Zack Wheeler is officially one of three finalists for the 2024 National League Cy Young award, along with Atlanta’s Chris Sale and Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes.
The winner will be announced next Wednesday, November 20 at 6 p.m. on MLB Network.
Sale was viewed throughout the second half as the favorite but he did not pitch after September 19 because of back discomfort. Wheeler finished with 22 1/3 more innings, equivalent to three or four additional starts.
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Was it enough for Wheeler to close the gap in the minds of voters? The Cy Young award is voted on by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America with ballots due by the final day of the regular season.
A majority of voters may have submitted their ballots before the Braves and Mets played their doubleheader the day after the regular season ended. If so, they would have done so without the knowledge that Sale was unavailable on the Braves’ most important day of the season.
Sale and Wheeler had amazing seasons. Sale went 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and struck out 225, leading the league in each category.
Wheeler was 16-7 with a 2.57 ERA, finished with one fewer strikeout than Sale and led the league with a 0.96 WHIP. Wheeler also led the NL with 26 quality starts and had the best opponents’ batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage in the league.
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Really, the race should be extremely tight. In terms of narratives, Sale has had a brilliant career but never won a Cy Young. Aside from being deserving, it would be something of a lifetime achievement award.
But there’s an interesting storyline with Wheeler, too. He has been the best pitcher in baseball by practically every measure the last five seasons with no Cy Young to show for it. He was snubbed of the award in 2021 when he finished just 10 voting points behind Corbin Burnes despite pitching 46 1/3 more innings. Burnes had a great year in 2021 as well but 46 1/3 innings was basically two extra months. Fortunately, those covering baseball seem to again be valuing innings and workhorses.
Skenes was the first rookie pitcher in 29 years to start the All-Star Game, more than living up to the hype with a 1.96 ERA and 170 K’s in 133 innings. He won’t win the award but should be in the mix every year that he stays healthy.