Which NL Pitcher can Stop Clayton Kershaw From Winning Another Cy Young Award?

Is it possible for a pitcher to take home a Cy Young award despite missing nearly half a season? Judging from what Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw did before he landed on the disabled list and how the rest of his competition has performed since, it sure is.

The southpaw hasn’t pitched since losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 26, but it’s not outrageous to say he’s still the National League’s best pitcher. Despite spotting his competition about two months, he still leads the league in fWAR (5.5) and bWAR (4.8). The biggest question right now is whether or not he’ll return to a big-league mound before the regular season finishes.

The likelihood of that increased with some good news, as J.P. Hoornstra of the L.A. News Group reported on Tuesday. Kershaw escaped a 40-pitch bullpen unscathed and is scheduled for a 60-pitch simulated game later this week. As he continues ramping up, the final step before re-entering the Dodgers’ rotation will be one rehab start.

The award has basically been Kershaw’s to lose all season, with a big determination now being how many starts he can rack up upon getting activated off the DL. There’s still about a month left, which is plenty of time for other contenders to separate themselves from the pack by having a strong finish.

Here are seven NL pitchers who have a shot at preventing Kershaw from winning yet another Cy Young. It all depends on how the last month goes.

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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For Fanduel, DraftKings, and Fanpicks 7/27/16

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Picks (7/27/16): MLB DFS Advice

Fanduel Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Picks (7/27/16): MLB DFS Advice

Fanpicks Daily Fantasy Baseball Lineup Picks (7/27/16): MLB DFS Advice

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 Daily Matchups for 7/27/2016

Pitcher

STUD

Madison Bumgarner

Carlos Carrasco

Yu Darvish

MID RANGE

Adam Wainwright

Masahiro Tanaka

Adam Conley

VALUE

Brandon McCarthy

Masahiro Tanaka

Tyler Duffey

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5 Perfect Examples Why the National League Should Never Welcome the Designated Hitter

It’s impossible to not hear the chatter. There’s more than a decent chance that one day, we won’t be able to use the #PitchersWhoRake hashtag whenever we see a hurler provide some unexpected offense.

Commissioner Rob Manfred said over the winter that the National League isn’t making any big moves toward adding the designated hitter yet. However, it makes sense as to why some team owners are warming to the idea. Sure, having a DH means adding more payroll, but it also means more offense, which could in turn lead to more revenue.

Since I grew up watching NL baseball, I’m very much against changing something that’s been the same since what feels like the beginning of time. Instead of listing a bunch of reasons why – that we’ve probably all heard a million times already – I’m going to illustrate one really good reason with five different examples to make my point.

How so? Well, let’s look at the play we all love so much when it happens, but would never get to enjoy again if the DH invades the NL: the pitcher home run.

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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For Draft Kings 4/25/16

P- Madison Bumgarner (vs. San Diego Padres): $12,000. What is not to love about this match-up? One of the best pitchers in baseball, against one of the worst offenses in baseball. The San Diego Padres offense is currently ranked at the 27th best offense in baseball. Madison Bumgarner has started 4 games this year and 3 of them were against elite offenses (Dodgers x2 and Arizona). In these four starts, he has thrown 23 innings, with a 3.91 ERA, 29 strikeouts, 8 walks, and a 1-2 record. He is back at his home stadium, which is a great park for pitchers, and I’m sure he is ready to take care of business. The Padres lineup has struggled against Bumgarner throughout his entire career. In 140 at bats against him, they are hitting .200 with 43 strikeouts, and only 2 home runs. This could be a huge game for MadBum, who is averaging 18.5 points per game on Draft Kings.

P- Noah Syndergaard (vs. Cincinnati Reds): $11,400. Syndergaard has been an absolute beast this year. In 3 starts in 2016, he has thrown 20 innings, with a 0.90 ERA, 29 strikeouts, and only 4 walks. He is currently averaging a massive, 31.9 points per game on Draft Kings. He will be facing the 23rd best offense in Major League Baseball, the Cincinnati Reds, on Monday. Syndergaard will also be pitching in his home stadium, which is always a plus to have your hometown crowd behind a pitcher. Considering what Syndergaard has done this season, it is near impossible not to start him on Monday.

