Keuchel, Arrieta were drafted by same scout
Houston's Stevenson spotted 2015 Cy Young winners early on
Two of the game's top pitchers were honored Wednesday as Dallas Keuchel and Jake Arrieta picked up their first career Baseball Writers' Association of America Cy Young Awards.
This latest Cy Young duo is not only linked by exceptional 2015 seasons, but also by the man who discovered them years ago. According to The Houston Chronicle, both pitchers can be traced back to the same scout with an eye for ace pitching talent, Houston's Jim Stevenson.
• Complete awards coverage
• Arrieta, Keuchel win Cy Youngs
Stevenson was behind the Astros' selection of Keuchel in the 2009 Draft. He also scouted Arrieta at TCU and convinced the Brewers to draft him in 2005, though the right-hander chose to stay in college for two more years.
Neither player was a sure-fire, early-round prospect. Keuchel fell to the seventh round, while Arrieta was a 26th-round selection in 2005, eventually going to the Orioles as a fifth-round pick in 2007.
Keuchel and Arrieta aren't the only big-name hurlers with Stevenson connections. Stevenson is also responsible for signing Rangers righty Yovani Gallardo while with Milwaukee in 2004.