No. 3 – Madison Bumgarner, LHP, San Francisco Giants
Madison Bumgarner might be the best big-game pitcher in baseball and the Giants will need him in top form as they fight for a playoff spot down the stretch.
He also has a very strong claim for the Cy Young. Bumgarner has been a workhorse for the Giants this season. He has a league-leading 29 starts along with the second most innings. “MadBum” also has faced the most batters this season and still maintains incredible stats. If voters stick to the core statistics such as wins, ERA, IP, strikeouts, WHIP, and opponent’s batting average, Bumgarner could be #1.
Among NL qualified starters, he ranks the following:
- Wins: t-3rd – 14
- ERA: 2nd – 2.51
- IP: 2nd – 193.2
- Strikeouts: 3rd – 217
- WHIP: t-5th – 1.04
- OBA: 7th – .210
Bumgarner looks like a near-perfect candidate. But Bumgarner is coming off his worst month of the season in August where he put up a 4.14 ERA. He’s slotted in for five more starts this season vs the Diamondbacks, Padres (2x) and Dodgers (2x). He’s been solid vs the D-backs and Padres, but against the Dodgers, Bumgarner is 0-2 with a 5.63 ERA in three starts.
The Giants will also be happy if he picks up his performance as they try to maintain a Wild Card spot.
Next: The 2015 NL Cy Young Winner