It Looks Like You Can Just Hand Shane Bieber The Cy Young Award Right Now

Ugh, three weeks into work and I already think I'm going to have to miss a day. The haters are going to be out in full force if I chirp people about their work ethics and then miss a day in my first month, but the fact of the matter is I'm sick. I have Bieber Fever. 

Let's be honest with ourselves for a moment: Shane Bieber has been mid the past couple of years. Velocity has declined, and he's had two seasons shortened with arm issues. He hasn't been horrible.....but after winning 15 games in 2019 and finishing 4th in the Cy Young, he turned in an 8-1 season to win the award in 2020, followed up with an All Star appearance in 2021, and then......he's been 26-18. Won 6 games last year in 21 starts. So no, he hasn't been horrible, but he hasn't been......this:

The man has yet to give up a run, has an MLB leading 20 strikeouts, and can still be gotten at 11/1 to win the Cy Young. Seems like some pretty good value to me. Especially when there's precedent to what happens when he starts like this.....

But in all honesty, I can't wait to watch him pitch in the playoffs this year. Because either the Guardians are going to be good enough to win the Central and we're going to trot him out in Game 1, or we're going to ship him off at the deadline to someone who can win the World Series. And I love that he's throwing so well to start the year, because that only increases the haul we will get in return. What's the market like for a dude who's on a 1-year deal like……?