These awards are based on how I would assign them, not how I believe they will end up. This follows the MVP and Cy Young awards article.
American League Rookie of the Year
Winner: DH Yordan Alvarez (Houston Astros)
Stat Line: 27 HR, 78 RBI, .313/.412/.655, 0 SB, 178 wRC+, 3.8 fWAR in 87 games
In order to win the Rookie of the Year Award while playing just 87 games and DH'ing in most of them, you have to hit pretty well. Well, Yordan Alvarez hit pretty well, slashing .313/.412/.655 with 27 home runs and 26 doubles, and his 178 wRC+ would have been second in baseball only to Mike Trout's 180 if he had qualified. It started when the then-21 year old homered in four of his first five career games, and he never slowed down from there with five multi-homer efforts (including a three homer game) in his abbreviated rookie season. Perhaps as impressively for a rookie power hitter, he hit .313 with a .412 on-base percentage. The numbers get even crazier when you include the minors; between AAA Round Rock and the majors, he cracked 50 home runs, drove in 149, and slashed .325/.424/.690 over 143 games.
Runner-up: LHP John Means (Baltimore Orioles)
Stat Line: 12-11, 3.60 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 121/38 K/BB in 155 innings
A combination of a boring name, lack of big prospect status, and a terrible team means that it was hard to notice John Means. Still, he quietly put up one of the better pitching seasons in the American League, his 3.60 ERA being a product of pitching in the tough AL East in a hitter-friendly home park with a juiced ball. For reference, his 77 ERA-, which adjusts for home park and league average, put him in the same neighborhood as Walker Buehler and Luis Castillo. Means started off strong and actually carried a 2.50 ERA through the first half, and while he regressed in the second half with a 4.85 ERA, the final product was still an extremely productive season with a poor defense behind him in a very hitter-friendly environment. His most impressive start of the season came on May 6th, just his fifth career start, when he limited the Boston Red Sox to one run on three hits, no walks, and four strikeouts over seven innings.
Honorable mention: UTIL Luis Arraez (Minnesota Twins)
Stat Line: 4 HR, 28 RBI, .334/.399/.439, 2 SB, 125 wRC+, 2.1 fWAR in 92 games
You could make a very strong case for Eloy Jimenez or Brandon Lowe here, and I was very tempted to choose them, but Luis Arraez was so darn impressive that I just had to put him third. Turning 22 right at the beginning of the season, Arraez was considered more of a utility prospect and started the season at AA Pensacola, but he hit .342 there and earned a promotion to the majors in May, slashing .375/.467/.583 in a small sample size before getting sent down to AAA Rochester. However, after hitting .348 there, he was called back up for good in June and picked up right where he left off, and he turned out to be one of the game's most consistent hitters. Of the 85 in which he had at least two at bats, he had at least one hit in 70 of them, putting together two double-digit hitting streaks along the way. Additionally, in the 90 games in which he had at least one plate appearance, he was on base in 79 of them. His .334 batting average and .399 on-base percentage provided crucial balance to a Twins team that set the single season record for home runs, but he was just as important on defense, filling in wherever he was needed and appearing in 49 games at second base, 17 at third base, eight at shortstop, and 21 in left field. In a year where the home run was king, Arraez was one of the more unconventional players.
Others
2B Brandon Lowe (TB, 17 HR, .270/.336/.514, 125 wRC+, 2.6 fWAR)
LF Eloy Jimenez (CWS, 31 HR, .267/.315/.513, 116 wRC+, 1.9 fWAR)
RHP Zach Plesac (CLE, 3.81 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 88/40/115.2 K/BB/IP)
RF Oscar Mercado (CLE, 15 HR, .269/.318/.443, 15 SB, 95 wRC+, 1.7 fWAR)
3B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (15 HR, .272/.339/.433, 105 wRC+, 0.4 fWAR)
National League Rookie of the Year
Winner: 1B Pete Alonso (New York Mets)
Stat Line: 53 HR, 120 RBI, .260/.358/.583, 1 SB, 143 wRC+, 4.8 fWAR in 161 games
What if Yordan Alvarez, but over 161 games instead of 87? Alright, while Pete Alonso wasn't quite as good as Alvarez on a per-game basis, this was still a Judgian rookie year. You could say that Alonso was just taking part in a league-wide homer barrage with the juiced balls, but he still led all of MLB with 53 home runs while breaking Aaron Judge's rookie record. He hit at least six home runs in each month (a 36 home run pace at worst) while slugging at least .566 in every month except July, where he slumped to just a .177/.333/.430 line. Still, he turned that slump around with a strong August (.283/.372/.566) then crushed eleven home runs in September to close out the year. His season-long homer barrage included four multi-homer games, an August stretch with home runs in four consecutive games, and two additional streaks with homers in three consecutive games. Oh yeah, and while he was slumping in July, he won the Home Run Derby as a rookie. Not too shabby.
Runner-up: RHP Mike Soroka (Atlanta Braves)
Stat Line: 13-4, 2.68 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 142/41 K/BB in 174.2 innings
Alonso's homer barrage combined with all the other great rookies in the NL made it easy to miss Mike Soroka's incredible season at the top of the Braves rotation, as he actually finished third in the NL in ERA. Indeed, Soroka held down a 2.68 ERA over 29 starts, allowing three or fewer earned runs in 25 of those. He was particularly dominant at the start of the season, heading into mid-June 7-1 with a 1.38 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP over his first ten starts. He has incredible poise on the mound for someone who just turned 22 in August, and his strong command in a day where velocity is king have garnered him some comparisons to Greg Maddux. While Soroka has a long, long way to go to match Maddux's production, a likely top ten and possible top five finish in the NL Cy Young race is as good of a start as you can have.
