Making a Case for Kenley Jansen for the Cy Young
The award says “best pitcher” in each league, not “best starting pitcher.”
In the offseason, after much speculation, in which the Marlins, Nationals, and his original squad, the Dodgers, were all vying for his services, Kenley Jansen re-upped with the Dodgers on a five-year contract, worth $80 million, according to Spotrac. The contract includes an opt-out after 2019.
After already establishing himself as a premiere closer in baseball during his career, this year Jansen has established himself as THE closer. So far in 2017, Jansen has pitched to just a 1.01 ERA, converting 20 of 20 saves, pitching 35 and two-thirds innings, striking out 56, and walking just two batters. Yep, just a measly two.
When Jansen comes in, the game. Is. OVER. Baseball hasn’t seen anything like this since Mariano Rivera. Jansen should definitely be in the conversation for the Cy Young award. The award clearly states “the best pitcher in the league” not best STARTING pitcher, best PITCHER. Jansen has been the best pitcher in the National League, by quite a wide margin.
Jansen has a 1.05 FIP, and a 1.9 WAR, tops in the National League. Jansen has a .146 BAA, third in the national league, behind Carl Edwards Jr. and Felipe Rivero.
Let’s compare Jansen numbers with other Cy Young candidates. On his own team, there is Alex Wood, and of course, Clayton Kershaw. Then there is reigning winner, Max Scherzer.
- Jansen: 2.0 WAR, 14.02 K/9, .246 BABIP, 43.1 K%, 1.5 BB%, .150 BAA
- Wood: 3.1 WAR, 10.82 K/9, .254 BABIP, 30.9 K%, 7.0 BB%, .174 BAA
- Kershaw: 3.3 WAR, 10.65 K/9, .247 BABIP, 30.9 K%, 4.7 BB%, .195 BAA
- Scherzer: 4.2 WAR, 12.16 K/9, .222 BABIP, 35.6 K%, 5.7 BB%, .158 BAA
Jansen has the lowest WAR of the group, but that is also because he sees the least amount of hitters, What Jansen does have is the highest strikeout rate, lowest walk rate, and lowest batting average against. The guy is about as dominant as it gets.
There are arguments about whether relief pitchers should be able to win the Cy Young, since they only pitch one inning a game and record three outs. The Cy Young award should go to the guy that makes the most impact on his team, and sometimes, that is indeed the closer.
For relievers, Jansen’s BABIP is relatively high at .246,which is still pretty low. The league average BABIP is around .300, according to Baseball Prospectus. Jansen is above average in many areas. Can he be above average enough to win the Cy Young in 2017? Only time will tell.
