The bidding war for starting pitcher Blake Snell will be intense after winning his second Cy Young Award. That achievement made him the seventh pitcher to win the highest individual award at his position in both the American and National Leagues.
The left-handed thrower led Major League Baseball in earned run average (2.25), ERA+ (182), and hits allowed per nine innings (5.8).
Snell also finished the 2023 season with a 14-9 record for the San Diego Padres. He tallied 234 strikeouts and an MLB-leading 99 walks in 180 innings pitched.
But as Codify Baseball revealed, Snell has been dominant last season even if the Padres missed the playoffs. Of the 87 pitchers who threw at least 130 innings in 2023, Snell had the lowest strike percentage and ERA.
He also allowed a .181 batting average, the fifth-best rate among pitchers who completed at least 162 innings in a season since 1969. The other names on the list put him in legendary company with Petro Martinez, Nolan Ryan, Justin Verlander, Sid Fernandez, and Max Scherzer.
Lowest batting average allowed in a regular season
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) November 29, 2023
(162+ innings pitched, since '69 when the mound was lowered):
.167 - Pedro Martínez (2000)
.171 - Nolan Ryan (1972)
.172 - Nolan Ryan (1991)
.172 - Justin Verlander (2019)
.178 - Max Scherzer (2017)
.178 - Blake Snell (2018)… pic.twitter.com/zeg337spDf
These numbers and achievements give Snell’s agent, Boras Corporation, the leverage to command a higher price tag for their client. The 2023 season was the last of the five-year, $50 million extension he signed in 2019 when he was still with the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Padres absorbed that contract when they traded for Snell while giving Tampa Bay Francisco Mejia, Cole Wilcox, Luis Patino, and Blake Hunt. Snell earned a $16 million base salary in the final year of that contract.
However, the 2018 MLB All-Star declined San Diego’s $20.325 qualifying offer. Hence, teams willing to open their wallets could make a pitch to his camp.
-Lance Fernandez