 

To see the rest of the picks, click the link below:

 

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Who Owned Baseball April 12, 2016 (Daily MLB AL/NL Pitcher + Hitter MVP’s) + 2016 #WOB Standings

Matt Slocum / AP

Charlie Morton pitched shutout ball into the 7th, finishing 6 2/3 innings, 3 hits and 7 strikeouts, getting the 3-0 decision for Philadelphia over San Diego.

Trevor Brown continued his surprising power surge with a pair of homers and 4 RBI to lead the Giants to a 7-2 victory in Colorado.

Derek Holland gave the Rangers 6 2/3 shutout innings, allowing 4 hits and striking out 4 in the 8-0 blowout in Seattle.

Justin Upton went 4 for 5 with a homer, 2 RBI and 3 runs scored in the Tigers 8-2 win over Pittsburgh.

They all owned baseball on April 12, 2016.

To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings, plus see who gained 1/2 WOB’s – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON OR SCROLL DOWN.

The Nats Need Stellar Years From 1/2 SP Punch Scherzer + Strasburg Similar To Johnson + Schilling Duo In 2001 – To Win World Series

Max Scherzer was filthy in the 1st half of 2015 – with a 2.11 ERA heading up to the ALL – Star Break, and Stephen Strasburg ended the 2nd half of the year with a 1.90 in his Post ALL – Star games. If these 2 day aces can be in top form for the whole year, and then carry through to the playoffs, it would go a long with their chances to win a World Series. Since Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister left, the rotation is not as deep as it once was, yet these guys could make for an unforgettable 1 -2 punch in the postseason, and combined with Bryce Harper, potentially win the Fall Classic this year.

Chuck Booth (BBBA President) Follow @chuckbooth3024

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With Zack Greinke flying the coop in Los Angeles over the winter, all of a sudden, this dynamic pair of Nationals chuckers should be the best back to back starting tandem in the Majors right now.

It is a walk year for Stephen Strasburg.  He has shown flashes of brilliance, but has yet to put it together for the whole year.  You could say his career has kind of been like Schilling’s prior to his arrival in Arizona.

I think both guys could near 20 wins each. have mid 2 ERA’s – and both compete against the NL’s elite for the NL Cy Young Award.

If they have great seasons, it should equal a playoff berth – and if not the NL East Division.  Strasburg’s best two years were in 2012 and 2014, so maybe he is just a better even year pitcher himself.

Scherzer is 53 – 20 with a near 1.00 WHIP and ERA of 3 since the start of the 2013 season.  No doubt these 2 guys will pull up awesome numbers in playing the Marlins, Phillies and Braves for almost 40% of their total games.  Add in the Brewers, Reds, Padres, Rockies to the fold, and that becomes half of the year.

Should Washington make the playoffs, that is exactly why they doled out $210 over 7 years for Scherzer in the first place.  The former Tigers pitcher was pretty damn good in the 1st RD of the postseason for Detroit, going 3 – 1, with an ERA of 2.79 and WHIP of 1.034 in 29 Innings worth of work in the LDS rounds.  I think he could take the next step beyond that.

Last year Scherzer threw 2 no-hitters and nearly tossed 2 more.  He has shown he can last longer than ever before.  He was a workhorse with his 228.2 IP. It was a career high, just like his 276 Strikeouts in that timeframe and his incredible WHIP of 0.918 were.

It is time to for Strasburg to leave it all on the table.  Much like his 34 Game Starts in 2014, where he logged 215 Innings and a NL Leading 242 Strikeouts, the former #1 overall pick could really make a fortune in Free Agency with a banner year. At Age 27 until late July when he turns 28, he is still in his prime years coming for the next few campaigns.

2016 Dodgers vs Giants

Dodgers versus Giants. Long-standing, time-honored rivalry of blood. Which team holds the edge on the field in 2016? Who is the better player at each position? Time is running short before the season kicks off, so let’s break it down.

