Although a Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher did not win the National League Cy Young Award this year, they were well represented in the National League voting. Max Scherzer finished in third place, Walker Buehler was fourth and Julio Urias tied for seventh.
The all had strong cases to win the award, but the NL Cy Young ultimately went to Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Meanwhile, the AL Cy Young went to Toronto Blue Jays starter Robbie Ray, who enjoyed a stellar bounce-back season.
The NL Cy Young race was one of the deepest in recent memory and there was a close competition in the AL between Ray and New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. Considering what it took to win the award, Buehler congratulated Burnes and Ray for their accomplishments:
Big congrats to @Burnes16 and @RobbieRay Biggest honor in what we do!!
— Walker Buehler (@buehlersdayoff) November 18, 2021
Burnes posted a 2.43 ERA, the best in MLB, and 1.63 FIP while accumulating 7.5 WAR and striking out 12.61 hitters per nine with just 1.83 walks per nine.
However, it came in just 167 innings pitched, which is likely why he was not the runaway favorite to win. But regardless of his innings, Burnes was flat-out dominant this year.
Ray logged 193.1 innings with a 2.84 ERA, the best in the AL, along with a 3.69 FIP while accumulating 3.9 WAR and striking out 11.54 batters per nine and walking 2.47 hitters per nine.
His success came after he posted a 6.62 ERA and 6.50 FIP in 51.2 innings during the shortened 2020 season, which has teams looking for the next breakout star, as the Dodgers hope to find in Andrew Heaney.
Buehler snubbed for Cy Young?
For Buehler, it seems more probable than not that the 27-year-old will win a Cy Young in one of the coming seasons as he has been improving every year.
This past season, he threw 207.2 innings while pitching to a 2.47 ERA and 3.15 FIP. Buehler faded a bit down the stretch, which may have prevented him from at least being a finalist for the pitching award.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
