For a sixth time in his career, Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was named a finalist for the Cy Young Award. It’s a return to a top-three finish for Kershaw, after his MLB-best streak was snapped at five years.
He received two first-place votes for the 2016 NL Cy Young Award, and finished in fifth place overall. This year, Kershaw is joined by Washington Nationals teammates Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg as finalists.
Just like last season, Kershaw was again sidelined by a back injury. Though, his time missed was essentially cut in half compared to 2016, as he spent under six weeks on the disabled list due to a lower back strain.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner went 18-4 with a 2.31 ERA, 180 ERA+, 3.07 FIP and 0.95 WHIP in 27 starts this season. Kershaw led the NL in wins, ERA and ERA+, and was second in WHIP.
Kershaw’s injury paved the way to Scherzer emerging as the Cy Young favorite, though he too landed on the DL. The right-hander nonetheless finished the season 16-6 with a 2.51 ERA, 2.90 FIP and 0.90 WHIP over 31 starts.
Scherzer ranked fourth overall in FIP, third in Win Probability Added (4.6) among pitchers, and led the NL in strikeouts (268) and WHIP. Scherzer won the Cy Young Award last season, which was the second of his career but first in the NL.
Strasburg is a Cy Young finalist for the first time in his eight-year career. This season, he went 15-4 with a 2.52 ERA, 2.72 FIP and 1.02 WHIP in 28 starts. Among all NL pitchers, Strasburg was third in ERA and WHIP.
The Cy Young Award winners will be announced Wednesday, Nov. 15, at 3 p.m. PT on MLB Network.
