Cleveland Indians ace Shane Bieber moved one step closer to winning the AL Cy Young Award when he was announced Monday as one of the top three finishers in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Bieber joined Minnesota Twins right-hander Kenta Maeda and Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu on the list of finalists. But Bieber, 25, is considered the favorite after the right-hander went 8-1 with a 1.63 ERA and 122 strikeouts in 77⅓ innings, leading the major leagues in wins, ERA and strikeouts.
The winner of each BBWAA award will be announced next week.
The top finishers in voting for AL Manager of the Year are Tampa Bay’s Kevin Cash, Toronto’s Charlie Montoyo and Rick Renteria, who was let go by the Chicago White Sox after the team made the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
Cash was roundly criticized for pulling ace left-hander Blake Snell in the sixth inning of the decisive Game 6 of the World Series against the champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Balloting for the BBWAA awards was completed before the start of the postseason.
The finalists for AL Rookie of the Year are Houston Astros right-hander Cristian Javier and center fielders Kyle Lewis of the Seattle Mariners and Luis Robert of the White Sox.
Philadelphia Phillies infielder Alec Bohm, San Diego Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth and Milwaukee Brewers reliever Devin Williams are the top finishers for the NL rookie award.