Honorable mention: RHP Chris Paddack (San Diego Padres)
Stat Line: 9-7, 3.33 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 153/31 K/BB in 140.2 innings
It came down to a couple of Padres for this third spot, but unfortunately Fernando Tatis Jr. only playing half the season due to injuries pushes Chris Paddack just a hair ahead of him. Paddack made 26 starts and posted a 3.33 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP, the latter of which would have been third in the NL and way ahead of Soroka if he had enough innings to qualify. He did slow down a bit as the season progressed, and a four start stretch in August in which he allowed 19 earned runs in 17 innings inflated his ERA from 2.78 to 3.84, but when he was on, he was one of the best pitchers in the National League, period. After he posted a 1.93 ERA in April, Pete Alonso was named the NL Rookie of the Month, and that irked Paddack enough that in his first start in May, fittingly against the Mets, he struck out eleven over 7.2 shutout innings, including Alonso twice, to lower his ERA to 1.55. That competitiveness makes him one of the most fun pitchers to watch, and it will serve him well in these upcoming winning San Diego teams.
Others
SS Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD, 22 HR, .317/.379/.590, 150 wRC+, 3.6 fWAR)
OF Bryan Reynolds (PIT, 16 HR, .314/.377/.503, 131 wRC+, 3.2 fWAR)
RHP Giovanny Gallegos (STL, 2.31 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 93/16/74 K/BB/IP)
CF Victor Robles (WSH, 17 HR, .255/.326/.419, 28 SB, 91 wRC+, 2.5 fWAR)
RHP Sandy Alcantara (MIA, 3.88 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 151/81/197.1 K/BB/IP)
American League Manager of the Year
Winner: Aaron Boone (New York Yankees): 103-59 (.636 WPCT), AL East Champion
Injuries were the name of the game for the Yankees this year, and they finished the season 103-59. Wait, what? If I told you that you would get a combined 35 games out of Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Andujar, Troy Tulowitzki, and Jacoby Ellsbury while none of Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, Didi Gregorius, and Aaron Hicks would play in more than 106 games, what would you think of the Yankee offense? What if I then added in that Luis Severino, Dellin Betances, and Jordan Montgomery would combine for 16.2 innings, and that Masahiro Tanaka would be the only pitcher to qualify for the ERA title? Somehow, Aaron Boone managed to manipulate his lineups to squeeze 103 wins of production out of this group, putting unlikely heroes like Mike Tauchman, Gio Urshela, Mike Ford, and Cameron Maybin in positions to succeed. I wasn't in the Yankee clubhouse and so I can't say for certain how it all went down, but Boone and the Yankees certainly overachieved given the rough hand they were dealt.
Runner-up: Kevin Cash (Tampa Bay Rays): 96-66 (.593 WPCT), 2nd AL Wild Card
The most recognizable names on this roster might belong to Blake Snell, Charlie Morton, Kevin Kiermaier, and Tommy Pham, but that never mattered to the low budget Rays. However, that has never been a problem for the Rays, and they finally broke through in 2019 with big seasons from Pham, Austin Meadows, Ji-Man Choi, Brandon Lowe, and Yandy Diaz at the plate as well as Morton, Emilio Pagan, Yonny Chirinos, and Ryan Yarbrough on the mound. Who? Doesn't matter, Cash and the creative Rays front office made it happen. The modern day Moneyball Rays pioneered the opener, which helped get the most out of guys like Chirinos and Yarbrough, and his overall creative style got the Rays to where they are.
Others
A.J. Hinch (HOU, 107-55, .660)
Bob Melvin (OAK, 97-65, .599)
Rocco Baldelli (MIN, 101-61, .623)
National League Manager of the Year
Winner: Brian Snitker (Atlanta Braves): 97-65 (.599 WPCT), NL East Champion
This comes down to Snitker and Davey Martinez to me, and it's hard to pick one without actually having been in the clubhouse. I'll give the edge to Snitker because of the Braves' more consistent performance, but a day in the locker room with either team could change my mind. Still, Snitker managed an extremely young Braves team that included prominent contributors like Ronald Acuña Jr. (age 21), Mike Soroka (21-22), Ozzie Albies (22), Austin Riley (22), Touki Toussaint (22-23), Max Fried (25), Dansby Swanson (25), and Sean Newcomb (26) to a lot of consistent success. A mediocre bullpen also made Snitker's job harder. Even when the Nationals began to surge over the summer, the Braves kept their cool and safely kept them at arm's reach throughout, and the NL East title was never really in doubt.
Runner-up: Davey Martinez (Washington Nationals): 93-69 (.574 WPCT), 1st NL Wild Card
If it was a smooth ride for the Braves, it was anything but for the Nationals. Early season injuries to Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner, combined with poor performance all around, had the Nationals at 19-31 in May and well out of a playoff spot. Through Davey Martinez's "stay in the fight" mantra, as well as a host of other factors including the Gerardo Parra signing, the Nationals completely turned it around and finished the season on a 74-38, including their final eight games, to secure home field advantage in the NL Wild Card Game. Davey navigated an awful bullpen that never really materialized, even with the in-season additions of Daniel Hudson, Fernando Rodney, Hunter Strickland, Roenis Elias, Javy Guerra, and more, though one could say he overused guys like Sean Doolittle and Wander Suero. Perhaps no single game captured the season's essence more than on September 3rd, when the bullpen allowed five runs in the top of the ninth before the Nationals rallied back for seven runs in the bottom of the inning to win 11-10. Starting in May, the team was loose, they had fun, and most importantly, they won ballgames.
Others
Craig Counsell (MIL, 89-73, .549)
Dave Roberts (LAD, 106-56, .654)
Mike Shildt (STL, 91-71, .562)
American League Reliever of the Year
*RE24 measures how much a pitcher has reduced the opposing team's run expectancy. For example, a with a runner on first and nobody out, a team is expected to score 0.831 runs, so if a reliever gets an out to make it a runner on first with one out, that reduces the run expectancy to 0.489 and adds 0.342 (0.831-0.489) to the pitcher's RE24. A higher RE24 is therefore better.
Winner: RHP Liam Hendriks (Oakland Athletics)
Stat Line: 1.80 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 21.86 RE24, 124/21 K/BB in 85 innings
Did you realize just how good Liam Hendriks was for the A's this year, because I sure didn't. In In 75 appearances, he managed a 1.80 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP, and a 21.86 RE24 that was second only to Aaron Bummer (22.81) among American League relievers. He recorded at least one strikeout in 68 of his 75 appearances and finished the year with a 37.3% strikeout rate compared to just a 6.3% walk rate. Additionally, Hendriks got more than three outs in 21 different appearances, proving to be much more than just a one inning plug-in guy.
