To paraphrase the ubiquitous saying about drafts: You can’t win the Cy Young in the first two months of the season, but you can lose it.

Patrick Corbin (6.71 ERA) will not take home the trophy. José Berríos (5.24) still can help the Blue Jays, but not enough to garner any individual honor.

We’ve reached the one-third mark of the season, and the fields chasing baseball’s hardware have been narrowed down. To have a meaningful chance at landing the award that goes to a league’s best pitcher, you need to at least be in touch with, if not among, the leaders.

A year ago at this time — through June 7, 2021 — Gerrit Cole was the heavy favorite for American League Cy Young. The Yankees ace had posted a 2.26 ERA through 12 starts and was worth 3.2 WAR, according to FanGraphs, far ahead of second place (Boston’s Nathan Eovaldi, who had 2.3).