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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 /
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Apr 3, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) receives the 2016 National League Cy Young award from general manager Mike Rizzo before the game between the Washington Nationals and the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) receives the 2016 National League Cy Young award from general manager Mike Rizzo before the game between the Washington Nationals and the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals

The defending NL Cy Young winner, Nationals starter Max Scherzer has finished in the top five of his league’s voting in each of the last four seasons. This year, Scherzer has an opportunity to become the first back-to-back winner since Kershaw in 2013-14. A win this season would also make him one of just 10 pitchers in MLB history to win the trophy three times or more during his career.

Scherzer is 3-1 with a 1.95 ERA in four starts this season. He has allowed 15 hits and eight walks while striking out 33 hitters in 27.2 innings. The 32-year old leads the National League in hits allowed per nine innings (4.9), and leads the league in batting average allowed (.156). Scherzer has yet to surrender more than five hits in a game this season despite pitching at least six frames in every outing. He ranks sixth in the major leagues among qualified starters with a 31.4 percent strikeout rate, and sits seventh on the overall leaderboard with a 0.831 WHIP. No qualified starter has allowed a lower hard contact percentage (14.3 percent).

Though he’s not dominating some of the advanced metrics modern voters look for, Scherzer consistently ranks among the top 10 pitchers in the National League in every major statistical category. He also has a history as one of the most consistent starters in the big leagues, having started 30 games or more in every season dating back to 2009, and posting 214 or more innings in four straight years, so he’s a good bet to finish as well as he’s started.

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