Gerrit Cole, Mark Melancon win Cy Young votes

Two pitchers from the Pirates' terrific 2015 staff, Gerrit Cole and Mark Melancon, received votes for the NL Cy Young award. Cole finished fourth, getting two votes for third place, 13 votes for fourth and eight votes for fifth in the 30 ballots cast. Melancon got five fifth-place votes and finished eighth. Melancon, who was already named the NL Reliever of the Year, was the only reliever to receive Cy Young votes.

Jake Arrieta ultimately won the award, with Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw finishing second and third, respectively. I would have voted for Kershaw, personally, but there weren't really any bad choices between Kershaw, Arrieta and Greinke. Finishing behind only those three is an honor for Cole, who isn't yet a veteran like that trio but a young player only now coming into his own. What Kershaw, Arrieta and Greinke each did this year was crazy, particularly considering that they were all in the same league in the same season, but if you had to pick one pitcher who could rise to that kind of ultra-elite level next year, Cole would be a good choice.