In his sophomore season, Jacob deGrom has pitched even better than he did last season, when he won the NL Rookie Of The Year. On a team with immense pitching talent, he has stood out among the crowd for both his stuff as well as his hair.
The ultimate award for a pitcher this day and age is the Cy Young, the award given to the most outstanding pitcher in the National and American Leagues. This season, many pitchers are vying for that honor in the NL, with many worthy candidates. Despite some recent struggles, deGrom’s numbers are definitely outstanding and in the mix.
He is 12-7 with a 2.40 ERA, which is 4th best in the NL. In 169 innings (11th) he has struck out 175 batters (7th) and walked 34, and he has a 0.961 WHIP (5th) so far this season to round out his impressive 2015 resumé. He also has a stingy .210 opposing batting average, 4th best in the league among all qualified starters.
The won-loss records of starting pitchers have a great importance in the eyes of voters, so deGrom’s “mere” 12 wins may prove costly. People who follow the Mets closely however, know that the first half of the season was wrought with plenty of no-decisions for deGrom, in which he pitched well enough to win.
His numbers are absolutely impressive, but are they impressive enough? Let’s take a look at some of deGrom’s competition for the 2015 NL Cy Young Award.
Clayton Kershaw, the reigning MVP and Cy Young winner has already had an amazing career. He has led the Major Leagues in ERA each of the last 4 seasons, with a 2.11 ERA in 895.1 innings in that span. After a rocky start this season, he has returned to typical Kershaw form.
Kershaw is 12-6 with a 2.18 ERA, good for 3rd best in the league. In 194 innings (1st), he has struck out an incredible 251 batters (1st) and walked only 34. He has a 0.897 WHIP (2nd), a .199 BAA (3rd), and a K/9 rate of 11.64 (1st). He has struck out 200 batters for the 6th consecutive season, and has already passed his former season strikeout mark of 248 set back in 2011. He has 3 complete games (T-1st) and 2 shutouts (T-1st) this season.
Since June 22 (12 starts), he has allowed more than one run only once. He has struck out 10 or more batters in one game 12 times so far this season, and has had games with 8 or more strikeouts and 0 walks 9 times. If he continues his dominant form and keeps lowering his ERA, he will absolutely be a worthy recipient of the Cy Young award for the 4th time in his young career.
The second Dodger on this list, Zack Greinke has had perhaps the best year so far of all these pitchers mentioned. He is 15-3 with an absolutely magnificent 1.59 ERA, best in the majors. In 186.2 innings (2nd) he has struck out 169 (8th). His .189 BAA (1st) combined with him allowing only 32 walks and 126 hits accumulates to a pristine 0.846 WHIP (1st).
Greinke, who won the AL Cy Young in 2009 with the Royals (16-8, 2.16 ERA), is currently in the best season of his career. This includes an impressive 45.2 inning scoreless streak in June/July ended by the Mets. If the season ended right now, he would most likely be selected the winner. If he continues to pitch well for the rest of the season, he has a very good chance of taking home his second Cy Young award.
Jake Arrieta is very quietly having an amazing season for the Cubs. He has pitched to the tune of a 18-6 record with an immaculate 2.03 ERA (2nd). Like Kershaw, he has 3 complete games (T-1st) and 2 shutouts (T-1st), which includes a no-hitter against the Dodgers on August 30th.
In 191 innings this year (2nd), he has struck out 197 (4th) batters. 44 walks and 132 hits allowed comes out to a 0.92 WHIP (3rd), to go with a .194 BAA (2nd).
He has had a mostly tumultuous career before this season. From 2010-2013 with the Orioles and Cubs, he was 24-27 with a 5.23 ERA. A high walk rate (4.0 per 9 IP) led to an extremely high 1.428 WHIP during that span. However, last season, he pitched better going 10-5 with a 2.53 ERA. This season though, finally, he has put it all together. He is currently in the midst of a 17-game quality start streak and is absolutely worthy of consideration for the award.
Madison Bumgarner, fresh off a World Series MVP nod, has pitched very well for the Giants this season. He is 17-7 with a 3.05 ERA (13th). In 188.2 innings (3rd), he has struck out 203 batters (3rd), walked 32, and allowed 167 hits for a 1.05 WHIP (7th). He has tossed 3 complete games (T-1st) and has one shutout.
After a rocky first half, MadBum is 8-2 since the All Star Game with 82 strikeouts and 10 walks in 69.2 innings, allowing only 20 runs (2.60 ERA). Until this point, his regular season numbers have been fairly overrated, but he is proving haters wrong so far this season. If he lowers that ERA significantly before the end of the season, he has a decent shot at the Cy Young.
As you can see, young Mr. deGrom has his work cut out for him going into the final month of the season. If he strings together some stellar starts he will absolutely be strongly considered for the Cy Young and pick up plenty of votes, but clearly the odds are stacked against him.
