Dodgers News: Alex Wood could shock the world and win the Cy Young

Three months ago if someone were to say that Alex Wood can win the Cy Young they would be called crazy. Now, with the latest Dodgers news, it’s possible.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have the best pitcher on planet earth, Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw has won three Cy Youngs, an MVP, and has posted a lifetime ERA of 2.36. However, the latest Dodgers news has nothing to do with Clayton Kershaw, it has everything to do with the thriving Alex Wood.

Alex Wood made his tenth start of the season Friday against the Cincinnati Reds. Wood picked up the win for the Dodgers, throwing eight innings while only allowing four hits and one lone run. This was good enough for Wood seventh win of the season, making him a perfect 7-0.

The Reds lone run came off of a Devin Mesoraco home run in the eighth innings with two outs. Wood’s 86th pitch of the day was belted to straight away center, in what seemed to be a missed spot low and away.

Despite the lone solo shot, Wood was incredible. There was not a single in which the Reds seemed to really be threatening, as they only had more than one runner on base once. The next batter, Mesoraco, then grounded into a double play.

This performance is the perfect reflection on Wood’s WHIP this season. WHIP, which measures how many walks and hits a pitcher allows per inning, is a perfect measuring tool on how good a pitcher is at getting batters out. Wood allows on average 0.924 walks and hits per inning. Max Scherzer, Dallas Keuchel, and Kershaw are the only pitchers with lower with over 60 innings pitched.

In fact, when measuring Wood against the best in baseball, one can make a case for his contention in the Cy Young award. Wood has the seventh best WAR for pitchers, 2.3, despite only throwing 61.2 innings. If Wood had as many innings pitched as the leader, Chris Sale, his WAR would be 3.7 which would only trail Sale.

His 1.90 ERA is masterful and his 72 strikeouts are incredible. Wood has the seventh best K/9 ratio, striking out 10.51 batters every nine innings. The scary part is that Wood’s numbers could be so much better.

Wood has allowed thirteen earned runs this season. Eleven of these earned runs came across three separate starts in which he only threw a combined 15.1 innings. Obviously, you cannot erase these days just because they’re outliers, but outside of these three starts, Wood has a 0.04 ERA.

More from Los Angeles Dodgers

Wood has shown that he can dominate the opposition, which has merited his name being thrown around in the All-Star discussion. Yet, it shouldn’t stop there, as Wood will slide into Cy Young contention as well.

The biggest enemy against Wood is his innings pitched. He started the season in the bullpen and had a brief DL stint, causing his innings pitched to be low. However, Wood only needs to throw 162 innings to become qualified. If he remains healthy, Wood will make 18 to 19 more starts this season.

If Wood averaged 5.2 innings pitched per game the rest of the season that he will easily hit the 162 mark. The last pitcher to win the NL Cy Young with under 200 innings pitched was Clayton Kershaw in 2014. He threw 198.1 innings and also won the MVP award.

If Wood averages 8.0 innings pitched per game than he can hit that mark. Although the chances are very unlikely, we likely will see him around the 170 mark. With his great numbers, as we have all seen in the Dodgers news, this could be more than enough.

Next: Can the Dodgers win the NL West?

Overall, the latest Dodgers news is promising for the fans. The Dodgers have been on a tear as of late, led on the mound by the fantastic pitching staff.

Home/Los Angeles Dodgers