 20 walks (19)and 100 innings pitched.

Honorable Mention: Edwin Jackson, Felix Hernandez, Mark Buehrle, Justin Verlander, Matt Garza, Nick Blackburn (MIN), Jered Weaver, Kevin Millwood, Josh Beckett

Check back later this weekend for my A.L. Mid-Season MVP