3 dark horse candidates to win the NL Cy Young Award

While the obvious choices for NL Cy Young are Paul Skenes, Zach Wheeler and Jack Flaherty, it's important to remember that there are still two months left of the season and that anything can happen. Some players will regress, and some will kick it into full gear for the remainder of the season.

Should the latter come to fruition, these three pitchers are the best dark-horse candidates to win the NL Cy Young this season.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

3. Shota Imanaga

This season, Shota Imanaga has been nothing short of a revelation for the Chicago Cubs. He signed a team-friendly deal and has already solidified himself as the steal of the offseason in last winter's free agency. Imanaga earned a 2.97 ERA through the first half, up and down months. Imanaga recorded a 5.40 ERA in June due to a couple of clunkers against Milwaukee and the New York Mets but bounced back in July with a 2.55 ERA.

He has only had one start in August, allowing four earned over 6.2 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. His quality start was erased when a reliever took over with a RISP that Imanaga was responsible for. Imanaga is a long shot to win a Cy Young this year, but the narrative could quickly change if he finishes the season strong. He's recorded six quality starts in his last nine, but he will need to top that if he has a chance to win the prestigious honor.

NL Cy Young dark horse - 2. Ranger Suarez

On the 15-day IL with a back injury, Ranger Suarez has been a primary focus of the Philadelphia Phillies' success this season. He is currently 10-5 with a 2.97 ERA on the year and has been a dark horse for Cy Young candidacy all season. According to Fangraphs, he owns a 3.2 WAR, and his 3.01 FIP suggests he's been as dominant as he's looked. Regarding Run Value, he is in the top 12 percentile of the league and is in the top 10 percent in ground ball rate.

After earning his first All-Star nod this season, The Phillies will need Suarez to come back strong when he does return for the IL, but in terms of Cy Young, Suarez is right there in the running with battery mate Zach Wheeler. It's only the beginning of August, but assuming Suarez keeps doing what he's done all season, if of the more popular names begin to struggle in the second half, Suarez has as good of a chance as anything to earn his first Cy Young Award.

1. Reynaldo Lopez

Also currently on the injured list is Atlanta Braves hurler Reynaldo Lopez. Through the first half, Lopez still had a 1.88 ERA, but even that performance was overshadowed by the emergence of Paul Skenes in Pittsburgh when he was called up. Still, Lopez's season speaks for itself. Statistically, he is in the top 99% percentile for Run Value, but his recent IL stint turns him into more of a dark horse at this point than an actual candidate.

Lopez's workload this season has been high, especially when you remember he switched from a relief role to a starter just this year. The forearm inflammation he's dealing with may prompt the Braves not to push him too hard the rest of the season and then unleash him to his full potential in the postseason. If he can't take on a regular starter's workload, it may take him out of the running, but he's certainly not out of it yet. His 2.06 ERA at this point in the season is still other-worldly.