The 2022 National League Cy Young Standoff is Epic
Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara is having a great season. For the longest time, many considered him to be the best in the National League, and for a while he was.
His stats back him up as well. From the start of the season to Aug. 3, Alcantara boasted an impressive 1.88 ERA and a 2.87 FIP in 22 starts. At that point, it was safe to say the righthanded pitcher had the Cy Young in the bag. This was until August and September rolled around.
In his last six starts, Sandy is 2-3 with a subpar 4.70 ERA. His FIP during that stretch is 3.90, which is very uncharacteristic. Alcantara’s also given up six home runs. His worst start of the year came on Aug. 21 against the Dodgers. He went only 3.2 innings allowing six runs on ten hits.
Many are pointing to Alcantara’s increased workload adding to his shortcomings. He has thrown a Major League-leading 196.2 innings as of Sept. 12. His career high was 205.2 last season, and he will surpass that in his two or three remaining starts.
As it sits right now, Sandy sits second in the National League in ERA at 2.43. His WHIP of 1.01 places him sixth behind Yu Darvish of the Padres. These next few starts will definitely be a test to see if can still earn the Cy Young because as of right now, it’s not him.
I personally think the NL award is down to two pitchers. Zac Gallen of the Diamondbacks and Julio Urias of the Dodgers.
Gallen is having a late-season surge as an absolutely dominant pitcher, mirroring the recent success of his team as well. The right-hander leads the National League in WHIP, and hits per 9. He places third in ERA and is 12-2.
What makes him more of a glaring candidate is what he’s done in his last ten starts. Gallen is going through a Jake Arrieta 2015-type stretch. He is 9-1 with a 0.97 ERA, a 1.44 WHIP, and opponents’ batting .143. If he keeps this up, he could edge out anyone for Cy Young.
The other candidate has been consistent all season long. Urias has been very reliable, leading the National League in ERA as well as ERA+. The lefty pitcher is second in WHIP with 0.950 and also second in wins with 16. His last ten games have been wildly impressive too, with a 9-1 record and a 1.29 ERA.
In the end, these are three amazing pitchers and one of the three will for sure win it. Who’s to say what will happen in the final month, it would be very interesting to see how the awards play out.
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