Jacob deGrom named a Cy Young award finalist

For the third consecutive season, Jacob deGrom has been named a finalist for the National League Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers Association of America. He is up against Trevor Bauer of the Reds and Yu Darvish of the Cubs.

In a shortened 60-game season, deGrom had an “ordinary” year by his standards. Still, he was still his usual dependable and, more often than not, exceptional self as the rest of the team’s starting rotation suffered with injuries and subpar performances. He finished the season with a 2.38 ERA, a 2.26 FIP, a 0.96 WHIP, and a 2.6 bWAR in 68.0 innings over 12 starts. He led all National League starters with 104 strikeouts and a 13.8 K/9, to go along with his 2.4 BB/9 and 0.9 HR/9.

Unlike the previous two seasons, Jake will be considered a heavy underdog for the award this year. Whereas deGrom ended the 2019 season with eight straight starts of seven innings and three consecutive scoreless outings to overtake Hyun-Jin Ryu for the honor down the stretch, deGrom struggled more than usual to close out 2020. A two-inning outing against the Phillies in which he was hindered by a hamstring spasm, ultimately torpedoed his chances, and a lackluster start in the final weekend against the Nationals might make a three-peat a distant dream.

Even if he falls short, it is a tremendous honor for the pitcher who has cemented himself as the best pitcher in the National League over the last few seasons. deGrom is looking to become the first pitcher to win three consecutive NL Cy Young awards since Randy Johnson won four straight from 1999-2002. The winner will be revealed live on MLB Network on Wednesday, November 11 at 6:00pm ET.