Runner-up: RHP Emilio Pagan (Tampa Bay Rays)
Stat Line: 2.31 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 13.24 RE24, 96/13 K/BB in 70 innings
It might be hard to keep track of Pagan, as he's a reliever who has played for three small market green teams in three years (Mariners in 2017, A's in 2018, Rays in 2019), but he had by far his best season this year out in Tampa. Over 66 appearances, he pitched to a 2.31 ERA but only allowed one unearned run for a 2.44 RA9, and he also finished second among AL relievers (min. 25 IP) with his 0.83 WHIP, allowing just 45 hits and 13 walks in 70 innings. He struck out 36% of his opponents while walking just 4.9%, his 7.38 K/BB ratio coming in at third place in the AL (min. 25 IP). He was especially lethal against right handed hitters, striking out 63 and walking just three in 46.2 innings while pitching to a 0.71 WHIP. You may not have heard of him, but he's going to be a centerpiece in the Tampa bullpen for the foreseeable future, at least until his contract starts to get heftier.
Others:
RHP Brandon Workman (BOS, 1.88 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 21.05 RE24, 104/45/71.2 K/BB/IP)
RHP Yusmeiro Petit (OAK, 2.71 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 19.22 RE24, 71/10/83 K/BB/IP)
RHP Will Harris (HOU, 1.50 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 17.97 RE24, 62/14 K/BB/IP)
National League Reliever of the Year
Winner: RHP Giovanny Gallegos (St. Louis Cardinals)
Stat Line: 2.31 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 22.55 RE24, 93/16 K/BB in 74 innings
The NL RE24 leader by a long shot, Gallegos' 22.55 mark crushed second place Felipe Vazquez' 17.81 mark by nearly five runs. He struck out exactly one third of his opponents while walking just 5.7%, and he didn't allow an unearned run all season to keep his RA9 right there at 2.31. His ERA and WHIP actually stood at 4.80 and 1.13, respectively, on May 12th, but he kicked it into another gear after that slow start and went the rest of the season, 59 innings, with a 1.68 ERA, a 0.73 WHIP, and a 68/11 strikeout to walk ratio. A mutli-inning weapon, he got more than three outs in 25 of his 66 appearances, and quietly finished with one of the finest rookie seasons in the NL in a year where there were a lot of them. I know that Yankee fans are happy with Luke Voit, but St. Louis' return might actually have been better.
Runner-up: RHP Josh Hader (Milwaukee Brewers)
Stat Line: 2.62 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 17.09 RE24, 138/20 K/BB in 75.2 innings
Hader as a bit inconsistent due to overuse, but when he was on, which was most of the time, he was un-hittable. I mean, who he heck strikes out 47.8% of their opponents, besting their previous year's mark of 46.7%? The answer is not many, because that 47.8% mark is the fourth best of all time, trailing only 2014 Aroldis Chapman (52.5%), 2012 Craig Kimbrel (50.2%), and 2017 Craig Kimbrel (49.6%). Of course, Hader's mid-summer slide inflated his ERA from 1.77 to 3.02 at one point as he allowed eleven earned runs in sixteen innings from July 1st to August 17th, but after taking a week off, he was back to his old self and allowed just three runs over his final 19 innings while striking out 32 against three walks. Hader's strongest stretch came from May to June, when he allowed just two runs over 26 innings (0.69 ERA) on just six hits and eight walks (0.54 WHIP) while striking out 46.
Others
RHP Kirby Yates (SD, 1.19 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 14.89 RE24, 101/13/60.2 K/BB/IP)
LHP Felipe Vazquez (PIT, 1.65 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 17.81 RE24, 90/13/60 K/BB/IP)
RHP Seth Lugo (NYM, 2.70 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 11.54 RE24, 104/16/80 K/BB/IP)
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Friday, October 4, 2019
2019 Dugout Edge Regular Season Awards: MVP's and Cy Youngs
These awards are based on how I would assign them, not how I believe they will end up. Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, and Reliever of the Year will follow, time permitting
American League MVP
Winner: CF Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels)
Stat Line: 45 HR, 104 RBI, .291/.438/.645, 11 SB, 180 wRC+, 8.6 fWAR in 134 games
Alex Bregman's white-hot second half paired with Mike Trout's season ending three weeks early made this a much tougher call than it was a month ago, but ultimately, I think Trout pulls ahead by a hair here. Trout finished with 45 home runs, an on-base percentage well north of .400, excellent base running that goes beyond his eleven stolen bases, good defense, and overall consistent performance. He led the American League wOBA (.436), wRC+ (180), and fWAR (8.6), and when I compared his cumulative stats to Bregman's (that's the way to do it when it comes to weighing performances over significantly different numbers of games, right?), he topped him in most of them. RE24 is a bit of a flawed stat that I prefer for pitchers, but it's still a good stat that measures run expectancy impact and Trout accumulated 71.5 "runs" of value provided while Bregman finished second in the AL with 59.9. Bregman was so, so good down the stretch, but Trout was so, so much better when he was on the field and it gave him the edge. He held an OPS above 1.000 in each month, managed 16 home runs in a 26 game stretch from July 3rd to August 6th, and at one point scored a run in eleven straight games despite a fairly futile offense around him. Trout is unquestionably the best player of our era and is closing in on becoming the best player of all time if he isn't already. Now with 285 career home runs, 200 stolen bases, and 73.4 fWAR in 1199 games, he has moved up to 47th on the all time list despite only having turned 28 in August. In the last few months of the season, he past the likes of Frank Thomas (72.1), Rod Carew (72.3), and Derek Jeter (73.1). Easily within reach for 2020 are Johnny Bench (74.8) and Ken Griffey Jr. (77.7).
