Bucholz for Cy Young 2013

In the Bold Predictions article on here, multiple people, me included, predicted Clay Bucholz would win the AL Cy Young Award. It might still be too early to talk about end of the season awards, but Bucholz's performance so far more than warrants the buzz. He's 8-0 with a 1.62 ERA, 77 strikeouts, 1.02 WHIP, and a BAA of .190 according to ESPN. If that isn't worthy of being thrown in the mix for Cy Young consideration, I don't know what is. This year Bucholz has finally blossomed into the ace we all saw him becoming when he threw that no hitter in only his second major league start back in 2007. And it's about time, too. He's only been in the big leagues for a few years, but I think everyone's been waiting for him to break out and live up to his ace potential. He's had up and down moments, but this year, he has finally been consistent.

Bucholz has been reminiscent of Josh Beckett in 2007. I know, I compare players from the current team to 2007 a lot, but I think it is warranted because there are some similarities between players. But the point is this: Beckett definitely was Cy Young material (and probably should have won) back in 2007, and Bucholz is on a similarly hot start. He won't win every game, but I can predict with the upmost confidence that he will be a 20 game winner, and more than likely a CY Young winner before all is said and done.

Disagree? Tweet me @ConorJF1016 with your picks.

Conor Frederick
Contributing Writer