When a pitcher earns back to back Cy Young awards, it cements his place on top of the pitching world. That is what Jacob deGrom‘s body of work has proved for the last two seasons. He has emerged a the New York Mets ace, and MLB Network’s shredder has recognized him as the best of the best.
MLB Network’s top 10 starting pitchers right now:
1. Jacob deGrom
2. Justin Verlander
3. Gerrit Cole
4. Max Scherzer
5. Hyun-Jin Ryu
6. Zack Greinke
7. Jack Flaherty
8. Patrick Corbin
9. Mike Clevinger
10. Walker Buehler— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) February 2, 2020
deGrom took the league by storm over the last two seasons. He has a 2.05 ERA, with 524 strikeouts in 421 innings. He also earned All-Star selections and finished in the top-10 in MVP voting for both seasons. The only thing missing from deGrom’s trophy case is a World Series ring.
Three-Peat?
The last pitcher to win three straight Cy Young awards was Randy Johnson, who did it in four consecutive seasons. Success of his magnitude is hard to garner for three successive seasons, but there is no reason to bet against deGrom. In the highly competitive NL East, deGrom certainly will have his work cut out for him to win for a third time and keep his top spot among the pitching elite.