Updating Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet’s AL Cy Young Award Chances

Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet is playing the best baseball of his life, but it still might not be enough to get his hands on the American League Cy Young Award.

MLB.com assembled a “panel of experts” for its latest Cy Young poll. In the AL, all 32 votes went to Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, who’s the reigning Cy Young winner.

Crochet finished second in the poll, ahead of Houston Astros ace Hunter Brown, Texas Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom and New York Yankees left-hander Max Fried.

“Where would the Red Sox be without Crochet? The 26-year-old southpaw ranks third among starters in ERA (2.23), FIP (2.54), and fWAR (4.5), trailing only Skubal and (Paul) Skenes in all three categories,” MLB.com’s Jared Greenspan wrote Wednesday.

“If it wasn’t for Skubal, Crochet would likely be the favorite to win his first Cy Young Award,” Greenspan concluded.

Crochet returned to the mound Tuesday and gave up two runs in seven innings of work while striking out eight in the Red Sox’s 6-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. The left-hander picked up his AL-leading 13th win of the season.

Crochet leads the majors with 148 1/3 innings pitched and 183 strikeouts. His 4.6 WAR is second in the American League behind Skubal’s 5.6 WAR. Crochet’s 2.24 ERA also is second-best in the AL, trailing Skubal’s 2.18 ERA.

Manager Alex Cora is keeping a close eye on Crochet’s usage this year. The lefty has already set a new personal record for innings pitched, topping the 146 he threw last year with the Chicago White Sox.

The 26-year-old is looking to become the first Red Sox pitcher to win the Cy Young Award since Rick Porcello in 2016. But at this point, the southpaw isn’t concerned with personal accolades.

“Winning, just in the clubhouse, is very contagious. I think in our city right now, it’s very contagious. I just wanted to do everything I could to extend that,” Crochet said after Tuesday’s win, which was the club’s seventh in a row.