My Official Ballot for 2024 NL Cy Young Award

This is my third year to submit a ballot as a member of the Colorado chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). After casting my votes for National League Rookie of the Year in 2022 and NL Most Valuable Player in 2023, I was asked to be one of the two members of our chapter voting for the NL Cy Young Award this season.

Thankfully, in my mind at least, Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves made my first-place decision simple.

Sale’s incredible year on the mound earned not only my first-place vote, but the vast majority of my colleagues as well. The 35-year-old southpaw has now officially topped off a year that saw him earn his first career Gold Glove and Comeback Player of the Year award by becoming Atlanta’s first Cy Young winner since Tom Glavine in 1998.

For me, it was fascinating to see the run of dominance that Sale had with the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox between 2012-2018 where he finished in the top six in the AL Cy Young voting in each of those seasons followed by a stretch where he battled numerous injuries and didn’t receive a single vote.

This year was an exclamation point on a career that seemingly still has plenty of opportunities left to build upon a potential Hall of Fame resume.

Sale was simply dominant this season, pacing all MLB pitchers in wins (18), ERA (2.38) and FIP (2.09). He led the NL in strikeouts with 225 (just three behind AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers for the overall MLB lead).

In a year where the Braves battled so many injuries, Sale was consistent until the season’s final days when back spasms knocked him out of the rotation and kept him out of Atlanta’s Wild Card loss at San Diego.

With all of that, putting Zack Wheeler second on my ballot felt as high as I could place the Philadelphia right-hander.

Yes, Wheeler posted a fantastic season, leading the NL in WHIP (0.955) and hits per nine innings (6.3), and stayed healthy throughout the entire season, making 32 starts and hitting an even 200.0 innings. However, I couldn’t see anywhere else where what he did in 2024 would elevate him over Sale.

Neither one of those picks likely raised an eyebrow when the ballots were officially announced. However, I am sure my picks in the third through fifth slots caused a bit of angst for some fans, especially those in Pittsburgh. Knowing that, let me explain why I picked these three pitchers to round out my 2024 NL Cy Young ballot.

3. Paul Skenes

The selection of Skenes as the Rookie of the Year showed that BBWAA voters valued pitching that dazzled over consistency at the plate throughout the season from Jackson Merrill and Jackson Chourio.

There is nothing wrong with that selection or choice at all. After all, Skenes became must-watch television every time he took the mound and is quite deserving of the honor bestowed upon him earlier in the week.

Putting Skenes third was, in a way, tough for me. After all, he technically didn’t qualify in a number of categories because the Pirates didn’t call him up until May and he didn’t pitch the minimum number of innings.

Skenes didn’t make his MLB debut until May 11 and ended up with 23 starts and 133.0 innings. While it was the franchise’s decision on when to call him up and postpone his debut until more than a full month of the season had passed, the decision led to Skenes not throwing enough innings to qualify in a number of statistics.

Still, what he did do when he was with the Pirates was amazing, posting a 1.96 ERA and striking out 170 in those 133.0 frames.

Obviously my mindset was in line among my BBWAA colleagues with Skenes finishing third overall. I was wondering how the non-qualifying statistics would impact Skenes, but there was little impact at all.

The evolution of Skenes is something to be celebrated, and I absolutely can’t wait to see what 2025 holds for both him and the Pirates.

4. Shota Imanaga

So why Imanaga here?

Shota Imanaga broke camp with the Cubs, made his first start of the season on April 1, and logged 29 starts and 173.1 innings last season. Imanaga’s 2.91 ERA was third among qualified pitchers, as was his 1.021 WHIP and his 15 wins, a mark that led the 83-win Cubs last season.

When Imanaga took the mound, the Cubs were 23-6 last season. That number is helped considerably by the eight times he started and went 5.0 or more innings and didn’t allow an earned run, including his September 4 outing where he pitched 7.0 scoreless and hitless frames to kick off what would be Chicago’s first no-hitter at home since 1972.

Of all of the signings last offseason, I honestly believe Imanaga heading to Wrigley Field is one of the most underrated.

5. Dylan Cease

Tying for the MLB lead with 33 starts and helping the Padres bounce back from a subpar 2023 mattered to me when I looked to fill out the last spot on my ballot.

His 4.2 bWAR tied for second overall on a San Diego team filled with superstars, and his 6.512 hits allowed per nine innings was the fourth-best mark by any MLB pitcher.

Throw in a 1.067 WHIP (eighth among all MLB pitchers) and 10.648 strikeouts per nine innings (ranked fifth among all MLB pitchers), as well as a no-hitter on July 25 in Washington against the Nationals and I believed there was plenty of reason to give him a fifth-place vote.

There was also this nugget of knowledge about just how dominant Cease was shortly after the All-Star break.

Cease’s selection as a fifth-place vote capped off a lot of thinking and going back and forth for me on this year’s NL Cy Young ballot.

It was an honor to vote again this season, and I thank Jack Etkin, the chair of the Colorado chapter, for his faith in me and my knowledge of the game.

Voting for any award is not something I take lightly, and I thank Jack for giving me the chance to vote and the crew at Just Baseball for the opportunity to explain my decisions.