Guardians 3.55 ERA starting pitcher called 'dark horse' Cy Young candidate

The Cleveland Guardians are not in the best of shape in the AL postseason hunt, sitting at 59-63 in the regular season, 4.0 games back of the AL Central lead, but only 1.5 games back in the Wild Card.

For the Guardians, individual accolades aren't important in their postseason hunt. But if a player were to win an award, considering how they're all situated in their respective races, it would almost surely mean an incredibly strong finish to the 2026 season.

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report identified the most likely award the Guardians could win as the AL Cy Young, thanks to Gavin Williams being a "dark horse" for the award if a few things go his way from now until the season's end.

How Gavin Williams can be a 'dark horse' Cy Young candidate

"Over his last four starts, he has a 1.42 ERA and a 40-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 25.1 innings, and if Cam Schlittler and Dylan Cease falter, he has the momentum to emerge as a dark horse," Reuter writes.

This season, Williams has a 3.55 ERA with an 11-6 record and 2.8 bWAR. He's well behind both Schlittler and Cease right now.

The New York Yankees righty has a 2.21 ERA with 4.9 bWAR and a 10-6 record. The Toronto Blue Jays righty has a 2.40 ERA with 4.8 bWAR and a 7-5 record.

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Williams is clearly behind both, but if those two pitchers were to struggle from here on out, and Williams were to continue his dominant stretch from his previous four starts through the end of the year, he could be a sneaky contender.

It would take a lot of things going right for Williams to win this award, but it's not totally impossible just yet for the Guardians ace to win the Cy Young.

But he's a "dark horse" for a reason, and likely won't win this award. But Reuter named Williams for the AL Cy Young as the most likely Guardian to win an award this season.

It's a long shot for Williams, but there is still a path, albeit a small one, for the 27-year-old right-hander to win the AL Cy Young Award over Cease and Schlittler in a major upset.

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