Call to the pen
Fansided

National League Cy Young a three-way race

By Bill Felber

PITTSBURGH, PA - JULY 28: Jacob deGrom #48 of the New York Mets reacts after allowing a single to Jordan Luplow #47 of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the seventh inning during the game at PNC Park on July 28, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - JULY 28: Jacob deGrom #48 of the New York Mets reacts after allowing a single to Jordan Luplow #47 of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the seventh inning during the game at PNC Park on July 28, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /
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National League Cy Young
NEW YORK, NY – JULY 09: Aaron Nola #27 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches in the first inning against the New York Mets during game two of a doubleheader at Citi Field on July 9, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies

Old-school stats: 15-4, 2.23 ERA in 28 starts, 182 IP

New-school stats: 9.0 WAR, 5.0 Win Probability Added, 40 Adjusted Pitching Runs, 198 Adjusted ERA+

The case for Nola: Nola’s 9.2 WAR is the best for any National League pitcher. Basically nobody hits Nola; right-handers are hitting just .205 against him and left-handers are batting .190. His consistency is off the-chart: a .199 batting average against in the season’s first half, and .196 thus far in the second half.  In statistically his worst month, June, he went 3-0 with a .323 ERA in 30 innings of work. He is death against the other guy’s best hitters. The collective batting average of everybody hitting in the 3 and 4 holes against Nola this season is just .208.

The case against Nola: Sunday’s one-sided defeat to the Cubs was a lost opportunity to persuade skeptics who may yet see Nola as an upstart candidate when measured against the more familiar deGrom, Kershaw and Scherzer. He is likely to make five more September starts, and they’ll give him an opportunity to regain credibility as a contender. Three are against the Mets and Marlins, followed by what are likely to be two limelight starts against the Rockies and Braves. For Nola to win the National League Cy Young Award, he must show up big in those decisive games.

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