James Varela will receive the 2018 Axcess Baseball Cy Young Award for his outstanding performance this season. As a junior, he broke several program records. He finished with a record of 11-1, ERA of 2.40, 116 strikeouts over 101.1 IP. He also fired seven complete games (six consecutive) and three shutouts. He held the opposition to a batting average of .185.
There were several criteria considered for this award:
- ERA
- Record
- Innings Pitched
- Strikeouts
- Level of Competition
- Historical Significance
- Conference Statistics
For those who follow me on Twitter, you know that I am a proponent of disregarding win-loss record for starting pitchers in the Major Leagues. That does not apply to the amateur level because the elite pitchers typically go deeper into games than in the big leagues. Varela completed 7 of his 13 outings. The leader in the MLB had two this season (Jose Berrios, Noah Syndergaard, Carlos Carrasco, Mike Foltynewicz, Corey Kluber, James Paxton, Max Scherzer, Jameson Taillon). It’s a different era than in the 1960s and 1970s. Starting pitchers at the big league level don’t accrue the same volume of innings that they did.
With that being said, Varela and John Rooney were clearly the best collegiate pitchers on Long Island. Rooney had the advantage in ERA and threw a no-hitter. Varela had the advantage in wins and strikeouts. Both were consensus All-Americans. Both are strong candidates. It’s a testament to the quality of arms we have in this region.
Varela will have a chance to get selected in the upcoming MLB Draft.
Previous winners of this award are T.J. Santiago, Kris Killackey and Jake DeCarli.
