Jun 25, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob DeGrom (right) and catcher Jonah Heim (left) prior to the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

What Can Ranger's deGrom Do to Become an AL Cy Young Finalist in Tight Race?

Originally posted on Texas Rangers on SI
By Anders Pryor | Last updated Jul 1, 2025 5:34 PM ET

It's hard to envision a world where Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal does not get a finalist spot for the American League Cy Young Award. He's the reigning award-winner and is having a stellar year with a 2.15 ERA and an MLB-best 0.83 WHIP.

There are only two other finalist spots, and there are four deserving arms: the Boston Red Sox's Garrett Crotchet, New York Yankee Max Fried, Houston Astro Hunter Brown, and maybe most curiously or unexpectedly of all, Texas Ranger Jacob deGrom. It's difficult to think that two of those four names won't be on the list.

deGrom is the most interesting of the four options because his electric season is viewed as somewhat of a revival. But what does he have going in his favor?

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All four pitchers are so evenly matched when it comes to things like ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts that it can be hard to rank them based on that alone. It depends on what someone values. But recent momentum can definitely be important.

deGrom had a June ERA of 1.41, which is better than Crochet at 2.68, Fried at 1.91, and even Skubal at 1.89. On the downside, he also had 32 strikeouts in June, the least of the five potential finalists.

Any influence from team success could also be hard to measure. The Rangers, like the Red Sox, are in an odd middle ground where their fate as buyers or sellers is up for debate. deGrom leads Crochet in ERA and WHIP, but Crochet has a massive advantage in strikeouts.

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Could deGrom be a Cy Young finalist this year?

He definitely has a shot, but some things out of his control need to break his way. Crochet's blowup start against the Cincinnati Reds of four earned runs through 6.0 innings might have to happen to him and the three other starters a couple of times.

But deGrom's body of work this year with his 2.08 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in 2025 is good enough where if others flounder, he can capitalize.

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This article first appeared on Texas Rangers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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