The MLB regular season is coming to an end. With one day left of regular-season action and no more NL Cy Young candidates to pitch, this award is as up for grabs as it has ever been.
The pitchers have built their resume for the season and leave it up to the baseball committee to choose the NL Cy Young winner. Let’s take a look at five pitchers who have a great shot at winning this prestigious award.
Yu Darvish (CHC)
What a year for Darvish! After the Cubs gave Darvish a six-year deal worth $126 million in 2018, many were disappointed in his pitching prior to the 2020 season.
“What a waste of money Yu Darvish is going to turn out to be, plus lacks the ability to be a competitor,” said Wisconsin sports correspondent Chuck Freimund.
Darvish was coming off a year where he was 6-8 with a 3.98 ERA and gave up a league-leading 33 home runs.
However, this year Darvish silenced the doubters. He has been every bit of fantastic this year. In his 12 starts this season, he is 8-3 with a 2.01 ERA and 93 strikeouts. His eight wins are first in the NL while his ERA is second and strikeouts are third all in the NL in their respective categories.
In his last start of the season, Darvish faced a dangerous White Sox squad. However, he controlled the game with his commanding slider and curveball. He went seven strong innings giving up 0 runs on three hits and only conceding one walk. Throughout the whole season, Darvish has only issued 14 walks.
Darvish has been elite all season and looks to cap off an extraordinary season by winning his first Cy Young award.
Trevor Bauer (CIN)
After a frustrating start to his career in Cincinnati, Bauer bounced back strong in 2020. Last season he went from one Ohio team to the other. Bauer was traded at the trade deadline from the Indians to the Reds.
Last season, he went 2-5 with a 6.39 ERA in his 10 starts for the Reds
This season was a whole different journey for the former third overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft.
In his 11 starts this season for the Reds, he is 5-4 with a 1.73 ERA and 100 strikeouts. Although his five wins are quite low for a Cy Young winner, that goes unnoticed in a shortened season and how fantastic Bauer has been.
His 1.73 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and .159 batting average against all rank first in the NL. Meanwhile, his 100 strikeouts were second-best in the NL. He also has two complete game, shutouts to his name in 2020.
Bauer is a huge reason why the Cincinnati Reds are in the postseason for the first time in seven years.
Jacob deGrom (NYM)
DeGrom looks to join elite company as he attempts to win three consecutive Cy Young awards joining Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux.
It’s safe to say that deGrom is one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. His commanding fastball that reaches 102 mph gives hitters all sorts of problems.
Coming off a phenomenal past couple seasons, deGrom’s ERA hasn’t finished above 2.50 since 2017 and he looks to keep that streak going.
In 2018, he finished with an ERA of 1.70 and in 2019 a 2.43 ERA.
Even though deGrom only has four wins this season, wins are not a huge factor in determining Cy Young awards.
In his 12 starts, he is 4-2 with a 2.38 ERA and 104 strikeouts. His 2.38 ERA ranks seventh in the NL while his 104 strikeouts rank first. Also, his 0.96 WHIP is the fourth-best in the NL.
Will deGrom enter rare company by joining two Hall of Fame pitchers in winning three consecutive Cy Young awards?
Clayton Kershaw (LAD)
Although it may be a long shot, Kershaw looks to win his fourth Cy Young award in 2020. Kershaw hasn’t won the NL Cy Young award since 2014 when he was a unanimous winner.
In his 10 starts this season, he is 6-2 with a 2.16 ERA and 62 strikeouts. His 2.16 ERA is fifth in the NL and his 0.84 WHIP is second best in the NL.
Max Fried (ATL)
On the other side, Fried has had back-to-back productive seasons. Last season, he went 17-6 with a 4.03 ERA and 173 strikeouts.
Although last season was a success for Fried, his 2020 campaign has been his best pitching season yet.
Through his 11 starts, he is 7-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 50 strikeouts. Despite the fact that his strikeouts are low, he is an incredible ground ball pitcher.
His 2.25 ERA is sixth-best in the NL and his seven wins are second.
Fried missed one of his starts and left early in one game due to injury, so that might have hurt his chances at the award. Nonetheless, the Braves can’t be any happier in the production of Fried in 2020.
Featured Image Courtesy of Fansided
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