Can Anyone Catch Dinka? A Look into the Current AL Cy Young Race

S.A.R. Dinka's gone and done it. Coming into a pivotal game for the Toronto Blue Jays, he didn't just win the interdivisional match versus Tampa Bay. He threw a bloody no hitter, the second in Major League Redditball history. No-hitters are still the AL East's monopoly, though Steifel has long left his Red Sox post. 

Before Session 15, I would have given the Cy Young lead to Dinka's teammate Ryan Gasting. Gasting had a slightly higher ERA coming into the contest, but he lead in almost every other category. He strikes batters out twice as much, allows less baserunners, and walks fewer as well. In 32.2 innings pitched, Gasting's WHIP sits on the edge of 1.00 at 1.04. His is the lowest in the league among pitchers with 15 or more innings pitched, rivaled by Oliver Yu's 1.10 and Dan Gerzone's 1.19. They're both National League pitchers, however. 

Meanwhile, S.A.R. Dinka's sits at 1.20 after the no-hitter. It's not bad at all, but certainly not the top of the league. It would have been at 1.06 if not for the five walks he gave up. It wasn't the cleanest no-hitter, but should that matter? For the first time in this league's short history, voters will be given a player who has contending stats and a no hitter, and have him pinned against a pitcher with slightly better stats without the same prestige. This, of course, being if stats stay in the same vain as they are now. Does the no-hitter push Dinka over the edge? Should it make up the slight difference between his and Gasting's stats?

There's an argument that it shouldn't. Moritz Steifel isn't a bad pitcher, but he's floundered to find a solid job since his historic no-hitter. He was traded to his third team since the game after Oakland struck a deal with Seattle. He won't be in Cy Young talks any time soon, or possibly ever. Obviously, the no-hitter hasn't bolstered or defined his skills any, so should the same veil be put over the Dinka no-hitter?

Of course, Dinka is an elite pitcher. He always has been. The Czech righthander was a second overall pick in the Inaugural Draft, ending the seven game short-season with a 2.71 ERA in 31.0 IP. Some may say Steifel's prestige was boosted with the no-hitter, and that it would be more evident on an elite pitcher like Dinka's resume. 

What about other pitchers? Has this no-hitter shut the door on a surefire Toronto Cy Young victory? With three games left in the season, GMs may have to take a chance if they want to propel pitchers to the top. Hurlers like Hudson Quin and Moe Lester have an outsider's chance, though they'll have to dominate their team's innings in the last few games and hope their numbers don't take a dive for it. Quin, whose come out of nowhere with an incredible Boston debut, could contend with ten more innings pitched, but he'll have to trim his numbers to have a sniff at anything better than bronze. His 6.48 SO6 is incredible, a metric well higher than Gasting's, but his 1.78 WHIP is among the basement of the league. It may prove to be his downfall.

Pitchers with impressive innings pitched such as Chipper Dipper and Ed Turner will just need one more breathtaking start and hope the Toronto pitchers eat dust in the final games of the season. It's hard to compete with ERAs in the low 2s, and they'll need help from the baseball gods to push themselves to contention.

I think Dinka has a lead over Gasting, I really do. I think it will be hard to ignore a pitcher with a no-hitter, especially if he was in the race without it. As a voter myself, it will be hard for me to ignore as well. It all comes down to the wire here, and these next few games could make or break an award worthy season.