2019 NL Cy Young Finalists: who will win
The 2019 NL Cy Young is down to three starting pitchers: Hyun-Jin Ryu, Max Scherzer, and Jacob deGrom. Who comes out on top?
The three finalists for the NL Cy Young are led by some familiar faces, Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets, Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals and then there is a newcomer, Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Of the three, Ryu seems to be the one who gets lost in the mix. Even though it is not true especially this season, most people think of Clayton Kershaw when they think Dodgers’ starting pitcher.
Each pitcher was the ace of their respective staff this year and led them as far as they could take them. Scherzer and Ryu each led their teams to the playoffs and in the case of Scherzer, to a World Series title.
For the Mets, deGrom helped them make a late-season push which added to the drama of the playoff push, but ultimately it simply was not enough to get them there. They finished 3 games out of the last Wild Card spot behind the Milwaukee Brewers and the Nationals.
I’m going to take a look at each candidate’s resume, keeping in mind this is a regular-season award. I will not be considering playoff performance as it is unfair to deGrom’s season. I’ll be taking everything into consideration, i.e. stats, durability and how they pitched in crucial season games down the stretch.
Finally, after taking a look at the resumes’ I will choose who I think should win. As always this is always up for debate. If you think I’m wrong, let me know in the comments. I’m always open to hearing arguments for or against the pitcher I choose.
Who wins the NL Cy Young?
Jacob deGrom dazzled his way to earning his third All-Star appearance.
The defending NL Cy Young award winner had an amazing season, although it certainly was not as good as his last season. Honestly, how could it though? He put together an amazing season last year and it would be hard to top that.
He most definitely gave it a go though. He went 11-8 with a 2.48 ERA in 32 starts with 255 strikeouts in 204 1/3 innings pitched. Those 255 strikeouts were good enough to lead the National League.
deGrom is as steady as rock. Despite the crazy that always seems to happen in the Mets front office, this guy goes out and does his job day in and day out just like any pro should.
He posted the best strikeout ratio of his career, striking out 11.3 every nine innings. Unfortunately, no matter what he did this season it just didn’t feel like it was enough in the end.
I think his season would be looked at differently had it not been for his insanely amazing Cy Young award-winning season last year. Without those benchmarks for himself, this might have been a no-brainer.
Unfortunately, the other two candidates also had amazing years and that is not including Scherzer’s amazing postseason. This season was good, just not good enough for deGrom to repeat as the NL Cy Young.
Who wins the NL Cy Young?
Max Scherzer dominated, but did he do enough to win?
Max Scherzer had an incredible season and no matter what happens with this award, it really won’t matter for him. He has the ultimate prize that no one else on this list has this season and that is a World Series title.
‘Mad Max’ went 11-7 this year with a 2.92 ERA and 243 strikeouts with 33 walks and 18 home runs allowed. This year was the first year in 4 years where he didn’t lead the NL in strikeouts at the end of the season. He only started 27 games compared to deGrom’s 32. He doesn’t win the durability contest.
He was an All-Star this year for the 7th season in a row and led the NL in strikeouts per 9 innings with 12.7. When you take his strikeout to walk ratio, he led all of baseball with a 7.36. He had an amazing season, the fact is there is one other pitcher who simply had a better year, despite not having some of the flashier statistics as Scherzer or deGrom for that matter.
The only disappointing thing about this season is he will finish second in the Cy Young voting for the second year in a row. Again, the man has a World Series title, I think he’ll be okay.
Who wins the NL Cy Young?
Hyun-Jin Ryu’s consistency wins him the Cy Young
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Ryu had an amazing season and was considered one of the front-runners for the award for a long time. He led the league pretty much all season in ERA and was a part of the 106-win Dodgers team who were never really in jeopardy of not making the playoffs.
He 14-5 with a 2.32 ERA in 29 starts with 163 strikeouts, 17 home runs allowed and 24 walks in 182 2/3 innings pitched. That ERA number led all of baseball and that is what wins him this award.
He also led the NL in ERA+ at 179 and only allowed 1.2 walks per 9 innings, also the best in baseball. Despite not having the flashy strikeout numbers, Ryu was the best pitcher in the NL this past year and there is really no question about it.
Despite the team not making it past the first round against the eventual champion Nationals, the season was one to remember for the 32-year old and I believe he is the Cy Young winner.
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He was the unquestioned ace of a staff which included Kershaw and Walker Buehler. He is a no-brainer choice. Although he isn’t as flashy as deGrom or Scherzer, he is going to be the NL Cy Young award winner.