The Baseball Writers Association of America has identified Zac Gallen, Blake Snell, and Logan Webb as the 2023 National League Cy Young Award finalists. The winner will be announced next week.
Who gets your vote for the NL Cy Young Award? pic.twitter.com/m8ACasrG7w
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 7, 2023
Gallen was sensational for the National League champions Arizona Diamondbacks. He became an MLB All-Star after posting a 17-9 record with 220 strikeouts and 188 hits given in 210 innings. He also had one shutout this season and a 1.119 WHIP.
The five-year veteran was the NL’s Player of the Week from April 10-16. He pitched two games during that stretch, the first of which was a victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Gallen allowed three hits and zero runs while striking out 11 batters in seven innings pitched.
He went 6.2 innings against the Miami Marlins six days later, allowing two hits and no runs while striking out seven batters. Gallen also had an excellent pitching display in Game 5 of the 2023 World Series before the Texas Rangers clinched the championship.
Meanwhile, Snell led Major League Baseball with a 2.25 earned run average on 180 innings pitched. The San Diego Padres pitcher finished the 2023 season with a 14-9 record in 32 games started. He allowed 115 hits and led both leagues in walks with 99.
Snell also had the best hits-per-nine-innings rate at 5.8. His 6.0 wins above replacement is the NL’s best and second only to the New York Yankees’ Gerrit Cole. The seven-year player also led the majors in ERA+ with 182.
Finally, the 2023 MLB season was Webb’s fifth with the San Francisco Giants. While he only had an 11-13 record, he led the majors in innings pitched with 216. He also had a 3.25 ERA in 33 games started, which includes two complete games.
He earned his first shutout against the Colorado Rockies on July 9, allowing seven hits and zero walks while striking out ten batters. His career-high 12 strikeouts broke Madison Bumgarner’s franchise record for most strikeouts by an Opening Day pitcher.
-Lance Fernandez