By Jordan Long
The MLB is about a month into the season. The Cy Young and the MVP won’t be announced until the end of the season. There are some leaders in both the National League and the American League. Let’s take a look at my way too early picks.
The Cy Young doesn’t necessarily go to the pitcher with the most strikeouts or wins. Voters have to look at the ERA as well. Right now in the National League, there is one who stands out, Jacob deGrom. deGrom won this award in 2018 and 2019. He was looking to win it a third time last year, but Trevor Bauer took home the honor.
deGrom is the leader in the clubhouse after one month. His record isn’t great at 2-2 but that is not why he is earning the early lead for me. deGrom can strike batters out with 59. He rarely walks a batter with only 4 so far this season. Even when a hitter smacks the ball it is a ground ball or fly out. deGrom has given up 2 home runs. HIs ERA leads all of baseball at 0.51.
deGrom is the Mets’ top pitcher and he is showing why. The Mets struggles aren’t on him since they are 11-12. He is keeping them in games. Even a .500 record or even a game or two above it should win him the Cy Young. deGrom just needs to keep pitching this way. In his starts, he is the reason the Mets are in games.
Another name to watch for is Trevor Bauer. He won it last season and is looking to repeat. His ERA isn’t as low as deGrom’s but it is at 2.48. Bauer has a better record at 3-1 and is second in strikeouts with 51.
The MVP is a bit more tricky in the National League. Reds’ left fielder Jesse Walker leads the National League in batting average with a .365. He ranks 6th in the League with an on base percentage at .419. He is able to use his power to hit home runs with 6 and has added 5 doubles and 1 triple.
Three other names who might be in the running are Braves’ left fielder Ronald Acuña Jr., Cubs’ 3rd baseman Kris Bryant, and Reds’ right fielder Nick Castellanos. They don’t have as high of a batting average as Walker. Acuna is hitting .333. Bryant is at .323 while Castellanos batting average is .330. The difference between these 3 and Walker is they all 3 are tied with 9 home runs apiece which is tops of the National League. Of course, all these can change during the year.
In the American League, Kansas City Royals’ pitcher Danny Duffy is the leader for the Cy Young. His record is impressive so far at 4-1. His ERA is leading the league at 0.60. Duffy doesn’t strike batters out as often with 34 on the year.
A pitcher who is going to be in the running is New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole. They share the same record at 4-1. His ERA is 1.43 2nd in the American League. Cole might have the edge because of his ability to strike batters out. He has totaled 62 which is 28 more than Duffy.
For the American League MVP, the top name in my book is Mike Trout. He is always a dangerous hitter and has the power to smack the ball for base hits or into the gap for extra base hits. Trout is hitting .410 with 7 home runs and 8 doubles. He even leads the American League in on base percentage with a .515.
Other names to watch in the American League are White Sox’ rookie Yermín Mercedes and Minnesota Twins’ center fielder Byron Buxton. Mercedes is 2nd in the American League with a .395 batting average. He has 2 fewer home runs than Trout at 5. Buxton is third with a .392 batting average. He has 8 home runs.
These are my leaders right now. Of course, there is still plenty of baseball left to be played. Who knows, maybe these athletes will stay in the Cy Young and MVP conversation. The worst case is either they spend time on the injured or injured reserve and miss time or their stats go down.
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