Runner up: 3B/SS Alex Bregman (Houston Astros)
Stat Line: 41 HR, 112 RBI, .296/.423/.592, 5 SB, 168 wRC+, 8.4 fWAR in 156 games
Even though I picked Trout as being a hair ahead of Bregman, it's true that the Astros' third baseman had a tremendous season that would have netted him the MVP in many other seasons. He was solid through the first chunk of the season, though his .259/.393/.516 line on July 31st resembled much more of an All Star-type season than that which could get him compared to Mike Trout. However, he flipped a switch in August and stayed white hot throughout the rest of the season, slashing .372/.487/.750 with 15 home runs, 21 doubles, 49 driven in, and nearly twice as many walks (37) as strikeouts (20) in 51 games over the final third of the season. It's not like the Astros necessarily needed that to propel them to what was an easy AL West crown, but Bregman was certainly front and center in the success that led them to an MLB-high 107 wins. And if his bat and steady defense at third base weren't enough, he also appeared in 65 games at shortstop while Carlos Correa was hurt, more than holding his own. It really is so close, but playing in the same league as Trout is tough, and I have to hand Trout the award here. Bregman's 8.4 fWAR would have led the National League had the Astros not switched over back in 2013, and he was the only player in the majors (min. 400 PA) with more walks than strikeouts.
Honorable mention: SS Marcus Semien (Oakland A's)
Stat Line: 33 HR, 92 RBI, .285/.369/.522, 10 SB, 137 wRC+, 7.5 fWAR in 162 games
Who saw this one coming? Marcus Semien, who had never put up more than 56 extra base hits in a season, had 83 this season (43 2B, 7 3B, 33 HR) to finish third in the American League behind only Red Sox teammates Rafael Devers (90) and Xander Bogaerts (85). All those extra base hits, including 33 home runs, helped him slash .285/.369/.522 despite a pitcher-friendly home park, his 137 wRC+ placing tenth in the AL. Like Bregman, he also got hot late, slashing .304/.396/.621 with 19 home runs in the second half and .347/.441/.693 with eight home runs in September, helping propel the A's to the AL Wild Card Game. Of course, possibly even more valuable than his bat was his glove, as he played Gold Glove defense at shortstop all year long to team with Matt Chapman in giving the A's the best left side infield defense in the game. Additionally, Semien was one of only four American League players to appear in all 162 games, joining the Royals' Whit Merrifield and Jorge Soler and the Orioles' Jonathan Villar. Semien's numbers might not pop out like Trout's or Bregman's, but his combination of well above average hitting, excellent defense, and durability made him the third most valuable player in the American League (and, as it turns out, in the AL West).
Others:
RHP Justin Verlander (HOU, 2.58 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 300/42/223 K/BB/IP)
RHP Gerrit Cole (HOU, 2.50 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 326/48/212.1 K/BB/IP)
SS Xander Bogaerts (BOS, 33 HR, .309/.384/.555, 6.8 fWAR)
3B Rafael Devers (BOS, 32 HR, .311/.361/.555, 5.9 fWAR)
RF Mookie Betts (BOS, 29 HR, .295/.391/.524, 6.6 fWAR)
National League MVP
Winner: RF Cody Bellinger (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Stat Line: 47 HR, 115 RBI, .305/.406/.629, 15 SB, 162 wRC+, 7.7 fWAR in 156 games
If Christian Yelich hadn't gotten hurt, I'd be handing him this award. However, he did, and Bellinger's monster first half and strong second half carried him just past Yelich over the final few weeks of the season. I know that a lot of people will look at his .263/.371/.546 second half line and dislike it, and while it would be ideal to have your best player be more consistent, I really have no problem with it. Most people would have no problem if he slashed .263/.371/.546 in the first half before catching fire in the second half, because his performance "in the stretch run" would be what "propelled the Dodgers into the postseason." However, I think it's important to note that a win in mid-April counts every bit as much as a win in mid-September, and you could even argue that the early season games were more important for the Dodgers as they established their stranglehold on the NL West before coasting for most of the rest of the season, even if Bellinger slowed down in that stretch. Now, he was truly incredible out of the gate. Over his first 30 games, Bellinger slashed .434/.508/.906 with 14 home runs. I don't care what you do after that, if you're worth 2.9 wins in 30 games, you earn plenty of slack. Those first 30 games included 15 multi-hit games, 13 separate games with a home run, and an appearance on base in all but one of those games. From there on out, he slashed .274/.382/.564 – All Star caliber numbers, but not quite MVP totals. However, all together, that .305/.406/.629 line with 47 home runs represents one of the most potent bats in the National League. Throw in his 15 stolen bases and high level defense in the outfield as well as at first base and you have a National League MVP worth 7.7 fWAR in 156 games.
Runner-up: RF Christian Yelich (Milwaukee Brewers)
Stat Line: 44 HR, 97 RBI, .329/.429/.671, 30 SB, 174 wRC+, 7.8 fWAR in 130 games
As I said with Bellinger, Yelich was the MVP when he got hurt on September 10th, but unlike Trout, he couldn't hang on while on the shelf, at least in my opinion. Now unlike Bellinger, Yelich was much more consistent throughout the season. By posting at least a .935 OPS in every month and splitting his slash lines at .329/.433/.707 in the first half and .330/.423/.611 in the second half, he managed to finish at .329/.429/.671 with 44 home runs and 30 stolen bases in 130 games. Not many players can go 40-30-.400 (HR-SB-OBP); in fact, nobody has this century, with Jeff Bagwell and his 42 home runs, 30 stolen bases, and .454 OBP in 1999 marking the last time anybody has done it. It's a real disappointment that Yelich didn't get to finish his fantastic season, but he still has a real shot at the MVP award and I would not throw a fit if he won over Bellinger. He had a couple of incredible games during the season, too: on April 15th, he homered three times against the Cardinals, on August 5th, he went 4-5 with a couple home runs in Pittsburgh, and on August 17th, he went 5-6 with a couple home runs in Washington.
Honorable mention: 3B Anthony Rendon (Washington Nationals)
Stat Line: 34 HR, 126 RBI, .319/.412/.598, 5 SB, 154 wRC+, 7.0 fWAR in 146 games
For most of the season, the NL MVP was a two horse race, but a red-hot second half from Anthony Rendon, coupled with a quieter second half from Cody Bellinger and an injury to Christian Yelich, made it interesting at the end. Rendon slashed an impressive .304/.386/.611 with 20 home runs in the first half, but he caught fire in the second, slashing .389/.462/.674 with 12 home runs over 49 games from there until September 4th. However, he slowed back down over the last few weeks of the season, slashing .194/.381/.347 the rest of the way and effectively falling out of the race. Still, the final product of 34 home runs, a .319/.412/.598 line, and a major league-leading 126 RBI made him perhaps the biggest on-field reason why the Nationals surged the way they did. On the glove side, Rendon was as steady as they come, making all the routine plays as well as the regular highlight reel play. In the National League, perhaps only Cody Bellinger could match Rendon's value on both sides of the ball this year.
