NL Cy Young candidates after the first two months of the season
By Anthony Sosa
Clayton Kershaw
No surprise that the best pitcher in baseball made this list. Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw continues to shine out in Southern California.
Kershaw sports one of the best resumes in the game. Since 2011, the lefty has made six straight All-Star Games, earned a Gold Glove, claimed the ERA title four times, finished top-five in the NL Cy Young race and won the 2014 NL MVP award. He won the Cy Young Award in 2011, 2013 and 2014.
On Friday, Kershaw reached a career milestone. He struck out the 2,000th batter of his career and according to ESPN Stats and Info, he did so in the second fewest games ever.
With his fourth strikeout tonight, Clayton Kershaw became the second-quickest pitcher to reach 2,000 career strikeouts (via @EliasSports). pic.twitter.com/RqtedPNcvD
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 3, 2017
The 29-year-old became the 79th pitcher to strike out 2,000 batters in a career. He joined some Dodgers legends in that department. He ranks fourth all-time in strikeouts in Dodgers history, behind Don Sutton, Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax, per ESPN Stats and Info.
As for his season totals, Kershaw owns a 7-2 record with a 2.28 ERA, 0.900 WHIP and 92 strikeouts. His ERA and WHIP rank second best in the NL. He ranks in the top 10 in all of baseball in strikeouts.
If Kershaw can win the NL Cy Young in 2017, he’ll become just the fifth pitcher in baseball history to win the award four times. The other four to do so: Roger Clemens (7), Randy Johnson (5), Greg Maddux (4) and Steve Carlton (4).