Jacob deGrom, New York Mets
Stat line: 10.1 WAR (1st in NL overall), 10-9 record, 1.70 ERA (1st in NL), 217.0 IP (2nd in NL), 41 ER, 269 SO (2nd in NL), 217 ERA+ (1st in NL), 1.98 FIP (1st in NL)
If anyone wants to discuss about who gets to be the NL MVP for 2018, then they have to start off with Jacob deGrom. The man is having the year of his life. Despite possessing an average win-loss record thanks to the poor run support he received from the New York Mets throughout the season, he has put up legendary numbers in nearly every pitching statistic. He is 1st by far in both traditional ERA and adjusted ERA+, with latter standing for the cumulative measurement of a pitcher’s overall performance across the entire major leagues, thus accounting for external factors such as ballparks & opponents. To put this in perspective, his 217 ERA+ is ahead of second place by 47 points. 47!!!! What’s more, he has a streak of 29 straight starts in allowing 3 runs or fewer, and it’s still going! He has a chance of extending it next year in his next start. The last time he allowed more than 3 runs in an outing happened on April 10th, 2018. APRIL. Need I say more about this monster?
