Indians: Cal Quantril should be in the discussion for the 2021 Cy Young

Cal Quantrill should be in the Cy Young conversation for 2021 and maybe 2022.

Cleveland.com posted an interesting article about Cal Quantrill being someone that could earn some fringe AL Cy Young votes for his performance in 2021. Admittedly, they aren’t wrong. While it took some time for Quantrill to adjust to the stamina a starter needed after spending a year-plus in the bullpen, Quantrill has come on strong for well over 12 starts. Not every one of those starts has been brilliant, admittedly so, but no great pitcher has a year free of a few bad outings.

That doesn’t mean that Quantrill will get votes for the Cy Young award, just that he should.

The award, thankfully, isn’t just about getting a vote. It’s tiered. You vote for the five most deserving people in order. Last year Shane Bieber received all 30 first-place votes. Due to that, he received210 total points.

First-place votes are weighted to mean significantly more than any other. While the MVP has a system of nine points for first place, eight for a second, and so on, the Cy Young awards seven points for first place considerations, and then four points for second, three points for third, two points for fourth, and one point for fifth.

So it’s very likely Quantrill can walk away with a Top 10 placing.

Cal Quantrill should get votes but he shouldn’t win the award

Quantrill probably shouldn’t get any third, second, or first-place votes. At the time of this article, Quantrill had only started 20 games but has pitched in 38. That’s because he spent nearly half the season coming in as a middle reliever, arguably the team’s best reliever during his tenure in the pen but still; it’s hard to argue a reliever is a Cy Young winner.

Quantrill also struggled for his first several starts pretty badly. That’s no means a criticism of his talent. It happens. It’s merely a mark against his Cy Young potential. You have to be honest in the critiques of talents and as good as Quantrill has been since August, you don’t win awards for only being great for half a season.

What all this does say is that one, Quantrill was the team’s best starter this season. Secondly, it means he should be a contender for the AL Cy Young next season. Quantrill and Shane Bieber are going to be very problematic at the top of the rotation. If Aaron Civale can take the next step in his development, it’s very possible the team could have three candidates for the award.

If that comes to pass, that will draw a lot of comparisons with former Tribe pitchers Corey Kluber, Danny Salazar, and Carlos Carrasco; themselves a three-head Cy Young hunting beast for a time.

The rise of this new three-headed dragon may bring the Indians back to prominence in 2022.