The 2017 Cy Young winners are already looking like Aces on the mound in 2018 three starts into the season.
With Scherzer winning the award in the NL last year going 16-6 with a 2.51 ERA and 268 strikeouts vs only 55 walks, he's posted a 2-1 record with a 0.90 ERA and 27 strikeouts vs 3 walks in his first three starts so far.
Corey Kluber's 2017 AL award winning campaign looked just as good with a 18-4 record, 2.25 ERA, 265 strikeouts vs only 36 walks. Through his first three in 2018, 1-1, 1.57 ERA, 27 strikeouts vs 4 walks.
Now, obviously this is a small sample size however, with both having just impressive seasons a year ago, and putting up beautiful gems on the rubber today making batters look like fools, it could easily be another award winning season for at least one of these guys if not both.
I've always liked Max's pitching style with the lower three quarters delivery almost looking like a sidearm pitcher. His stuff has top notch movement too. A fastball that seems to dance a bit even when going 99 mph and his slider - changeup - curveball options only make things more hectic for the guys in the box as he has a 20 mph difference between his fastest and slowest pitches. Only throwing that slow moving curve a handful of times a game, he's usually able to sneak a strikeout on one of the lineups dangerous batters with it.
Kluber, or "KluBot" as the city of Cleveland calls him, has a five pitch arsenal that consist of a fastball, sinker, cutter, changeup, and breaking ball that mixes a slider and curve together. His bread and butter though is that sinker of his. Nasty pitch right now that he's able to sneak by guys even with launch angles and bat speed causing batter's to be looking low in the zone for big bombs nowadays. Doesn't matter. Kluber's sinker has a bite at the end that you can't help but either barely make contact or miss altogether.
Both pitchers definitely have the ability to destroy lineups on any given night but who's 2018 will be better? I'd like to think with his amazing ability to dot the strikezone accurately and avoid walks a bit more even being in the DH loving AL gives Kluber the upper hand. Additionally I believe the Indians have a better offense to support the KluBot in the W-L department. Heavy hitters Ramirez and Encarnacion will assist in putting up runs and stellar defense from the infield will keep Corey's confidence up and there is nothing more terrifying to a team than a confident pitcher with Kluber's pitc selection.
Not to say he'll win the Cy Young this year, just a better year than his 2017 award winning counterpart Max Scherzer. We'll see after 162.