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MLB Awards Watch: Max Scherzer dominates the National League

By Brad Rowland

Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (31) pitches in the sixth inning during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (31) pitches in the sixth inning during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports /
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Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (31) pitches in the sixth inning during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (31) pitches in the sixth inning during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports /

NL Cy Young

  1. Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals – Scherzer landed in the top spot last week, and cemented his place with one of the best performances in recent history on Sunday afternoon. The talented right-hander tossed a 1-hit shutout against the Brewers, and in the process of blanking Milwaukee, Scherzer posted 16 strikeouts while flirting with a perfect game. Obviously, that is ridiculously impressive, and for the season, Scherzer leads all MLB pitchers with 3.5 fWAR to go along with an obscene 8.07 to 1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Yep, he’s pretty good.
  2. Gerrit Cole, Pittsburgh Pirates – All Gerrit Cole has done is post an NL-leading 10 wins with a better ERA (1.71) than Scherzer. Some would hand him the Cy Young lead on the strength of those two statistical barometers, but in this space, he will have to settle for second place… for now. Cole has emerged as a legitimate ace as his strikeout “stuff” materializes (9.96 K/9), and given his immense power on the mound, that isn’t a surprise. It will be interesting to see how he progresses given a career-high workload, but Gerrit Cole is a legitimate stud.
  3. A.J. Burnett, Pittsburgh Pirates – Two members of the Pirates rotation? Yes, A.J. Burnett has been that good. At the age of 38, Burnett is supposed to be in the twilight of his career, but the veteran right-hander is one of only a handful of pitchers that can sport a sub-2.00 ERA (1.89) through 13 starts. Burnett’s peripherals indicate that his ERA is unsustainably low right now, but at the same time, there is nothing inherently fluky about his early-season performance.

Next: AL Cy Young

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