Another repeat offender on this list, Stephen Strasburg moves up a spot after another perfect month, going 5-0 in May. While he trails Syndergaard in WAR, he makes up for it by ranking ahead of him in wins, strikeouts and innings (and a thousand sabermetricians cried out in pain). Until he loses, the voters will keep putting him on their ballot near the top of the list.
The Nationals seemed to agree, as they came to a seven-year extension with the 27-year-old for a whopping $175MM that will take him through his age-34 season. Like other Nationals signings before him, Strasburg agreed to deferred money which will keep him on payroll (earning $10MM annually) until 2030, well after he has retired.
He’s proving to everyone that he’s worth it, as he has the lowest ERA and FIP of his career, and is striking out batters at an even better rate than ever. Much of it might have to do with the increased use of his slider. Only having thrown 40 of them as a big leaguer prior to this season, Strasburg has now thrown 175 this year, his second most used pitch. Though it’s not quite Syndergaard fast, he’s averaging 89 mph on the pitch and it’s resulted in his changeup being even more devastating.
After Washington announced they’ll be bringing up Trea Turner to slot in at shortstop now that his service clock has turned over, the Nationals have filled one of the only holes on their team. Already at 33-21, this team is destined for great things in the NL East and Strasburg will be a big part of that.
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