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Atlanta Braves: Pitchers most likely to win ’20 Cy Young (Part 2)

By Seth Carter

ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 18: Mike Soroka #40 of the Atlanta Braves delivers in the first inning of an MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at SunTrust Park on April 18, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 18: Mike Soroka #40 of the Atlanta Braves delivers in the first inning of an MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at SunTrust Park on April 18, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /
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Greg Maddux (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

In Summation…

We’ve seen enough over the years to know that Cy Young winners don’t need to be elite-strikeout pitchers, they don’t need to win 20 games, they don’t need to do any one particular thing except prevent runners from scoring and put their teams in position to win.

There’s no one right way of creating the ultimate pitcher. They can be ground ball inducing machines like Tim Hudson, Rick Porcello, Dallas Keuchel, Greg Maddux, or Tom Glavine.

Or they can strike out everyone and their mothers like Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, and Jacob deGrom.

We’ve seen the most important thing is they master their craft, whatever it may be.

There’s a lot more to pitching than throwing the baseball. It’s an art that is unique to each individual. Some artists paint with acrylic, some with oil, and some (like me) use water-colors.

  • Cole Hamels – Crafty veteran, still elite when healthy.
  • Mike Foltynewicz – Ask this question a year ago and he would be the likely top choice. Proved he was still effective after recovering from injuries.
  • Max Fried – Auspicious rookie season with great numbers all the way around. Good K-rate, walk-rate, and elite groundball rates. Likely candidate to take the next step.
  • Mike Soroka – Finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, sixth in Cy Young voting, and made the All-Star team in his first Major League season.

So, how do we tell which Braves pitcher is most likely to win a Cy Young?

Well… maybe we are overthinking this (as adults are prone to do…which is better than the adults who don’t think at all…or is it? Stop thinking about!)

Hence, I defer to my 11-year-old son.

Me: “Which Braves pitcher is most likely to win the Cy Young in 2020?”

11-year-old son: “Mike Soroka.”

Me: “Why?”

Son: “Because he was really, really good last year and he is going to be even better this year because last year he was a rookie.”

Mike Soroka it is! Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you had a great poop!

Next. Austin Riley as the 3B answer in 2020?. dark

Which Atlanta Braves pitcher do you think is most likely to win the 2020 Cy Young? Let us know in the comments below…and remember, it’s okay to be wrong!

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