For the second straight year, Mets ace Jacob deGrom has been named the top pitcher in baseball by MLB Network.
Using traditional and advanced stats as well as analysis by the MLB Network research team, “The Shredder” takes all of the information and compiles a Top 10 Players Right Now for each position.
And when it comes to the men on the mound, there’s no denying that deGrom is currently the best there is at taking the ball every fifth day.
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Though he came up short of winning his third straight Cy Young, deGrom was absolutely brilliant in 2020, posting a 2.38 ERA and 0.956 WHIP in his 12 starts. He also struck out a ridiculous 104 batters in 68.0 innings, routinely touching 100 mph on his fastball (a noticeable increase from previous years).
Going off that pace, if deGrom would have thrown 200+ innings, as he did in each of the previous non-shortened seasons, he would have become just the 20th pitcher in the modern era to strike out 300 hitters in season.
DeGrom edged out crosstown ace Gerrit Cole, who ranked second after finishing third in the rankings the year before.
Also of note, 2020 NL Cy Young winner and current free agent Trevor Bauer, whom the Mets remain linked to, came in fourth on the rankings.