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NL Cy Young candidates after the first two months of the season
Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Earlier in the week, we looked at some pitchers in the AL that are worthy of Cy Young consideration after the first two months of the season. Next up, NL pitchers that are Cy Young candidates after April and May.
Just like in the AL, plenty of pitchers in the NL have stood out among their peers as the top pitchers so far in the 2017 season. The pitchers that made the AL list only had one previous Cy Young award combined. The NL pitchers that made this list have won five combined.
Last season, the Washington Nationals' Max Scherzer earned NL Cy Young honors. He earned the Cy Young for the second time in his career. His first time taking home the hardware happened with the Detroit Tigers in 2013. Scherzer joined Roy Halladay, Gaylord Perry, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez as the only pitchers to win the award in both the NL and AL.
The Nationals starter edged out Chicago Cubs lefty Jon Lester by seven points. Scherzer earned 25 of 30 first place votes. Fellow Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks finished in third place. Hendricks owned the best ERA out of the three pitchers (2.13). In fact, Hendricks possessed the best ERA in all of baseball.
Scherzer led the NL in wins with 20. He also led the NL in WHIP (0.968), strikeouts (284), innings pitched (228.1) and bWAR for pitchers (2.6).
But who takes home the award in 2017? Let's take a look at some pitchers from the NL that currently sport a great case for the NL Cy Young award after the first two months of 2017.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Mike Leake
After seven seasons of decent pitching, St. Louis Cardinals starter Mike Leake is off to the best start to a season in his career. Pitching for the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants in previous seasons, the Cardinals signed Leake to a five-year, $80 million deal before the 2016 season.
In his first season in St. Louis, Leake didn't live up to expectations. He finished 2016 with a 9-12 record, 4.69 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.319 WHIP and 125 strikeouts. A down season from Leake contributed to the Cardinals missing the playoffs in 2016.
Flash forward to 2017 and Leake looks like a different pitcher. So far this season, Leake sports a record of 5-3, 2.24 ERA, 3.26 FIP, 0.937 WHIP and 48 strikeouts.
Leake ranks No. 1 in bWAR for pitchers in the NL at 2.6. His ERA also ranks best in the NL. His WHIP ranks sixth best in baseball.
Leake is outperforming his career stats by a long shot. His career numbers include a 78-67 record, 3.90 ERA, 4.11 FIP, 1.260 WHIP and 903 strikeouts. Leake's stellar numbers in 2017 are helping the Cardinals stay in the NL Central race. They sit at 26-26 and are 1.5 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers.
The last Cardinals pitcher to win the Cy Young award was Chris Carpenter in 2005. Twelve years later, Leake looks to win that award as a Redbird too.
Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Clayton Kershaw
No surprise that the best pitcher in baseball made this list. Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw continues to shine out in Southern California.
Kershaw sports one of the best resumes in the game. Since 2011, the lefty has made six straight All-Star Games, earned a Gold Glove, claimed the ERA title four times, finished top-five in the NL Cy Young race and won the 2014 NL MVP award. He won the Cy Young Award in 2011, 2013 and 2014.
On Friday, Kershaw reached a career milestone. He struck out the 2,000th batter of his career and according to ESPN Stats and Info, he did so in the second fewest games ever.
With his fourth strikeout tonight, Clayton Kershaw became the second-quickest pitcher to reach 2,000 career strikeouts (via @EliasSports). pic.twitter.com/RqtedPNcvD
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 3, 2017
The 29-year-old became the 79th pitcher to strike out 2,000 batters in a career. He joined some Dodgers legends in that department. He ranks fourth all-time in strikeouts in Dodgers history, behind Don Sutton, Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax, per ESPN Stats and Info.
As for his season totals, Kershaw owns a 7-2 record with a 2.28 ERA, 0.900 WHIP and 92 strikeouts. His ERA and WHIP rank second best in the NL. He ranks in the top 10 in all of baseball in strikeouts.
If Kershaw can win the NL Cy Young in 2017, he'll become just the fifth pitcher in baseball history to win the award four times. The other four to do so: Roger Clemens (7), Randy Johnson (5), Greg Maddux (4) and Steve Carlton (4).
Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Greg Holland
The only non-starter to make it on both the AL and NL Cy Young candidates lists, Greg Holland continues to pitch as the best reliever in 2017.
Back in 2013 and 2014, Holland looked like the best reliever in baseball for the Kansas City Royals. He earned All-Star Game appearances both seasons and saved a combined 93 games in those two seasons.
After a rough 2015 season and a UCL tear in his elbow, Holland underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2016 season.
The Colorado Rockies signed Holland to a one-year, $7 million deal in the offseason. The underrated signing continues to pay off for Colorado.
Holland leads MLB in saves with 20. He also has a 1.31 ERA, 1.88 FIP, 0.823 WHIP and 29 strikeouts. He's yet to blow a save this season. If he pitches like this the rest of the season, he'll definitely enter the NL Cy Young conversation.
Recent history doesn't support Holland's case. The last time a reliever won the Cy Young Award was former Los Angeles Dodgers closer Eric Gagne, who won the award in 2003.
Last season, Baltimore Orioles closer Zach Britton had an outstanding season. He converted 47 saves without blowing a single opportunity. He also posted a 0.54 ERA. Despite the top-notch numbers, Britton finished fourth in the AL Cy Young voting.
In 2008, former Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge saved 41 games in 41 chances. He posted a 1.95 ERA. Like Britton, Lidge finished fourth in the Cy Young voting. Both these relievers had unreal seasons and still didn't take home the hardware. Thus, showing how little of a chance Holland has to win it.
Andrew Villa-USA TODAY Sports
Max Scherzer
As mentioned in the first slide, Max Scherzer won the NL Cy Young award in 2016. His pitching in 2017 has earned himself a spot on this list.
The last pitcher to win back-to-back Cy Young awards was Kershaw in 2013 and 2014. If Scherzer won the award this season, he'd become the ninth pitcher to win the Cy Young in back-to-back seasons. He'd also become the 10th pitcher to win the award three times.
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However, winning the award again is no easy task. An All-Star in the past four seasons, Scherzer's finished in the top five in Cy Young voting in each of those seasons.
Scherzer's 2017 numbers top his numbers from 2016, so far. He owns a 6-3 record with a 2.56 ERA, 2.99 FIP, 0.892 WHIP and 100 strikeouts.
The 32-year-old leads the NL in WHIP, H/9 (5.935) and strikeouts. In 2016, Scherzer led the NL in multiple categories including wins (20), games started (34), innings pitched (228.1), strikeouts (284), WHIP (0.968) and K/BB ratio (5.07).
The Washington Nationals currently hold the best record in the NL and the second best record in all of baseball. One of the main reasons for that success is the talent of Scherzer.
Can Scherzer pull off winning the award in back-to-back seasons? That's unknown right now, but if the right-hander can do so, he'd join some prestigious company.
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Other NL Pitchers with Cy Young Worthy Stats
Both of the following pitchers have a shot to win the NL Cy Young award this season, though the other four pitchers mentioned before are all more qualified to win the award if the season ended today. With four months left to go in the season, that could change real quick.
Ivan Nova:
After a good finish to the season with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016, Ivan Nova continues to pitch well in 2017. The 30-year-old ranks eighth in MLB in bWAR amongst pitchers at 2.1.
His 2017 stat line includes a 5-4 record, 2.92 ERA, 3.15 FIP, 1.078 WHIP and 40 strikeouts. Nova owns an NL-best 0.701 BB/9. He's one of three pitchers to throw two complete games this season and the only one to do so in the NL.
Stephen Strasburg:
Injuries continue to play a big factor in Washington Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg's career. So far in 2017, Strasburg has stayed healthy and in turn pitched well.
In 2017, Strasburg owns a 7-1 record, 2.91 ERA, 1.050 WHIP and 81 strikeouts. But it's tough to win a Cy Young when someone else on your team outperforms you. Scherzer and Strasburg are neck and neck, but Scherzer leads at this point of the season.
