Let's take this time to seek out 2017's likeliest breakout pitchers, but first we must answer the surprisingly complicated question of "what makes a breakout season?"
For example: Kyle Hendricks cut his ERA nearly in half from 3.95 to 2.13 and finished third in the NL Cy Young ballot. Yet while the run prevention was markedly better, the inputs behind it -- strikeouts, walks, homers -- didn't change much. (There was even evidence he induced less soft contact than he had in 2015.) Of course, he did find himself in front of one of the best defenses in history, which helped save runs.