Red Sox Rick Porcello: Cy Young in 2016?

Who would have thought that Rick Porcello, with his disasterous 2015, would be in the conversation for the Cy Young Award? His pitching continues to shine.

Put aside the fact that the Boston Red Sox scored 11 runs last night, just for a second. All that Porcello would have needed was three runs. The Oakland Athletics looked outmatched against Porcello for most of the late evening, as he picked up his 19th win of the season.

The runs came in the sixth and seventh innings, each on just two hits per frame. Porcello threw 101 pitches, 74 for strikes, and induced five groundouts to eight flyouts. Fortunately for Boston, Porcello kept the ball low and made the Athletics miss home runs by ever so small a margin.

Last season, after being traded from the Detroit Tigers, it was a different story. After numerous issues with his game, including a stint in the minors, Porcello posted a record of 9-15 with a 4.92 ERA. He gave up 25 homers in 28 starts. This season, he’s still giving up the long ball but it’s not hurting him as badly. Porcello’s 20 homers allowed are paired with a 19-3 record and a 3.23 ERA, leading the Red Sox pitching staff in each category. That list includes David Price, the big free agent signed in the offseason to be the ace of the rotation. Price’s inconsistency still has earned him a 14-8 record with a 3.92 ERA, 22 homers allowed, and a .258 opposing batting average. Porcello’s average is .232.

Does that make Porcello the American League Cy Young Award winner? It certainly has him in line for the comeback player of the year. In the A.L., Porcello has two more wins than the next closest pitcher, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ with identical ERAs, home runs allowed, and opposing batter averages. The difference is that Porcello’s done it in 25 more innings. Happ’s 142 strikeouts to 47 walks also pales in comparison to Porcello’s 154 strikeouts to 28 walks.

In fact, Porcello’s wins top both major leagues, rising above pitchers like Jake Arrieta and his 16 victories. However, Arrieta’s .184 opposing average, 168 strikeouts, and 2.84 ERA bests the 27-year-old righty from New Jersey.

With less than a month to go, Porcello is poised to have an award-winning season. It would have been hard to find anyone in 2015 to think the same thing. That is, except Ben Cherington, Boston’s former general manager. He not only traded powerhouse punisher of pitchers Yoenis Cespedes for a one-for-one move with Porcello, Cherington extended his contract for four years and $82.5 million. Porcello’s poor play, along with Hanley Ramirez‘s struggles and the Pablo Sandoval debacle, cost Cherington his reputation and, seemingly, forced him to resign his position.

Now that Porcello is excelling, and Ramirez is looking like the Han-Ram of old, Cherington may look vindicated for his decisions. Try telling Red Sox Nation that, especially with Sandoval’s lack of a 2016 to go with his meaty contract. However, Cherington is not the only one who believes in Porcello anymore. The pitcher, somehow, picked up a dose of the fountain of youth and likely will see a Young man staring back at him. Not in a mirror but on a plaque.