Others:
CF/SS Ketel Marte (ARI, 32 HR, .329/.389/.592, 10 SB, 7.0 fWAR)
RHP Jacob deGrom (2.43 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 255/44/204 K/BB/IP)
CF Ronald Acuna (ATL, 41 HR, .280/.365/.518, 5.6 fWAR)
3B Nolan Arenado (COL, 41 HR, .315/.379/.583, 5.9 fWAR)
C Yasmani Grandal (MIL, 28 HR, .246/.380/.468, 5.7 fWAR)
American League Cy Young
Winner: RHP Justin Verlander (Houston Astros)
Stat Line: 21-6, 2.58 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 300/42 K/BB in 223 IP
You could pick either Justin Verlander or Gerrit Cole here and you wouldn't be wrong. Those who pick Cole probably value more strikeouts, which Cole had (326 to 300 or 39.9% K-rate to 35.4%), while those who value limiting baserunners probably choose Verlander (0.80 WHIP to 0.89). Now, the 36 year old Verlander had one of his finest seasons to date, reaching 200 innings for the 12th time in the past 13 years and reaching 300 strikeouts for the first time ever. He led the American League in wins (21), innings pitched (223), WHIP (0.80), and strikeout to walk ratio (7.14:1), tied for the lead in starts (34), finished second to Cole in ERA (2.58) and strikeouts (300), and even threw a no-hitter. He went at least six innings in 29 of his 34 starts, which in today's game is unheard of. He never allowed more than four runs, earned or unearned, in any game, and struck out at least seven batters in 27 starts. That consistency also carried over to the longer term, as he never posted a WHIP above 0.92 in any given month and only had one month with an ERA above 2.68. At this point, he has cemented himself as one of the top pitchers of the 21st Century.
Runner-up: RHP Gerrit Cole (Houston Astros)
Stat Line: 20-5, 2.50 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 326/48 K/BB in 212.1 IP
Gerrit Cole struck out 326 batters in 2019 and led the American League in ERA. Nobody has struck out that many in a season since Randy Johnson struck out 334 in 2002. Furthermore, Cole's 39.9% strikeout rate was the best EVER a starting pitcher. And not just by a hair, by 2.4% over Pedro Martinez's 37.5% in 1999! That's incredible. He also finished the season exceptionally strong, going 11-0 with a 1.79 ERA, a 0.74 WHIP, and a 156/18 strikeout to walk ratio over 95.2 innings in the second half. In the month of September, he was absolutely untouchable, posting a 1.07 ERA, a 0.64 WHIP, and a 74/7 strikeout to walk ratio over 42 innings – if you're counting, that's a 48.7% strikeout rate over an entire month. All those strikeouts combined with elite run prevention and baserunner prevention makes for one hell of a season.
Honorable mention: RHP Shane Bieber (Cleveland Indians)
Stat Line: 15-8, 3.28 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 259/40 K/BB in 214.1 IP
Before the season, how many of you had Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole finishing one and two for the Cy Young? Probably quite a few. How about Shane Bieber finishing third? Now that's a surprise. His season started modestly enough, as he ran a 3.81 ERA through May 13th, threw a complete game shutout to bring it down to 3.22 on May 19th, but had it back up at 4.07 by June 9th. However, he spun a 12 strikeout gem against the Tigers on June 15th, and from that start onwards, he went 10-6 with a 2.89 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP, and a 163/20 strikeout to walk ratio over 137 innings to close out the season. While his complete game, 15 strikeout, no run performance against Baltimore on May 19th was his best by the numbers, he came back on July 24th with a second complete game shutout, this time allowing just three baserunners while striking out ten. His third complete game on August 3rd made him one of only two AL pitchers this year with three complete games, the other being Lucas Giolito. Despite relative anonymity at the start of the season, he led all American League pitchers not named Verlander or Cole in innings (214.1), strikeouts (259), WHIP (1.05), and strikeout to walk ratio (6.48:1), though of course he was third to those two in each category.
Others:
RHP Charlie Morton (TB, 3.05 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 240/57/194.2 K/BB/IP)
RHP Lance Lynn (TEX, 3.67 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 246/59/208.1 K/BB/IP)
LHP Mike Minor (TEX, 3.59 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 200/68/208.1 K/BB/IP)
RHP Lucas Giolito (CWS, 3.41 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 228/57/176.2 K/BB/IP)
RHP Mike Clevinger (CLE, 2.71 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 169/37/126 K/BB/IP)
National League Cy Young
Winner: RHP Jacob deGrom (New York Mets)
Stat Line: 11-8, 2.43 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 255/44 K/BB in 204 IP
For a while, it was a two horse race between Hyun-Jin Ryu and Max Scherzer, but both slowed down in the second half while Jacob deGrom picked it up. After starting the season with 13 shutout innings and 24 strikeouts to two walks, he scuffled a bit over the rest of April and had a 4.85 ERA when the month closed, and another rough start on May 17th left him 2-5 with a 3.98 ERA through nine starts. However, he turned it on from there, finishing 9-3 with a 1.91 ERA over his last 23 starts. He continually got stronger as the season wore on, as that run included a 1.44 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP, and a 117/19 strikeout to walk ratio over 94 innings in the second half. He went exactly seven innings in eleven of his last twelve starts, allowing one earned run or fewer in nine of those. In the end, the only thing he led the NL in was strikeouts (255), but he still finished a close second in ERA (2.43) and WHIP (0.97) and third in innings pitched (204).
Runner-up: RHP Jack Flaherty (St. Louis Cardinals)
Stat Line: 11-8, 2.75 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 231/55 K/BB in 196.1 IP
Jack Flaherty's 2019 season started plainly enough, holding a 3.77 ERA over the first two months of the season, but a rough June left him with a 4.90 ERA heading into his July 7th start. However, since then, he's been the best pitcher in the National League, going 7-3 with a 0.93 ERA, a 0.70 WHIP, and a 130/24 strikeout to walk ratio over 106.1 innings to close out the year. Over those last 16 starts, he allowed zero or one run 13 times and only once allowed more than five hits in a game (six on July 21st). The end result was that he and Jacob deGrom were the only National League pitchers to throw at least 190 innings with an ERA below 3.20, and his 0.97 WHIP was the best in the league.
