While the American League side of things seems to be a one-sided race, the National League Cy Young Award race seems to be going down to the wire. There is a lot going on here so let’s dive right into the top four contenders for the award and what the chances are for them to take home the hardware.
Zac Gallen (+175)
Zac Gallen seems to be the slight favorite to win the NL Cy Young this season and it makes sense. He is 13-5 with a 3.17 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP over 162 innings of work. He currently is leading the National League in WHIP and tied with Justin Steele of the Chicago Cubs and another person on this list for the MLB lead in wins. A huge reason why he is in the position to win is he is dominant at home.
This season, Gallen is 10-1 with a 1.82 ERA in 79.1 innings at Chase Field. He has a 4.46 ERA on the road and can improve in the second half. He is limiting baserunners and that has been a great plus and has a real shot at winning his first Cy Young Award.
Logan Webb (+300)
Logan Webb has been pitching very well for the San Francisco Giants this season as he is leading he NL in innings, walks per nine and strikeouts per walk. He is 9-9 with a 3.26 ERA over 163 innings. He has 1.4 walks per nine and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 6.04. Similar to Gallen, he has road struggles as he is pitching to a 2.11 ERA at home but a 4.52 ERA on the road.
He has a case but I just don’t see it being the best in the league so I would avoid placing a wager on Webb.
Blake Snell (+300)
The only person that has won a Cy Young before on this list is the San Diego Padres’ Blake Snell. Snell is leading the league in a few categories as he has the best ERA, the lowest hits per nine innings but also the most amount of walks. On the year, he is 10-8 with a 2.65 ERA in 136 innings with 78 walks to 176 strikeouts.
A good case for him is the fact he historically has been a better pitcher in the second half of the season. His ERA in the first half is 3.82 compared to 2.62 in the second half. With the Padres lineup that should continue giving him run support and playing solid defense, I’d be backing Snell.
Spencer Strider (+600)
Atlanta’s Spencer Strider is also in the race as he is 13-4 with a 3.75 ERA with 45 walks to 217 strikeouts. While leading in strikeouts and tied for wins, Strider’s 94 FIP is the best in the NL. The only issue is that he has already eclipsed his most innings pitched in a season at 139.1 so the Braves could be cautious with him down the stretch to save some innings for their postseason run.
While it is possible, it’s not probable that Strider wins the 2023 NL Cy Young Award.
