ESPN picks AL, NL Cy Young winners

ByABC News
November 16, 2016, 1:41 PM

— -- A panel of ESPN baseball experts is forecasting Washington Nationals starter Max Scherzer to comfortably win the NL Cy Young. In the AL, the voting was much tighter, with Rick Porcello, Corey Kluber and Justin Verlander all getting significant support. Which one will win when the honors are announced Wednesday between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET?

We had 27 experts pick who they think will win each award. The voting breakdown for the awards is listed below, as well as the votes of our experts.

Who will win the AL Cy Young Award?

After a disastrous first season in Boston, Porcello bounced back, going 22-4 with a 3.15 ERA in 2016. He finished in the top five in the AL in ERA (5th at 3.15), WHIP (2nd at 1.01), innings pitched (4th at 223) and WAR (5th at 5.0).

With injuries to Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, the Indians needed Kluber to be an ace in 2016, and he was. Kluber finished 18-9 and inside the top five in strikeouts (5th with 227), ERA (4th at 3.14) and WAR (2nd at 6.5).

Verlander had his best season since 2012, posting an AL-best WHIP of 1.00 and finishing 16-9. He also led AL pitchers in WAR (6.6) and strikeouts (254), and was second in ERA (3.04).

Who will win the NL Cy Young Award?

If you want league-leading numbers, Scherzer has them, as he topped the NL in wins (20), starts (34), innings (228 ?) and the majors in K's with 284. Add his record-tying 20-strikeout game on May 11 (against his old team, the Tigers), and you'd think Scherzer has the right combo of feats and highlights to earn his second Cy Young Award -- which would make him the sixth pitcher to win it both leagues (joining Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Gaylord Perry and Roy Halladay).

The Cubs' veteran lefty was second to Scherzer in wins, second to Hendricks in ERA and third in the NL in OPS against. In that sense, Lester's case is a combination of some of the merits of the other two, without being as strong, but perhaps his best talking point was being the No. 1 starter on the best team in the league, leading the Cubs in starts and innings pitched.

Hendricks did more than provide hope for finesse right-handers with a 16-win season. He dominated in 2016, winning the MLB ERA title with the best single-season mark (2.13) by anybody not named Kershaw, Greinke or Arrieta in the past 10 years. Add in his MLB-best 188 ERA , lowest OPS against (.583) and lowest well-hit average allowed (.089) among ERA title qualifiers, and he clearly belongs in the conversation.