Fansided

MLB awards watch: NL Cy Young races

By William Schneiderhan

DENVER, COLORADO - APRIL 09: Starting pitcher German Marquez #48 of the Colorado Rockies throws in the fifth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Coors Field on April 09, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - APRIL 09: Starting pitcher German Marquez #48 of the Colorado Rockies throws in the fifth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Coors Field on April 09, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 18: Patrick Corbin #46 of the Washington Nationals pitches in the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Nationals Park on April 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 18: Patrick Corbin #46 of the Washington Nationals pitches in the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Nationals Park on April 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /

3. Patrick Corbin, LHP Washington Nationals

2-0, 39 strikeouts (3rd), 0.92 WHIP (5th), 1.5 WAR (2nd) and 2.48 ERA (7th).

Patrick Corbin was a hot commodity this offseason. He was by far the cream of the free agent starting pitching crop, and that resulted in the lefty inking a $140 million-dollar deal for six years with the Washington Nationals.

So far, five starts in, Corbin looks to be worth every penny of that deal. After posting a career-high in strikeouts per-nine innings pitched last year (11.07), he is slightly under that number this season with 10.74. That’s perhaps the only knock on him.

Not only is Corbin punching a lot of batters out, he has also slashed his walks per-nine innings pitched down to a career-low 1.65. His batting average against is .200 and his batting average on balls put into play (BABIP) is .250.

Corbin also has a career-high 42.0 fly-ball percentage against, which may be alarming at first. However, in response to that, he has posted a career-low 16 line-drive percentage against.

Translation: Corbin is missing a lot of bats and limiting traffic on the base paths. In 32.2 innings pitched in 2019, he is also using his fastball more, and slider a bit less, than he did last year. Through the early stages of the season, it appears he has made changes in his approach that may make him that better this season.

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