NL Cy Young Award Contenders
As we near the month of September, which pitchers have set themselves apart from the rest of the pack in the NL Cy Young Award race?
The NL Cy Young Award race will come down to the health of presumptive favorites Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw, with a handful of other pitchers hopeful for the hardware.
Four of the last six NL Cy Young Awards have been won by Clayton Kershaw or Max Scherzer. Kershaw has three on his mantle and Scherzer has the other, which he won just last season. Scherzer also won the AL Cy Young Award in 2013. If this were a normal year, the race for the NL Cy Young Award would be a two-man battle between these two aces.
This isn’t a normal year. Kershaw has been very good, but hasn’t pitched for more than a month. Scherzer has also been very good but has only made three starts in August. In the meantime, one of Kershaw’s teammates, Alex Wood, is 14-1 with a 2.41 ERA, and one of Scherzer’s teammates, Gio Gonzalez, is 12-5 with a 2.39 ERA, and is second in the league in innings pitched. The Nationals also have Stephen Strasburg in the midst of a good season, giving them three pitchers in the upper echelon in the NL to go with those two Dodgers starters and Dodgers reliever Kenley Jansen.
The Diamondbacks also have a pair of starters who should be mentioned—Zack Greinke and Robby Ray. Greinke has more innings and more wins, while Ray has a better ERA. Not to be left out, one of the few bright spots on the Mets should be recognized. Jacob deGrom leads the NL in innings pitched and is one win away from being tied for the league lead in victories.
With around 30 games left per team, a healthy starting pitcher should get five or six more starts this season. Those starts will make a big difference in who stakes his claim to the hardware by the end of the season. The top two contenders, Scherzer and Kershaw, are on teams that could choose to rest their best players because their playoff spots have already been locked in. This could open the door to another pitcher getting some consideration for the award. Let’s take a closer look at the contenders (using their Player’s Weekend nicknames).