The finalists for the Cy Young Award were announced on Monday. The BBWAA has chosen the top three pitchers from both the AL and the NL, but only one from each league will be be awarded the Cy Young for 2019. Here are the finalists.
National League
Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets is the reigning winner for the National League. He finished the season with a 11-8 record and a 2.43 ERA in 32 starts. deGrom struck out 255 batters, which led the league, and walked 44.
Max Scherzer from the Washington Nationals went 11-7 this season with a 2.92 ERA and 1.027 WHIP in 27 games. He missed a few starts in July and August with neck and back issues, but still struck out 243 batters while only walking 33. He led the league in FIP, SO/9, and SO/W
Hyun-jin Ryu of the Los Angeles Dodgers was something else to start the season. The South-Korean hurler was pretty much untouchable for the first few months of the season, but cooled off as the season went on. Ryu led all starting pitchers with a 2.32 ERA and had the lowest BB/9 at 1.183.
American League
Gerrit Cole of the Houston Astros made a strong case for the AL Cy Young this season. He completed the regular season at 20-5 with a 2.50 ERA. He led all of baseball in K/9, ERA+, and strikeouts. Cole struck out 326 batters this season, and was the second fastest to ever get to 300 in a season.
The Astros Justin Verlander is a perennial favorite for this award, and he will push Cole for every writers vote. This season he led all pitchers in WAR, wins, WHIP, innings pitched, and six other advanced metrics. He threw a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays, the third of his career.
Charlie Morton, a former Astros pitcher, now with the Tampa Bay Rays, is more than a solid candidate, but he is overshadowed by Verlander and Cole. He went 16-6 with a 3.05 ERA while striking out 240 and allowing 57 walks. Morton led the AL with 0.7 HR/9 in a year when the baseball was leaving the park in record numbers.
And the Winners Are…
Cole and Verlander are just about neck and neck for the American League award. The National league award is more open in terms of who will win although deGrom appears poised to win his second consecutive award when looking at the statistics. The winners of the awards will be announced on Wednesday, November 13th during a live telecast on MLB Network.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
