As many people know, MLB Network has been releasing their Top 10 Right Now at every position in baseball the last few weeks.
Yesterday, they released their list for starting pitchers, where the 2018 Cy Young Award winner, Jacob deGrom, ranked third on the list.
Ahead of him on the list were Max Scherzer and Chris Sale while Corey Kluber, Justin Verlander, Aaron Nola, Clayton Kershaw, Luis Severino, Carlos Carrasco, and Blake Snell finished behind him in that order.
The only pitchers on the list to have not won a Cy Young Award are Nola, Sale, Severino, and Carrasco while Verlander, deGrom, and Sale have won the award once. Kluber has won the AL Cy Young Award twice while Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer (two in the NL, one in the AL) have won the award three times.
DeGrom, 30, had one of the best seasons in MLB history in 2018 despite a 10-9 record as he registered a 1.70 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 1.99 FIP, and 269 strikeouts in 32 starts (217 innings pitched). The pitcher had a 10.0 bWAR and recorded his 1,000th career strikeout on his very last pitch of the season as he struck out Ozzie Albies looking.
During the countdown, former Mets starting pitcher and current SNY broadcaster Ron Darling had some high praise for deGrom, who he got to watch quite often.
“The thing about deGrom which was remarkable – I know we care not for the win and the 10 he got last year, but I was so surprised that he didn’t lose 20 games last year. That’s how tough he had to be and how tough he pitched.”
“He has been great his entire career, since the day he came up and pitched the second game of a doubleheader against the Yankees, and he’s only gotten better. He pitches great in the Postseason when he’s been there. He just honestly had a historical, remarkable season with only those 10 wins.”
On Saturday, February 9, MLB Network will release their Top 10 shortstops at 6 p.m. and their Top 10 relief pitchers at 7 p.m.
