Astros ace Dallas Keuchel wins AL Cy Young award

Dallas Keuchel arrived this season. In 2015, he proved his breakout season from a year earlier wasn't a fluke. He became the legitimate ace of the Houston Astros, winning 20 games, leading the AL in innings pitched and guiding his team to the postseason.

For all that, Keuchel earned on Wednesday the ultimate recognition a pitcher can get — the Cy Young award.

Keuchel received 22 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America, beating out David Price, who earned eight first-place votes for his impressive season with the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays. Sonny Gray, the ace of the Oakland Athletics, finished third.

Keuchel is the third Astros pitcher to win the Cy Young, following Roger Clemens in 2004 and Mike Scott in 1986.

The numbers speaking volumes about Keuchel's success, but they don't say it all. Keuchel's emergence signaled a change in Houston. With Keuchel a true No. 1 at the top of their rotation, the Astros took on the feel of a contender right away in 2015.

The Astros — who not too long lost 100 games in three straight seasons — were ahead of schedule in their rebuild, leading the AL West most of the season and getting into the playoffs as a wild-card team.

And Keuchel was their rock. Leading a mostly unproven pitching staff, he showed he could throw deep into games and keep opposing teams off the scoreboard. He threw three complete games, two of which were shutouts. Keuchel had a tremendous first half, going 10-3 with a 2.03 ERA in the first three months of the season and getting the nod as the American League starter for the All-Star game. He finished 2015 undefeated at Houston's Minute Maid Park.

Unlike Carlos Correa, Keuchel's teammate who won Rookie of the Year, he was never a can't-miss prospect. Keuchel was a seventh-round pick who struggled his first two seasons in the big leagues with ERAs above 5.00. Sometimes baseball takes time, though, and Keuchel proved that.

Now, with a Cy Young forever next to his name, Keuchel isn't just the Astros ace, he's one of the best pitchers in baseball.