Honorable mention: LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Stat Line: 14-5, 2.32 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 163/24 K/BB in 182.2 IP
This one was really close between Ryu and Stephen Strasburg, but I ultimately went with Ryu based on the complete dominance he had in most of his starts despite missing some time. The major league ERA leader stumbled a bit in the second half, including a four start stretch in August and September where he allowed 21 earned runs and 38 baserunners in 19 innings (9.95 ERA, 2.00 WHIP), but up until there, he had been virtually untouchable. Heading into that stretch, Ryu was 12-2 with a 1.45 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP, and a 121/17 strikeout to walk ratio over 142.2 innings. He never struck out a ton of batters, reaching double digits in just one start, but he still had ten scoreless starts of at least six innings out of his 29 total, and in two more he allowed unearned runs but no earned runs. His two best starts of the season may have come back to back, when he tossed a four hit, no walk, six strikeout, complete game shutout against a strong Braves lineup on May 7th then followed it up with eight shutout innings on one hit, one walk, and nine strikeouts against a strong Nationals lineup on May 12th. In the end, he led the majors with a 2.32 ERA and the National League with a 3.3% walk rate.
Others
RHP Stephen Strasburg (WSH, 3.32 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 251/56/209 K/BB/IP)
RHP Max Scherzer (WSH, 2.92 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 243/33/172.1 K/BB/IP)
RHP Walker Buehler (LAD, 3.26 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 215/37/182.1 K/BB/IP)
LHP Clayton Kershaw (LAD, 3.03 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 189/41/178.1 K/BB/IP)
LHP Sonny Gray (CIN, 2.87 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 205/68/175.1 K/BB/IP)
American League MVP
Winner: CF Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels)
Stat Line: 45 HR, 104 RBI, .291/.438/.645, 11 SB, 180 wRC+, 8.6 fWAR in 134 games
Alex Bregman's white-hot second half paired with Mike Trout's season ending three weeks early made this a much tougher call than it was a month ago, but ultimately, I think Trout pulls ahead by a hair here. Trout finished with 45 home runs, an on-base percentage well north of .400, excellent base running that goes beyond his eleven stolen bases, good defense, and overall consistent performance. He led the American League wOBA (.436), wRC+ (180), and fWAR (8.6), and when I compared his cumulative stats to Bregman's (that's the way to do it when it comes to weighing performances over significantly different numbers of games, right?), he topped him in most of them. RE24 is a bit of a flawed stat that I prefer for pitchers, but it's still a good stat that measures run expectancy impact and Trout accumulated 71.5 "runs" of value provided while Bregman finished second in the AL with 59.9. Bregman was so, so good down the stretch, but Trout was so, so much better when he was on the field and it gave him the edge. He held an OPS above 1.000 in each month, managed 16 home runs in a 26 game stretch from July 3rd to August 6th, and at one point scored a run in eleven straight games despite a fairly futile offense around him. Trout is unquestionably the best player of our era and is closing in on becoming the best player of all time if he isn't already. Now with 285 career home runs, 200 stolen bases, and 73.4 fWAR in 1199 games, he has moved up to 47th on the all time list despite only having turned 28 in August. In the last few months of the season, he past the likes of Frank Thomas (72.1), Rod Carew (72.3), and Derek Jeter (73.1). Easily within reach for 2020 are Johnny Bench (74.8) and Ken Griffey Jr. (77.7).
Runner up: 3B/SS Alex Bregman (Houston Astros)
Stat Line: 41 HR, 112 RBI, .296/.423/.592, 5 SB, 168 wRC+, 8.4 fWAR in 156 games
Even though I picked Trout as being a hair ahead of Bregman, it's true that the Astros' third baseman had a tremendous season that would have netted him the MVP in many other seasons. He was solid through the first chunk of the season, though his .259/.393/.516 line on July 31st resembled much more of an All Star-type season than that which could get him compared to Mike Trout. However, he flipped a switch in August and stayed white hot throughout the rest of the season, slashing .372/.487/.750 with 15 home runs, 21 doubles, 49 driven in, and nearly twice as many walks (37) as strikeouts (20) in 51 games over the final third of the season. It's not like the Astros necessarily needed that to propel them to what was an easy AL West crown, but Bregman was certainly front and center in the success that led them to an MLB-high 107 wins. And if his bat and steady defense at third base weren't enough, he also appeared in 65 games at shortstop while Carlos Correa was hurt, more than holding his own. It really is so close, but playing in the same league as Trout is tough, and I have to hand Trout the award here. Bregman's 8.4 fWAR would have led the National League had the Astros not switched over back in 2013, and he was the only player in the majors (min. 400 PA) with more walks than strikeouts.
Honorable mention: SS Marcus Semien (Oakland A's)
Stat Line: 33 HR, 92 RBI, .285/.369/.522, 10 SB, 137 wRC+, 7.5 fWAR in 162 games
Who saw this one coming? Marcus Semien, who had never put up more than 56 extra base hits in a season, had 83 this season (43 2B, 7 3B, 33 HR) to finish third in the American League behind only Red Sox teammates Rafael Devers (90) and Xander Bogaerts (85). All those extra base hits, including 33 home runs, helped him slash .285/.369/.522 despite a pitcher-friendly home park, his 137 wRC+ placing tenth in the AL. Like Bregman, he also got hot late, slashing .304/.396/.621 with 19 home runs in the second half and .347/.441/.693 with eight home runs in September, helping propel the A's to the AL Wild Card Game. Of course, possibly even more valuable than his bat was his glove, as he played Gold Glove defense at shortstop all year long to team with Matt Chapman in giving the A's the best left side infield defense in the game. Additionally, Semien was one of only four American League players to appear in all 162 games, joining the Royals' Whit Merrifield and Jorge Soler and the Orioles' Jonathan Villar. Semien's numbers might not pop out like Trout's or Bregman's, but his combination of well above average hitting, excellent defense, and durability made him the third most valuable player in the American League (and, as it turns out, in the AL West).
