The case for each 2022 Cy Young Award finalist

Are there clear favorites among this year's Cy Young Award candidates?

In the American League, a likely Hall of Famer returned after missing the entire 2021 season and only enhanced his legacy. In the National League, a burgeoning ace turned in a season reminiscent of workhorses from a bygone era.

However, don't crown 'em just yet. There are four other pitchers who stepped up when their teams needed them most and who were basically unhittable for prolonged stretches. They deserve to be here just the same.

Here's a look at the case for each of the six Cy Young nominees before the winners are announced Wednesday on MLB Network at 6 p.m. ET.

• Every Cy Young Award winner

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Dylan Cease, RHP, White Sox

Justin Verlander, understandably, is receiving a great deal of support for his third BBWAA American League Cy Young, but Cease is just as deserving to win his first in the 2022 AL balloting. He finished the season like an ace, posting a 10-6 record with a 1.51 ERA (23 earned runs over 137 1/3 innings pitched), a .173 average against and 156 strikeouts in his last 22 starts.

Cease allowed one earned run or less 23 times in 2022, tied with Wilbur Wood (1972) for the most in club history. The 23 starts are the most by a Major League starter (non-opener) since Blake Snell in 2018 (also 23). The only starters (non-openers) in AL/NL history with more games of one or zero earned runs allowed are Sandy Koufax (25 in 1963; 24 in 1966) and Bob Gibson (24 in 1968).

The right-hander set an AL/NL record with 14 straight starts allowing one earned run or less from May 29 to Aug. 11, yielding six earned runs over 82 innings during that stretch. There were nine separate starts where Cease gave up two hits or less, including Cease taking a no-hitter within one out of completion at home against the Twins on Sept. 3, before Luis Arraez’s two-out, ninth-inning single.

His 2.20 ERA was second in the AL behind Verlander, as was his .190 average against (.186 for Verlander). Cease’s 227 strikeouts left him second behind Gerrit Cole’s 257, while his slider was rated as the most valuable pitch in baseball with a -36-run value, per Statcast, ahead of Shohei Ohtani’s slider at -28. Opponents had a .128 average against Cease’s slider and a .209 slugging percentage, again per Statcast. -- Scott Merkin

Alek Manoah, RHP, Blue Jays

Manoah is in tough against Verlander here, of course, but the 24-year-old star represents a combination of quality and quantity that's becoming rare among starters. The big right-hander's 2.24 ERA jumps out, but doing that over 196 2/3 innings makes it more impressive as he continued to show all the makings of a workhorse starter. Any day Manoah took the mound, the Blue Jays could exhale and expect seven innings.

It's been a remarkable rise for Manoah. Even as one of the organization's top prospects entering '21, he's exceeded all expectations and dramatically expedited his timeline. The rookie campaign of '21 was impressive as he posted a 3.22 ERA, and a repeat of that would have been considered a success. Manoah found another gear, though, emerging as a fan favorite with a boisterous on-field personality that made each of his starts a must-watch. That mentality is also what makes Manoah special on the mound, somehow growing stronger the moment a runner reaches base.

It's difficult to overstate Manoah's value to his own team this past season, too. The Blue Jays lost Hyun Jin Ryu to Tommy John surgery, José Berríos had a surprising down year, Yusei Kikuchi fell out of the rotation, and there was little depth prepared to step in. A sophomore slump from Manoah would have sunk this rotation, but instead, the big man stepped in alongside Kevin Gausman as the co-ace. He'll own that title for years to come, and there are plenty more Cy Young runs to come. -- Keegan Matheson

Justin Verlander, RHP, Astros

Verlander went 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA in 28 starts and was the ace for a 106-win division champion. At age 39, he led the American League in wins, ERA, WHIP (0.83), opponents’ OPS (.497), opponents’ batting average (.186) and hits per nine innings (5.97). His 1.75 ERA was the lowest by an AL pitcher since Pedro Martinez (1.74) in 2000. His 220 ERA+ was the best of his career, topping his Cy Young/MVP season with the Tigers in 2011 (172).

Coming off Tommy John surgery and missing all of 2021 (and making only one start in 2020), Verlander had three starts in which he didn’t allow a hit, becoming the first pitcher in history to make three hitless starts of at least five innings in a single season. He didn’t allow a homer in his final 10 starts, covering 58 2/3 innings. He posted the lowest ratio of homers allowed per nine innings (0.62) by a right-hander in the AL. He threw at least five innings and didn’t allow a run in 10 of his 28 starts (35.7 percent).

The Astros went 20-8 in games started by Verlander and he was a stopper in games following an Astros loss. In 12 starts after a loss, he was 9-0 with a 1.11 ERA with 13 walks and 84 strikeouts in 73 innings. -- Brian McTaggart

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Sandy Alcantara, RHP, Marlins

Where to begin?

Alcantara's 2022 season was an anomaly in this day and age of baseball. His 228 2/3 innings and six complete games were the most thrown in six years. Three of those CGs came against postseason clubs. The All-Star tossed eight or more frames in 14 of his 32 starts, the most since '14. Alcantara is a unicorn, a true workhorse who expects to go the distance each time he takes the mound.

The 27-year-old right-hander accumulated the most WAR -- via FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference -- of the finalists. His ERA (2.28), strikeouts (207) and quality starts (24) were Top 5 in the NL. Alcantara pitched to weak contact, as evidenced by his MLB-fewest 14.20 pitches per inning, yet he still became the first pitcher in franchise history to record consecutive 200-strikeout seasons and ranked in the 94th percentile for chase rate (34.6%). Alcantara can reach triple digits in the ninth inning or unleash his changeup, which had an MLB-best -25 run value.

If these reasons aren't enough, why not take reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes' word for it? "Yeah, he’d be the Cy Young for me this year. What he’s done as far as going deep into games, doing it start in and start out, he doesn’t have many blow-up outings. He goes out there and gives them seven, eight or nine innings and gives them a chance to win." -- Christina De Nicola

Max Fried, LHP, Braves

Fried was a key reason why the Braves enjoyed their first 100-win season since 2003 and captured a fifth consecutive NL East crown. The left-hander ranked third in the NL in ERA (2.48), ERA+ (164) and FIP (2.70).

This marked the second straight year that the Braves benefited from Fried getting stronger as the season progressed. The veteran hurler produced a 2.15 ERA over his final 17 starts of the season. The only NL pitcher to post a better ERA during this span, which began June 20, was Julio Urías (1.89).

Fried rose to the occasion during some of the biggest games the Braves played over the season’s final two months. He allowed two runs or less in each of the five starts he combined to make against the Mets and Phillies over the season’s final two months. He set the tone in Atlanta’s big late-season sweep of the Mets. He allowed just one run over five innings while battling the flu in that series opener. -- Mark Bowman

Julio Urías, LHP, Dodgers

Urías put together one of the most underrated seasons. He didn’t make the NL All-Star team this season, and winning the NL ERA title doesn’t get as much respect as it once did, though it’s an incredibly difficult feat.

Following the All-Star break, Urías, who was understandably upset after not being selected to the team, responded by being the most effective pitcher in the NL, going 11-2 with a 1.26 ERA. In his last 14 starts, Urías allowed two or fewer earned runs in all of them.

Urías’ impact was also felt in a starting rotation that was decimated by injury. At one point, the Dodgers had Tony Gonsolin, Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw -- three All-Star-caliber arms -- on the injured list. The Dodgers desperately needed someone to step up and be the ace, and it was Urías who answered the call. -- Juan Toribio