Cy Young Profile: Zack Greinke, 2009

Pitcher, Kansas City Royals

Age:  25

6^th season with Royals

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’2”    Weight: 200

Prior to 2009:

A native of suburban Orlando, Florida, Greinke first established himself as a power-hitting infielder at Apopka High School. Taking advantage of his hard throwing ability, he became a pitcher. As a senior he posted a 9-2 record with a 0.55 ERA for a team that went 30-3. Afterward he was chosen by the Royals as the sixth overall pick in the 2002 amateur draft. Playing for three teams at the Rookie to Class A levels in ’02, Greinke showed potential although he lacked finesse. In 2003, he started the season with the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the advanced Class A Carolina League and compiled an 11-1 record with a 1.14 ERA and 78 strikeouts over 87 innings to achieve league Player of the Year recognition. Promoted to Wichita of the Class AA Texas League, Greinke, who had developed a fine change-up, started nine games and went 4-3 with a 3.23 ERA. He started the 2004 season with Omaha of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League and was promoted to the Royals in May. He had a solid rookie campaign for Kansas City, starting 24 games and posting an 8-11 record with a 3.97 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 145 innings pitched. Greinke started out well with a poor club in 2005, but the lack of run support took its toll as he stumbled to a 5-17 mark with a 5.80 ERA and 114 strikeouts. He also tied a team record by hitting 13 batters. Greinke started the 2006 season on the disabled list as he was treated for depression and social anxiety. Sent back to Wichita upon his return, he went 8-3 with a 4.34 ERA and was called back to Kansas City in September where he won his lone start. With the Royals in 2007, Greinke struggled initially as a starting pitcher and was sent to the bullpen where, over the course of 38 relief appearances, he was 4-1 with one save and had a 3.54 ERA. He returned to the starting rotation in August and overall finished with a 7-7 record with a 3.69 ERA and 106 strikeouts over 122 innings. Having signed a four-year contract extension, Greinke had a fine season in 2008, starting 32 games and going 13-10 with a 3.47 ERA and 183 strikeouts for the fourth-place Royals. With an arsenal of pitches that included a fastball, slider, curve, and change-up, he was set to become a top major league pitcher.       

2009 Season Summary

Appeared in 33 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 33

Games Started – 33 [4, tied with nine others]

Complete Games – 6 [2]

Wins – 16 [7, tied with Jered Weaver & Joe Saunders]

Losses – 8

PCT - .667 [8, tied with Jered Weaver]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 3 [2]

Innings Pitched – 229.1 [5]

Hits – 195 [14, tied with Kevin Millwood]

Runs – 64

Earned Runs – 55

Home Runs – 11

Bases on Balls – 51

Strikeouts – 242 [2]

ERA – 2.16 [1]

Hit Batters – 4

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 5

League-leading ERA was -0.33 lower than runner-up Felix Hernandez

Midseason Snapshot: 10-5, ERA - 2.12, SO – 129 in 127.1 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 15 (in 8 IP) vs. Cleveland 8/25

10+ strikeout games – 5

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 9 IP) at Seattle 8/30

Batting

PA – 6, AB – 6, R – 0, H – 1, 2B – 1, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 0, SO – 2, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .167, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 47

Put Outs – 11

Assists – 35

Errors – 1

DP – 4

Pct. - .979

Awards & Honors:

AL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

AL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

All-Star

17^th in AL MVP voting, tied with Robinson Cano, NYY (12 points, 3% share)

AL Cy Young voting:

Zack Greinke, KC: 134 pts. – 25 of 28 first place votes, 96% share

Felix Hernandez, Sea.: 80 pts. – 2 first place votes, 57% share

Justin Verlander, Det.: 14 pts. – 1 first place vote, 10% share

C.C. Sabathia, NYY: 13 pts. – 9% share

Roy Halladay, Tor.: 11 pts. – 8% share

Royals went 65-97 to finish tied for fourth in the AL Central Division with the Cleveland Indians, 21.5 games behind the division-winning Minnesota Twins. The pitching staff led the league in complete games (10, tied with the Toronto Blue Jays) and walks (600).

Aftermath of ‘09:

Greinke followed up with a 10-14 record with a 4.17 ERA and 181 strikeouts in 2010. In the offseason he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers as part of a six-player deal. He started the 2011 season on the disabled list due to a rib injury and went on to compile a 16-6 record with a 3.83 ERA and 201 strikeouts. In his first taste of postseason action, he was 1-1 in the NLCS vs. St. Louis. In 2012 he got off to a 9-3 start with a 3.44 ERA before being dealt to the Los Angeles Angels in July. He went 6-2 with a 3.53 ERA the rest of the way to finish with a combined record of 15-5 over 34 starts with a 3.48 ERA and 200 strikeouts. Greinke joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent in the offseason, having signed for $147 million. He spent part of the 2013 season on the disabled list as the result of a broken left collarbone, suffered when Carlos Quentin of San Diego charged the mound after being hit by a pitch, which set off a brawl. Greinke returned to post a 15-4 record with a 2.63 ERA and 148 strikeouts. He also received a Silver Slugger award for batting .328, to lead NL pitchers. In three postseason starts for the division-winning Dodgers he was 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA. In 2014 he was an All-Star for the second time in his career on his way to a 17-8 mark with a 2.71 ERA and 207 strikeouts. He also received a Gold Glove for the first time in recognition of his fielding prowess. The Dodgers again topped the NL West and Greinke started one postseason game in which he did not get a decision. He led the NL with a 1.66 ERA in 2015, a year in which he went 19-3, which included an 8-game winning streak, with 200 strikeouts for first-place LA. He placed second in NL Cy Young Award voting, was an All-Star, and again received a Gold Glove. Greinke was 1-1 in the NLDS loss to the Mets, including the loss in the decisive Game 5. In the offseason, he signed a six-year, $206.5 million contract as a free agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he has continued to experience success that has included two more All-Star selections and three more Gold Gloves. His best record for Arizona thus far has been 17-7 in 2017, with a 3.20 ERA. Overall for his career through June 1, 2019, Greinke has compiled a 193-120 record with a 3.38 ERA and 2510 strikeouts over 2745 innings pitched. He has hurled 16 complete games and 5 shutouts and has been a five-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner. His postseason record has been 3-4 with a 4.03 ERA and 59 strikeouts. With the Royals he was 60-67 with a 3.82 ERA and 931 strikeouts.      

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Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.