Jacob deGrom‘s injury shortened start on Sept. 16 when he allowed three runs in two innings was enough to bump him from being the front runner for the 2020 National League Cy Young award.

Unfortunately, with a shorted season, one bad start could kill any chances of a three-peat for deGrom.

Corbin Burnes

I wanted to talk about Corbin first because I believe he’s the best pitcher in the National League that rarely gets mentioned. The Brewers right-hander enters Wednesday tied for the NL lead in fWAR at 2.6 with Jacob deGrom and Yu Darvish. He leads the NL with his 1.77 ERA, and leads the majors with his 1.79 FIP and 5.0 H/9.

Burnes ranks second in the NL with 13.34 K/9, and his 0.16 HR/9 also ranks second.

The biggest thing holding back Burnes in the convo is likely that he’s pitched only 55 innings, it made three relief appearances earlier in the season. His final start of the season comes on Thursday against the Cardinals.

Jacob deGrom

As previously mentioned, his shortened bad start leaves him likely in catch up mode. He is tied for the NL lead with his 2.6 fWAR, though bWAR has him fourth at 2.5. His ERA has jumped to 2.14, fifth in the league and his 0.92 WHIP is now fourth.

The reigning two-time Cy Young winner does still lead the league with his 13.43 K/9 and 94 strikeouts. He has pitched 63 innings on the season, which places him outside of the top 10.

Matthew Pouliot of Rotoworld tweeted out this very interesting stat (much to the dismay of Trevor Bauer). DeGrom will make his final start of the season on Saturday against the Nationals

Trevor Bauer

The Reds right-hander is second in the NL with his 1.80 ERA, second with his 0.82 WHIP, and sixth with 12.19 K/9. His 2.4 bWAR is tied for fourth and fWAR of 2.0 is tied for sixth.

Dingers have been an issue for Bauer in 2020, his 1.25 HR/9 is the sixth highest among NL starters. He is the only pitcher in the NL with two complete game shutouts in 2020.

A very impressive September – 1.33 ERA in four starts – has catapulted the future hot ticket free agent into serious Cy Young consideration. Bauer makes his final scheduled start of the season on Wednesday against the Brewers.

Max Fried

The left-hander boosted his case with five innings of one-run ball against the Mets last week. He leads the NL with his 3.1 bWAR but his 1.9 fWAR has him ninth. The Braves ace ranks third with a 1.96 ERA and has yet to allow a home run in 55 innings. He did miss a chunk of September on the injured list.

However, Fried is not in the top in K/9, WHIP, or innings pitched. His longest out of the season is 6 and 2/3 innings back in July.

Fried is scheduled to pitch on Wednesday against the Marlins.

Yu Darvish

Darvish looked like the front runner entering his last three starts, but he’s posted a 4.26 ERA in that span and his overall 2.22 ERA now ranks seventh in the league. He is still tied for first with a 2.6 fWAR, but his 2.2 bWAR is 10th.

The Cubs ace has a 1.00 WHIP (8th), 11.48 K/9 (8th), and his 69 innings pitched are tied for third. His seven wins are tied with Fried and Zach Davies for the league lead.

Darvish (though not listed by Cubs) next regular day to throw would be on Friday against the White Sox.

Dinelson Lamet

The Padres right-hander has entered himself into the race with only two runs allowed and 32 strikeouts in his last three September starts. His 2.3 fWAR is ranked fourth and his 2.3 bWAR is tied for eighth.

Lamet ranks fourth in the league with his 2.07 ERA, third with a 0.87 WHIP, and fourth with 12.26 K/9. His 89 strikeouts trail only deGrom’s 94 on the shortened season.

His next scheduled day to throw (not listed by Padres) would be on Friday against the Giants.

Others to Watch

Despite low strikeout numbers, Zack Wheeler ranks second in the NL with his 2.9 bWAR and eight with a 2.67 ERA.

Clayton Kershaw has a 2.15 ERA and a major league best 0.76 WHIP on the season, though he’s pitched 54 1/23 innings.

Rockies starters Antonio Senzatela (3rd, 2.8) and Kyle Freeland (6th, 2.4) are both in the top 10 for bWAR.

Luis Castillo finds himself in the top 10 in fWAR (5th, 2.2), strikeouts (5th, 85) and ERA (10th, 2.86).

Kyle Hendricks leads the National League with 0.86 BB/9 and is second with 74 innings pitched.

Phillies starter Aaron Nola ranks fifth in the NL with a 2.4 bWAR, fourth with 12.26 K/9, and sixth with a 0.97 WHIP.