 

The Ace:

MadBum or Kershaw? Of course, Madison Bumgarner has three World Series rings and that is impressive. However, despite those three rings, MadBum has zero Cy Young awards to Clayton Kershaw’s three. More importantly, last year Kershaw’s numbers were better, proving the theory that his arm is far fresher; MadBum has pitched 352 more innings over their respective careers, and history has shown time and again that there is a finite number of pitches in a major league arm. 

Advantage: Dodgers (1 point).

 

Rest of Starting Rotation:

Numbers 2 – 5 are actually close for the two teams. Johnny Cueto and Scott Kasmir have had their ups and downs; if Cueto is back to the dominating pitcher of old (not his 2015 second-half self), he tops Kasmir. Dodger Japanese import Kenta Maeda looks to be making an excellent transition and figures to be better than Jeff Samardzija, who is coming off a terrible season (why did the Giants pay this guy so much money?). Jake Peavy and Alex Wood seem to cancel each other out with the 34-year-old Peavy on his way out and primed to get hurt again, and the young Wood still trying to find himself…

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Odds To Win The 2016 NL Cy Young In The MLB: Best And Worst Bets

Max Scherzer threw 2 no-hitters in 2015, and carried no – no’s into the late innings on a few other occasions. The man set highs in Strikeouts, Innings Pitched, ERA, WHIP and BB per 9 innings. On a club that will win 90+ games, I believe Scherzer will mop up the NL East all season. I am calling for the guy to win his 1st Cy Young in the National League – after winning the AL honor in 2013.

Hunter Stokes (BBBA Featured Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21

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Clayton Kershaw finally didn’t win a NL CY Young Award last season – and it took historical seasons by Jake Arrieta and Zack Greinke to usurp him of the throne.

The Dodgers chucker still fanned over 300 batters (301) for the 1st time in over a decade, was 16 – 7 – while leading the League in CG/SHO/IP/SO/SO per 9 IP – with still fashioning a ridiculous WHIP of 0.881.

Kershaw finished 3rd in the races, and now has 5 straight campaigns of top 3 finishes.  His +125 odd to win again is about par for the course per this odd, however – just like the American League, I am going to go for the value play more on this list than the favorite.

Last year’s winner (Arrieta) is next on the faves with a mark of +400.  I absolutely hate this odd, and for one – think it will be an impossible feat to do what he did all over again.  Based on the Cubs offense he won’t need to either.

I see Arrieta still putting forth a great season, with a top 15 Cy Young Vote, but have to call his odd of +400 value the 2nd worst on the board.

2016 MLB Player Props: Futures Betting (Year Over/Unders)

On this list of player over/unders it may be worth a well solution to wager over on all bets across the board and go for about a 60 percent win factor. I did bet a few unders on the sheet near the end.  I continue to find value on the whole gambling aspect of listed odds.  I will throw down some more money on these selections.  I am just hoping that I don’t become too over confident for my own good.

Hunter Stokes (BBBA Featured Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21

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We will be going hard and heavy on these kind of articles.  I will put an advisory and write-up if I think the bet is worthy.

Las year I went 9 – 4 in Player Props, and I am looking to keep that kind of win percentage.

The 1st sector will be any player bets.  There is some serious value and things I have already earmarked for bets.  I honestly can’t believe all of the value that has been out there for picking this year.

Never did I imagine I would have bet this much already, but it is a bettors market.  I hope it doesn’t backfire on me.

2016 MLB Preseason Power Rankings

Hunter Stokes (BBBA Featured Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21

Follow The BBBA On Twitter Follow @baseballblogs

With just 5 weeks to the regular season – and all of the important Free Agents finally being locked up with Ian Desmond signing with the Rangers, it is time to see where all 30 MLB clubs stack up.

We are going to be running weekly power rankings once the year starts on Apr.3, 2016.

The way I compile the Power Rankings is best on confidence to win the World Series.  Some clubs may be more talented (or playing better) than a squad they are behind in the rankings,  but the Division (and strength of opponents) plays a massive factor.

It is the reason why teams like the Royals or Astros will be selected above a team like the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Pittsburgh Pirates might win 90 games (which may only see one AL club join them), but because they have to contend with the Cards and Cubs in the NL Central, it will be tough for them to receive a great ranking (at least until games are played).