Mets ace Jacob deGrom is in the midst of his best season and is on track to turn in one of the most remarkable seasons for a pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball…
Latest Feat
On June 22 against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field, deGrom — in his first start after leaving his outing on June 17 early due to shoulder soreness — tossed five scoreless innings while allowing just one hit, walking two, and striking out six.
The only hit, which dropped between Dominic Smith and Albert Almora Jr. in left-center field, should have been caught.
With the five shutout innings, deGrom extended his scoreless streak to 30 innings, which is 2.2 innings shy of the all-time Mets record held by R.A. Dickey.
Crazy Numbers
We would need a lot more space if we were to list all of the ridiculous deGrom numbers, so here’s a sampling:
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The .113 batting average against deGrom this season is the lowest in any 12-game span since at least 1901 (minimum 70 innings)
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Pitchers in MLB are hitting .112 this season, just one point lower than the batting average deGrom has allowed
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DeGrom has allowed one or zero earned runs in 12 straight starts, the longest streak since earned runs became official in both leagues in 1913
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DeGrom’s 0.50 ERA is the lowest by any pitcher through his first 12 starts since at least 1913
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DeGrom has a career ERA of 2.49 with a 10.7 K/9 rate in 155 starts. He is the only pitcher in MLB history to have a sub-2.50 career ERA and 10+ K/9 rate at any point in their career (minimum 70 starts)
Stats and Pace
DeGrom is leading the majors in ERA (0.50), WHIP (0.51), H/9 (3.4), K/9 (14.16), FIP (0.87), SO/W (11.70), and ERA+ (777).
His HR/9 rate of 0.4 is the best in the National League.
DeGrom is on pace to finish the season with 283 strikeouts in 174.1 innings.
Cy Young Watch
DeGrom is the runaway favorite for the award and would almost certainly be a unanimous winner if the season ended today.
His closest competitors at the moment include Kevin Gausman of the San Francisco Giants (1.51 ERA, 0.77 WHIP), Brandon Woodruff of the Milwaukee Brewers (1.94 ERA, 0.76 WHIP), Trevor Rogers of the Miami Marlins (1.87 ERA, 1.02 WHIP), and Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies (2.15 ERA, 0.93 WHIP).
MVP Watch
The last pitcher to win the Cy Young and MVP in the same season was Clayton Kershaw in 2014, and what deGrom is doing right now blows that season out of the water.
DeGrom would very likely be the National League MVP if the season ended today, but he could need a truly historic full season to hold off Fernando Tatis Jr., who entered play on June 22 hitting .291/.373/.680 with 22 homers in 56 games played.