Every year, Baseball America surveys managers, coaches and front office analysts to discover who has the best (perceived) tools in the game across a number of categories. Different pitches are listed in different categories, and the winners for each pitch in the American League don't come off as all that surprising.
Aroldis Chapman was awarded the honor of having the best fastball. Duh. Jose Berrios and his devastating curveball took the top honor for that pitch. Red Sox hurler Adam Ottavino was named the best slider thrower in the AL. And Lucas Giolito's wonky changeup earned top honors in that category.
Gerrit Cole was the runner-up in the slider category and the third-place finisher in the fastball department, making him the only pitcher to appear in the top three for two different pitches. He also finished as the runner-up in the race for the best American League pitcher, period, but wasn't quite at the top of the list. The man who was, interestingly enough, wasn't featured in the top three of any of the individual pitches lists, nor was he featured in the top three for best control. But that doesn't stop Lance Lynn from being as dominant a pitcher as there is, and that's why he was voted to the top spot in Baseball America's survey.
Lynn is currently the favorite to win the AL Cy Young award, too, with DraftKings Sportsbook giving him -150 odds as opposed to Cole at +140. It looks like it's a two-horse race, as Robbie Ray is in third with +700 odds. And all this is for good reason, too: Lance leads the AL with a dazzling 2.20 ERA and just 6.7 hits allowed per nine innings. While it's actually Ray with the highest WAR for pitchers (5.5), Lynn is a close second (5.0) while Cole sits in third (4.8). Ray also leads the pack in strikeouts (192), though Cole (191) can surge ahead with his start on Friday.
As of now, though, it's Lynn's race to lose, and it looks like he has the support of the league's managers and coaches as well.
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