WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 26: Jacob deGrom #48 of the New York Mets pitches against the Washington Nationals during game 1 of a double header at Nationals Park on September 26, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
Jacob deGrom already appears set to compete for another National League Cy Young Award after a dominant outing Thursday.
New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom is one of the more unstoppable forces in all of baseball. He has a career ERA of 2.61 and already has two National League Cy Young Awards to his name.
deGrom finished third in the voting last year even with a 2.38 ERA and 104 strikeouts in the shortened season. He was on the mound Thursday evening in spring training action and showed he is coming for his crown in 2021.
Jacob deGrom is already in midseason form for the Mets
deGrom finished his night with seven strikeouts in three innings of work. The Houston Astros lineup got off easy on what could have been a special night if this were a regular season game. At one point deGrom even had five K’s in a row.
This was the ace’s second time on the mound so far in spring training. He has allowed a total of one hit and zero runs in five innings of work. deGrom also has a crisp 10 strikeouts in the limited action.
It is tough to determine what the ceiling is for deGrom. His ERA has only been above 3.00 on two occasions since debuting in 2014. His K/9 has been at 10.7 or higher each of the past four seasons and he is a NL Cy Young favorite every year as soon as the odds are released.
The Mets are finally a real contender once again thanks to the arrival of Francisco Lindor. Carlos Carrasco joining the rotation, as part of the same trade, is another arrival of note.
deGrom has already been dominant every single season since he first donned a Mets uniform in 2014. The team finally adding real star talent could finally mean the ace’s work will be more meaningful starting in 2021.