New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom was named the top starting pitcher in baseball by MLB Network’s The Shredder.
New York Mets‘ ace Jacob deGrom had an incredible run of success over the last two seasons. He led the league with a 1.70 ERA and finished second with 269 strikeouts on his way to the 2018 NL Cy Young Award. He followed that up with a 2.43 ERA and a league-leading 255 strikeouts on his way to the 2019 Cy Young Award.
The 31-year-old has received plenty of attention for his amazing two-year run, and MLB Network has taken notice. Their Shredder tool, which ranks the top 10 players every year at every position, has ranked deGrom as the top starting pitcher in the MLB entering 2020.
“A staggering two-year run!”@Mets ace @JdeGrom19 checks in at #1 heading into the 2020 season. #Top10RightNow pic.twitter.com/a1sJH1lAfz
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 2, 2020
deGrom is one of 11 pitchers to win back-to-back Cy Young awards in MLB history. If he achieves his stated goal of winning a third straight award in 2020, he’ll join Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux as the only two pitchers to win three straight. Both Maddux and Johnson won four Cy Young awards in a row.
No. 48 has enjoyed an incredible career up to this point. He’s been among baseball’s most dominant since debuting in 2014. He has a career 2.62 ERA and a 10.3 K/9 rate. He’s established himself as a superstar and one of the greatest Mets pitchers ever.
deGrom is joined on the list by several notable pitchers, including New York Yankees‘ signing Gerrit Cole (third) and Max Scherzer (fourth). Scherzer is one of the other 11 pitchers to win back-to-back Cy Youngs.
However, none of them could knock Jacob deGrom off the top spot after his two years of dominance.