Others:
RHP Justin Verlander (HOU, 2.58 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 300/42/223 K/BB/IP)
RHP Gerrit Cole (HOU, 2.50 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 326/48/212.1 K/BB/IP)
SS Xander Bogaerts (BOS, 33 HR, .309/.384/.555, 6.8 fWAR)
3B Rafael Devers (BOS, 32 HR, .311/.361/.555, 5.9 fWAR)
RF Mookie Betts (BOS, 29 HR, .295/.391/.524, 6.6 fWAR)
National League MVP
Winner: RF Cody Bellinger (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Stat Line: 47 HR, 115 RBI, .305/.406/.629, 15 SB, 162 wRC+, 7.7 fWAR in 156 games
If Christian Yelich hadn't gotten hurt, I'd be handing him this award. However, he did, and Bellinger's monster first half and strong second half carried him just past Yelich over the final few weeks of the season. I know that a lot of people will look at his .263/.371/.546 second half line and dislike it, and while it would be ideal to have your best player be more consistent, I really have no problem with it. Most people would have no problem if he slashed .263/.371/.546 in the first half before catching fire in the second half, because his performance "in the stretch run" would be what "propelled the Dodgers into the postseason." However, I think it's important to note that a win in mid-April counts every bit as much as a win in mid-September, and you could even argue that the early season games were more important for the Dodgers as they established their stranglehold on the NL West before coasting for most of the rest of the season, even if Bellinger slowed down in that stretch. Now, he was truly incredible out of the gate. Over his first 30 games, Bellinger slashed .434/.508/.906 with 14 home runs. I don't care what you do after that, if you're worth 2.9 wins in 30 games, you earn plenty of slack. Those first 30 games included 15 multi-hit games, 13 separate games with a home run, and an appearance on base in all but one of those games. From there on out, he slashed .274/.382/.564 – All Star caliber numbers, but not quite MVP totals. However, all together, that .305/.406/.629 line with 47 home runs represents one of the most potent bats in the National League. Throw in his 15 stolen bases and high level defense in the outfield as well as at first base and you have a National League MVP worth 7.7 fWAR in 156 games.
Runner-up: RF Christian Yelich (Milwaukee Brewers)
Stat Line: 44 HR, 97 RBI, .329/.429/.671, 30 SB, 174 wRC+, 7.8 fWAR in 130 games
As I said with Bellinger, Yelich was the MVP when he got hurt on September 10th, but unlike Trout, he couldn't hang on while on the shelf, at least in my opinion. Now unlike Bellinger, Yelich was much more consistent throughout the season. By posting at least a .935 OPS in every month and splitting his slash lines at .329/.433/.707 in the first half and .330/.423/.611 in the second half, he managed to finish at .329/.429/.671 with 44 home runs and 30 stolen bases in 130 games. Not many players can go 40-30-.400 (HR-SB-OBP); in fact, nobody has this century, with Jeff Bagwell and his 42 home runs, 30 stolen bases, and .454 OBP in 1999 marking the last time anybody has done it. It's a real disappointment that Yelich didn't get to finish his fantastic season, but he still has a real shot at the MVP award and I would not throw a fit if he won over Bellinger. He had a couple of incredible games during the season, too: on April 15th, he homered three times against the Cardinals, on August 5th, he went 4-5 with a couple home runs in Pittsburgh, and on August 17th, he went 5-6 with a couple home runs in Washington.
Honorable mention: 3B Anthony Rendon (Washington Nationals)
Stat Line: 34 HR, 126 RBI, .319/.412/.598, 5 SB, 154 wRC+, 7.0 fWAR in 146 games
For most of the season, the NL MVP was a two horse race, but a red-hot second half from Anthony Rendon, coupled with a quieter second half from Cody Bellinger and an injury to Christian Yelich, made it interesting at the end. Rendon slashed an impressive .304/.386/.611 with 20 home runs in the first half, but he caught fire in the second, slashing .389/.462/.674 with 12 home runs over 49 games from there until September 4th. However, he slowed back down over the last few weeks of the season, slashing .194/.381/.347 the rest of the way and effectively falling out of the race. Still, the final product of 34 home runs, a .319/.412/.598 line, and a major league-leading 126 RBI made him perhaps the biggest on-field reason why the Nationals surged the way they did. On the glove side, Rendon was as steady as they come, making all the routine plays as well as the regular highlight reel play. In the National League, perhaps only Cody Bellinger could match Rendon's value on both sides of the ball this year.
Others:
CF/SS Ketel Marte (ARI, 32 HR, .329/.389/.592, 10 SB, 7.0 fWAR)
RHP Jacob deGrom (2.43 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 255/44/204 K/BB/IP)
CF Ronald Acuna (ATL, 41 HR, .280/.365/.518, 5.6 fWAR)
3B Nolan Arenado (COL, 41 HR, .315/.379/.583, 5.9 fWAR)
C Yasmani Grandal (MIL, 28 HR, .246/.380/.468, 5.7 fWAR)
American League Cy Young
Winner: RHP Justin Verlander (Houston Astros)
Stat Line: 21-6, 2.58 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 300/42 K/BB in 223 IP
You could pick either Justin Verlander or Gerrit Cole here and you wouldn't be wrong. Those who pick Cole probably value more strikeouts, which Cole had (326 to 300 or 39.9% K-rate to 35.4%), while those who value limiting baserunners probably choose Verlander (0.80 WHIP to 0.89). Now, the 36 year old Verlander had one of his finest seasons to date, reaching 200 innings for the 12th time in the past 13 years and reaching 300 strikeouts for the first time ever. He led the American League in wins (21), innings pitched (223), WHIP (0.80), and strikeout to walk ratio (7.14:1), tied for the lead in starts (34), finished second to Cole in ERA (2.58) and strikeouts (300), and even threw a no-hitter. He went at least six innings in 29 of his 34 starts, which in today's game is unheard of. He never allowed more than four runs, earned or unearned, in any game, and struck out at least seven batters in 27 starts. That consistency also carried over to the longer term, as he never posted a WHIP above 0.92 in any given month and only had one month with an ERA above 2.68. At this point, he has cemented himself as one of the top pitchers of the 21st Century.
