A few weeks ago, as Mets ace Kodai Senga's rookie season continued to trend up, it was clear that he would get votes for the National League Cy Young award.
Perhaps he would finish seventh or eighth for the award, an incredible feat when you take into account how much he's had to get used to in a new country and league.
Now?
It's fair to argue that Senga should be one of three frontrunners for the award, along with Blake Snell of the Padres and Justin Steele of the Cubs -- the two favorites.
It will take continued dominance from Senga and some bumps down the stretch from Snell and Steele to vault him over them, but a look at what Senga has done so far (along with the competition beyond Snell and Steele) makes it clear that this should be a three-man race.
As recently as a few days ago, pitchers getting more play than Senga when it came to the contenders for the Cy Young included Spencer Strider of the Braves and Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen.
Strider is striking out the world this season, with a Jacob deGrom-like 13.8 K's per nine. He has already racked up 259 strikeouts, which leads MLB. But his ERA -- 3.73 -- is simply too high. Maybe the equation changes if he fires back-to-back shutouts, but it's hard to see the Braves letting him run loose since they've already sewn up the best record in the NL.
Then there's Gallen, whose relatively ordinary peripherals don't stand out and whose September ERA of 5.12 over three starts (one gem that was sandwiched by rough games against the Orioles and Mets) has his overall ERA up to 3.50.
Logan Webb and Zack Wheeler also merit consideration, but -- like Strider and Gallen -- would likely need enormous finishes to take home the hardware.
That brings us back to Senga.
