A definitive ace, Gausman named finalist for Cy Young Award

TORONTO -- A year after receiving just one Cy Young Award vote for a dominant season tainted by terrible luck, Kevin Gausman is getting the recognition he deserves.

The Blue Jays’ ace has been named a finalist for the 2023 award alongside Gerrit Cole of the Yankees and Sonny Gray of the Twins. The winner will be announced on Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. ET, live on MLB Network.

• All-time Cy Young Award winners

Gausman posted a 3.16 ERA over 185 innings this season, with his 237 strikeouts leading the American League. So much of what Gausman accomplished in 2023 looked like an extension of his ’22 debut with the Blue Jays, which is an accomplishment in itself given how heavily he relies on the fastball-splitter combination that hitters hunt for, but this year also brought some better bounces along with it.

In 2022, Gausman’s .363 opponent BABIP (batting average on balls in play) was the second-worst for a pitcher in the Live Ball Era (since 1920). It wasn’t just bad luck, it was historically bad, so some of his ’23 improvements came naturally from this correcting itself. The 32-year-old fits the definition of an ace in every way, though, and no one appreciates that more than a manager.

“No doubt,” John Schneider said late this season. “When you look at everything he brings -- then all sorts of different metrics you look at for just what he does minus anything that happens behind him after the ball’s in play -- he’s one of the best in the game. I would take him any day of the week.”

So much of the Kevin Gausman experience is his mound persona. A self-described “hot-head” when he was younger, Gausman now looks like one of the game’s most laid-back pitchers. There are times that temper still flares when it’s warranted, but from the moment Gausman strolls into the clubhouse until the final out of the game, he moves at his own, easy pace.

“It just looks like he doesn’t have a heartbeat,” Blue Jays outfielder George Springer said. “He’s just so calm. He’s always so collected.”

Working for Gausman’s case is a 5.3 WAR (FanGraphs) that was tied with Gray for the best in the AL, just a hair above Cole’s 5.2. Gausman holds the clear strikeout advantage over both, but trails in ERA to both Gray (2.79) and Cole (2.63).

The Blue Jays know these other two finalists all too well. Cole finished his season with a shutout against Toronto at Rogers Centre on Sept. 27, a performance that might have sealed the Cy Young Award for him given that he already was viewed as the favorite. Gray, on the other hand, shut out the Blue Jays for five innings in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series, turning that incredible pickoff play with Carlos Correa to cut down Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in one of the biggest moments of the game.

Being named a finalist puts Gausman in his rightful spot among MLB’s best starters, which the numbers show more clearly in 2023 than they did a year ago. Coming off back-to-back seasons of 200 strikeouts and ace-caliber pitching, his five-year, $110 million deal already holds the potential to be one of the best free-agent signings in club history.