Runner-up: RHP Gerrit Cole (Houston Astros)
Stat Line: 20-5, 2.50 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 326/48 K/BB in 212.1 IP
Gerrit Cole struck out 326 batters in 2019 and led the American League in ERA. Nobody has struck out that many in a season since Randy Johnson struck out 334 in 2002. Furthermore, Cole's 39.9% strikeout rate was the best EVER a starting pitcher. And not just by a hair, by 2.4% over Pedro Martinez's 37.5% in 1999! That's incredible. He also finished the season exceptionally strong, going 11-0 with a 1.79 ERA, a 0.74 WHIP, and a 156/18 strikeout to walk ratio over 95.2 innings in the second half. In the month of September, he was absolutely untouchable, posting a 1.07 ERA, a 0.64 WHIP, and a 74/7 strikeout to walk ratio over 42 innings – if you're counting, that's a 48.7% strikeout rate over an entire month. All those strikeouts combined with elite run prevention and baserunner prevention makes for one hell of a season.
Honorable mention: RHP Shane Bieber (Cleveland Indians)
Stat Line: 15-8, 3.28 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 259/40 K/BB in 214.1 IP
Before the season, how many of you had Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole finishing one and two for the Cy Young? Probably quite a few. How about Shane Bieber finishing third? Now that's a surprise. His season started modestly enough, as he ran a 3.81 ERA through May 13th, threw a complete game shutout to bring it down to 3.22 on May 19th, but had it back up at 4.07 by June 9th. However, he spun a 12 strikeout gem against the Tigers on June 15th, and from that start onwards, he went 10-6 with a 2.89 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP, and a 163/20 strikeout to walk ratio over 137 innings to close out the season. While his complete game, 15 strikeout, no run performance against Baltimore on May 19th was his best by the numbers, he came back on July 24th with a second complete game shutout, this time allowing just three baserunners while striking out ten. His third complete game on August 3rd made him one of only two AL pitchers this year with three complete games, the other being Lucas Giolito. Despite relative anonymity at the start of the season, he led all American League pitchers not named Verlander or Cole in innings (214.1), strikeouts (259), WHIP (1.05), and strikeout to walk ratio (6.48:1), though of course he was third to those two in each category.
Others:
RHP Charlie Morton (TB, 3.05 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 240/57/194.2 K/BB/IP)
RHP Lance Lynn (TEX, 3.67 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 246/59/208.1 K/BB/IP)
LHP Mike Minor (TEX, 3.59 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 200/68/208.1 K/BB/IP)
RHP Lucas Giolito (CWS, 3.41 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 228/57/176.2 K/BB/IP)
RHP Mike Clevinger (CLE, 2.71 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 169/37/126 K/BB/IP)
National League Cy Young
Winner: RHP Jacob deGrom (New York Mets)
Stat Line: 11-8, 2.43 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 255/44 K/BB in 204 IP
For a while, it was a two horse race between Hyun-Jin Ryu and Max Scherzer, but both slowed down in the second half while Jacob deGrom picked it up. After starting the season with 13 shutout innings and 24 strikeouts to two walks, he scuffled a bit over the rest of April and had a 4.85 ERA when the month closed, and another rough start on May 17th left him 2-5 with a 3.98 ERA through nine starts. However, he turned it on from there, finishing 9-3 with a 1.91 ERA over his last 23 starts. He continually got stronger as the season wore on, as that run included a 1.44 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP, and a 117/19 strikeout to walk ratio over 94 innings in the second half. He went exactly seven innings in eleven of his last twelve starts, allowing one earned run or fewer in nine of those. In the end, the only thing he led the NL in was strikeouts (255), but he still finished a close second in ERA (2.43) and WHIP (0.97) and third in innings pitched (204).
Runner-up: RHP Jack Flaherty (St. Louis Cardinals)
Stat Line: 11-8, 2.75 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 231/55 K/BB in 196.1 IP
Jack Flaherty's 2019 season started plainly enough, holding a 3.77 ERA over the first two months of the season, but a rough June left him with a 4.90 ERA heading into his July 7th start. However, since then, he's been the best pitcher in the National League, going 7-3 with a 0.93 ERA, a 0.70 WHIP, and a 130/24 strikeout to walk ratio over 106.1 innings to close out the year. Over those last 16 starts, he allowed zero or one run 13 times and only once allowed more than five hits in a game (six on July 21st). The end result was that he and Jacob deGrom were the only National League pitchers to throw at least 190 innings with an ERA below 3.20, and his 0.97 WHIP was the best in the league.
Honorable mention: LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Stat Line: 14-5, 2.32 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 163/24 K/BB in 182.2 IP
This one was really close between Ryu and Stephen Strasburg, but I ultimately went with Ryu based on the complete dominance he had in most of his starts despite missing some time. The major league ERA leader stumbled a bit in the second half, including a four start stretch in August and September where he allowed 21 earned runs and 38 baserunners in 19 innings (9.95 ERA, 2.00 WHIP), but up until there, he had been virtually untouchable. Heading into that stretch, Ryu was 12-2 with a 1.45 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP, and a 121/17 strikeout to walk ratio over 142.2 innings. He never struck out a ton of batters, reaching double digits in just one start, but he still had ten scoreless starts of at least six innings out of his 29 total, and in two more he allowed unearned runs but no earned runs. His two best starts of the season may have come back to back, when he tossed a four hit, no walk, six strikeout, complete game shutout against a strong Braves lineup on May 7th then followed it up with eight shutout innings on one hit, one walk, and nine strikeouts against a strong Nationals lineup on May 12th. In the end, he led the majors with a 2.32 ERA and the National League with a 3.3% walk rate.
Others
RHP Stephen Strasburg (WSH, 3.32 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 251/56/209 K/BB/IP)
RHP Max Scherzer (WSH, 2.92 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 243/33/172.1 K/BB/IP)
RHP Walker Buehler (LAD, 3.26 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 215/37/182.1 K/BB/IP)
LHP Clayton Kershaw (LAD, 3.03 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 189/41/178.1 K/BB/IP)
LHP Sonny Gray (CIN, 2.87 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 205/68/175.1 K/BB/IP)
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