Fansided

MLB Awards Watch: Cy Young races

By Nicholas Ian Allen

Apr 15, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (right) delivers to the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 15, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (right) delivers to the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
8 of 10
Next
April 3, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) thrpws in the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres during the opening day game at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
April 3, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) thrpws in the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres during the opening day game at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

You can’t have a discussion about the NL Cy Young Award race without Clayton Kershaw, who has won the award three times in his 10-year career and has finished in the top five of the vote in each of the past six seasons.

In five starts so far in 2017, Kershaw is 4-1 with a 2.29 ERA — which strangely enough would be his highest ERA since 2012 — and an NL-best 39 strikeouts in an NL-leading 35.1 innings. Though he isn’t blowing hitters away at the rate in which he did from 2014-16, in which he posted a strikeout of 31.6 percent or better each season, Kershaw currently ranks among the top 15 pitchers in baseball with a 29.1 percent strikeout rate.

Kershaw has allowed 25 hits and only three walks this season, and has allowed just 0.792 base runners per inning so far, which ranks second in the National League and fourth in the majors. The southpaw also ranks fifth overall in K-BB% (26.9 percent) thanks to a 2.2-percent walk rate that is the fourth lowest among qualified starters in the big leagues. He ranks sixth in the major leagues and second in the NL in WAR (1.1).

Other than an April 8 start in Colorado in which he allowed four runs (and three home runs) in six innings, Kershaw has gone at least seven frames in every start while allowing no more than two runs. He has also allowed just one home run outside of that 4-2 loss against the Rockies, and none in his last three starts, a stretch of 22.1 innings. Kershaw has faced a league-high 134 hitters despite not yet throwing more than 100 pitches in any outing.

Home/MLB