Several years ago, Bill James and Rob Neyer created a formula to determine who was likely to win the Cy Young Award in each major league, based on past results. The formula looks like this: Cy Young Points (CYP) = ((5*IP/9)-ER) + (SO/12) + (SV*2.5) + Shutouts + ((W*6)-(L*2)) + Victory Bonus. (The victory bonus is a 12-point addition if the pitcher’s team was leading the division. I decided NOT to use the VB for the VBL.)
As I do for anything for which I can get a formula and the stats, I have applied the idea to the Valley League. Why? Well, it’s fun! Following are the top 30 CYP totals for Valley League pitchers in 2016! (Stats are through July 5)
| Name | CYP | G | GS | IP | ER | K | SV | SHO | W | L | ERA |
| Corey Childress, Harr | 38.58 | 6 | 5 | 36.0 | 9 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2.25 |
| Stephen Xirinachs, FR | 34.14 | 6 | 6 | 34.0 | 9 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2.38 |
| Peyton Plumlee, Stras | 32.83 | 5 | 4 | 23.7 | 6 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2.28 |
| Christopher Hopkins, Win | 26.81 | 5 | 2 | 16.3 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.55 |
| Erne Valdes, FR | 26.75 | 5 | 5 | 29.7 | 3 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.91 |
| Zach Neff, Way | 24.58 | 7 | 0 | 12.3 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1.46 |
| Terrell McCall, NM | 23.78 | 6 | 4 | 26.0 | 5 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1.73 |
| John Bentley, Win | 23.72 | 10 | 0 | 19.3 | 9 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4.19 |
| Joey Johnson, NM | 23.44 | 5 | 5 | 26.0 | 9 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3.12 |
| Drew Mancuso, Wood | 21.72 | 7 | 1 | 22.0 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1.64 |
| Mark Hendricks, Cov | 20.78 | 9 | 0 | 20.0 | 6 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.70 |
| Benjamin Dum, Stras | 20.67 | 4 | 4 | 24.0 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.25 |
| Nicholas Purpera, Cov | 19.72 | 10 | 0 | 13.0 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.69 |
| Riley Arnone, Char | 19.03 | 5 | 4 | 26.0 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.04 |
| Mat Oset, NM | 18.67 | 9 | 0 | 20.7 | 11 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4.79 |
| Sam Vincenzo, Stan | 18.42 | 4 | 4 | 27.0 | 9 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3.00 |
| Will Reed, Pur | 18.28 | 6 | 0 | 7.7 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2.35 |
| Greg Paprocki, Harr | 17.86 | 5 | 4 | 23.0 | 8 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.13 |
| Blake Whitney, FR | 17.00 | 5 | 5 | 29.7 | 12 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3.64 |
| Abraham Almonte, Stras | 16.83 | 8 | 0 | 8.7 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.12 |
| Joey Jones, Win | 16.14 | 6 | 5 | 27.7 | 13 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4.23 |
| Brandon Caples, Pur | 15.64 | 4 | 4 | 31.3 | 11 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3.16 |
| Eric Yankey, Harr | 15.50 | 9 | 2 | 30.0 | 18 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5.40 |
| Christian Bourne, Harr | 15.33 | 8 | 0 | 15.0 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Damon Frazier, Stan | 15.28 | 5 | 4 | 23.0 | 9 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3.52 |
| Cameron Fritz, Win | 14.78 | 8 | 1 | 13.7 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6.59 |
| Mike Hanchar, Cov | 14.14 | 4 | 4 | 19.0 | 8 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3.79 |
| Donnie Sellers, Harr | 13.64 | 7 | 3 | 22.0 | 10 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4.09 |
| Donovan Futrell, Cov | 12.89 | 9 | 0 | 21.7 | 3 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1.25 |
| Alex Ernestine, Way | 12.67 | 4 | 4 | 20.7 | 12 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5.23 |
All Things Valley League 