The three finalists for the NL Cy Young Award have been known for weeks now. Not because there were leaks, but because there were three guys who were clearly at the top of the pack, even in this shortened season.
2020 NL Cy Young finalists
Trevor Bauer, Reds
Yu Darvish, Cubs
Jacob deGrom, MetsWinner announced Nov. 11, 6 p.m. ET on @mlbnetwork
— BBWAA (@officialBBWAA) November 3, 2020
Darvish finished the year with a 2.01 ERA over 76.0 innings (12 starts). He had a 2.23 FIP, a league-leading 3.0 WAR, a 31.3% K rate, and a 4.7% BB rate. Dude was just nuts.
Yes, in fairness, Bauer and deGrom were also quite good.
There were certainly decent arguments for Dinelson Lamet and Corbin Burnes based on ERA, and Max Fried based on ERA and a 7-0 record (*garbage stat*), but Darvish, deGrom, and Bauer are the only guys who were among the top five or so in pretty much every category that matters. They are also the top three by WAR. They would be my finalists, and you’d really have to pick nits among them to get your winner.
For me, it’s Darvish by virtue of his WAR lead, his innings lead, his FIP lead, and the grip stuff that Bauer won’t even at least address publicly after doing so openly a couple years ago. (At least cop to it, man. Then we can have a conversation about what to do with it.) Bauer already won the players’ choice version of the award.
The full top 20 in WAR from the NL:
Go, Yu.
Yu Darvish has been named a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award!
Congrats, @faridyu! pic.twitter.com/Wp7uEHmXCk
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) November 3, 2020