It wouldn’t be a top Cy Young candidates list without arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball. Clayton Kershaw is no stranger to awards like this as he’s won three National League Cy Young Awards since 2011, including the MVP Award in 2014.
It’s very rare for a pitcher to win the MVP and has only been done twice since 1992 — Justin Verlander was the other to win recently.
Along with those awards, Kershaw has been a strikeout magician. His stuff is so filthy that he racks up strikeouts with the best of them. He’s led the National League in strikeouts three times, ERA four times and wins twice — all in the past four years.
After his first season in 2008, no one really knew what the young pitcher was going to be capable of, but since then he’s never posted a season ERA over three and is 109-51 during that time.
In 2015, Kershaw had yet another solid year, finishing with a 16-7 record with a 2.13 ERA and a career-high 301 strikeouts. If it weren’t for Arrieta’s unbelievable season, Kershaw probably would have won his fourth Cy Young in five years.
Keep an eye out for him once again in 2016 as the 28-year-old is getting better with age.
Next: 1. Chris Sale, White Sox