Blake Snell - The Epitome of the Modern-Day Pitcher

Blake Snell is widely considered to be the frontrunner to win the Cy Young, and rightfully so. He has posted a 2.25 ERA, to go along with a miniscule HR/9 rate of 0.75 and a 1.19 WHIP. He was dominant in an otherwise average Padres rotation this season.

Here’s where Snell’s season differed from many other Cy Youngs - he is the epitome of the modern-day pitcher.

For starters, Snell only pitched 180 innings, in 32 starts, averaging less than 6 innings per start (Approximately 5 ⅓) . He only made it past the 6th inning 3 times this season, and did not make it past the 7th inning once. His innings pitched per start were the lowest for a Cy Young winner since, well, Blake Snell in 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Snell also represented the prototypical modern-day pitcher with his strikeout pedigree, but also his subsequent walk allowance. Snell averaged 11.70 K/9 this season, and while that placed him 2nd in the league, his 4.95 BB/9 was also the highest in Major League Baseball. Snell aimed to strike out all his opponents with his fastball (the highest velocity since 2018) and his deadly curveball, and di not pitch to contact.

It remains to be seen if Snell can replicate this season next season, as his peripherals showed a bit of luck was involved, as he had a 3.74 xERA, and left 86.7% of the runners he put on base (for reference his career average is 78.2%). However, he did put up a Cy Young in 2018 with similar stats, and with him being available on the open market this offseason, it will be interesting to see which team decides to give him a bag.