The good old Cy Young award. One of the hardest awards to predict in Major League baseball, expect when it comes to the National League. The NL is filled with a group of dominant pitchers. These pitchers listed below are five of the very best in the game. Here are your 2017 National league Cy Young award winner candidates.
National League Cy Young Candidates
5 Max Scherzer, WAS
Scherzer is a two-time Cy Young award winner. Since 2011, he has won a total of 124 games. Last season he led the league with 34 starts, 20 wins, 228 innings, and 284 strikeouts. Scherzer was banged up this offseason and is yet to throw this spring. According to many reports, he will be changing up his fastball grip.Scherzer will still be dominant, but I do feel that will play a big factor in his 2017 campaign.
4 Jake Arrieta, CHI
Arrieta has been a star since coming to the Cubs in 2014. He has won a total of 50 games the past three seasons. In 2015 he won the Cy Young award and set new career highs in almost every statistical category. He led the league with 22 wins and finished 2nd in ERA with a mark of 1.77. Last season, he posted a record of 18-8 with a 3.10 ERA and struck out 190 batters in 197 innings. Arrieta should continue to dominate, with hopes of carrying the Cubs to back-to-back World Series.
3 Madison Bumgarner, SF
Bumgarner broke onto the scene in 2013. He has been one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball since then. Since 2013, he has 13+ wins in every season. Last season he finished 4th in Cy Young voting and 16th in NL MVP voting. He made a league high 34 starts, and had a record of 15-9 with a career low 2.74 ERA with a career high 251 strikeouts in 226 innings. Bumgarner is one of the best postseason pitchers in the league today. To make him even more appealing, he his the bets hitting pitcher in the league, as he has won two Silver Slugger awards.
2 Clayton Kershaw, LAD
Kershaw is the best left handed pitcher in all of baseball. He owns the filthiest curveball in the league. He has won the Cy Young award three time, and has finished in the top-5 three other times. Since breaking out in 2011, he has won a total of 100 games. Last season despite injury, he finished fifth in Cy Young voting. He had a record of 12-4 with an ERA of 1.69, while striking out 172 batters in 149 innings. If he is able to stay healthy, Kershaw will return to his status as the best pitchers in all of baseball.
1 Noah Syndergaard, NYM
The man they call “Thor” has been one of the best pitchers in baseball the past two years. He made his debut in 2015, and finished 4th in Rookie of the Year voting. He had a record of 9-7 with a 3.24 ERA and 166 strikeouts in 150 innings. This past season he was even more dominant. Pitching through bone spurs, Syndergaard went 14-9 with a 2.60 ERA and struck out 218 batters in 183 innings. He finished 19th in MVP voting and 8th in Cy Young voting. This is the year the hard throwing righty solidifies himself as the best pitcher in the NL.
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