2021 McDonald Award contenders

This year's race for the Ben McDonald Award seems to have everything for everyone. If you like strikeouts, you'll love this year's field. If you like workhorse starters that put up W's and log innings, there's that too. Even relievers had extraordinary seasons.

ESPN's Cy Young Predictor -- which puts heavy emphasis on traditional stats like wins, innings and strikeouts, and isn't shy about the value of saves -- has a clear top tier of contenders that separate from the pack. Pitchers also earn 12 bonus points if their team wins the division, which can come into play. Let's just say, the Predictor would not have expected Felix Hernandez to win the 2010 AL Cy Young with his 13-12 record.

The 2021 season warrants somewhat of an asterisk given the 60-game MLB schedule in 2020 and there are some record breakers this year. Instead of presenting candidates in alphabetical order this year, let's try something different and start with some of the league leaders in pitching categories.

Last year's McDonald Award winner, Lance Lynn, of Sardine City, had a solid, workman-like year, but he wouldn't be consider a contender (11-8, 3.89 ERA). Here are 14 candidates who might be worthy of one of your six spots on the McDonald ballot (voting is on a 10-7-5-3-2-1 basis). There are others not mentioned below (there's only so much time and space to devote), and certainly, you can vote for them too.

Merrill Kelly, San Francisco

If you had placed a bet that Merrill Kelly would lead the league in wins (23-9), you'd have probably made some money. But if you parlayed that the San Francisco hurler would become one of only 6 pitchers in DMBL history to notch 23 wins, you'd really be raking in the dough.

Kelly also led the league in complete games (7) and innings pitched (263.7) across 32 starts and 4 relief appearances. That was the most in the DMBL since 2015, when Felix Hernandez tossed 260.7 innings for Livingston, and within 5 innings of Sid Fernandez's league record, set in 1994. Only Fernandez, Roger Clemens (268 in 1997 for Carolina) and Greg Maddux (267.7 in 1997 for Vancouver) have thrown more innings in one season.

Kelly finished in 5th in the league in WHIP (0.99), K/BB (6.2), and BB/9 (1.4), and 6th in R/9 (9.2) and on-base percentage (.259).

The 33-year-old was the only pitcher to surpass 1,000 batters faced (1,042). He fares well in categories favored by the Cy Young Predictor but he misses bonus points by not being on a division winner, ending up behind Aaron Nola of Vancouver and Shane Bieber of Blue Ridge. He also isn't the prototypical power pitcher who racks up the Ks, tallying just 249. That would be a fine number any year except for 2021 - which was exceptional for strikeouts.

Aaron Nola, Vancouver

The ERA king of 2021 is also the ERA king of all-time. Nola set the new league record at 1.90, a shade better than the 1.90 that Sid Fernandez twirled in 1994 across two teams. Several pitchers had remarkable seasons when it came to ERA as well as strikeouts, with multiple hurlers notching spots in the top 10 all-time. Nola also matched the league record of 29 quality starts and .879 quality start percentage (29/33), set by Tim Hudson on his way to the 2004 McDonald Award with Carolina.

While he trails Kelly's 23 wins, Nola stacks up a win percentage (17-4, .810) that's 3rd best in the league while holding a significant edge in strikeouts. He also racked up 5 complete games, second only to Kelly's 7, and his 236.3 innings ranked 4th in the DMBL. He led the league in R/9 (8.1), WHIP (0.89), on-base percentage (.236), and was second in H/9 (5.6) and batting average (.176), behind Hoboken rookie Ian Anderson in both categories. The 908 batters he faced was 10th most in the league.

The Cy Young Predictor likes Nola over Bieber and Kelly for the award, thanks in part to his ERA title, a plethora of strikeouts (314, 5th in DMBL), plus bonus points for playing on a division winner otherwise he only edges Kelly by a few points.

Ian Anderson, Hoboken 

Any time you're drafted 2nd overall, big things are expected. When he had his command, Anderson delivered. He led the league in contemporary stats, like batting average (.164), slugging percentage (.250), OPS (.523), as well as H/9 (5.2). His 18 wins matched Sardine City's Aaron Slegers for 2nd among rookies and 5 others for 3rd in the league. He also twirled two shutouts, tied with 3 others for 3rd in the DMB and tied for 4th in ERA (2.29) with Brad Keller of Blue Ridge, to with a 1.08 WHIP and 21/31 quality starts (.677).

Anderson was among 6 pitchers to hurl at least 2 shutouts. While the Cy Young Predictor slots him about 6th in voting, he could get knocked for his occasional wildness -- his 100 walks ranked 8th in the league and 17 wild pitches ranked 5th. If the McDonald isn't in the cards for the youngster, perhaps the Pat Listach Award as the league's top rookie could be.

Shane Bieber, Blue Ridge

Blue Ridge rode its B&B Boys -- Trevor Bauer and Shane Bieber -- to a league-best 106 wins and the top the No. 1 seed. The Cy Young Predictor has Bieber finishing 2nd, nestled between  Nola and Kelly as a sort of first tier.

Bieber had the league's best win percentage (.857) at 18-3, to with 2 complete games and 1 shutout. He finished 3rd in strikeouts with 329 in just 212.7 innings. His 0.91 WHIP ranked 2nd to Nola (0.89) and he placed among the top four in batting (.178), on-base (2.46) and slugging (.299). His 2.46 ERA ranked 6th in the league but his 22 quality starts tied him for 9th, with his quality start percentage (.667) solid but not elite.

Trevor Bauer, Blue Ridge

Whatever category you might find Bieber among the league leaders, Bauer was not far behind -- and vice versa -- so we'll keep them together in this writeup. Bauer went 18-5 with 294 strikeouts across 211.3 innings, and 2.85 ERA + 0.97 WHIP -- all the makings of a front-runner McDonald candidate. Plus, he's the only one of the bunch with a no-hitter on his resume this year. Bauer left his last start after 2 innings and missed 10 days to end the season, which could hurt him in a tight race. The Cy Young Predictor slots Bauer 4th, behind Kelly and ahead of Tucson closer Liam Hendriks.

Bauer might be a favorite for the new-school voters, as he ranked in the top 5 in R/9 (8.9, 4th), H/9 (6.1, 5th). Like Bieber, he also was top 5 in batting average (.190) and on-base percentage (.252). His 25 quality starts and .781 quality start percentage tied for 2nd in the league.

Jacob deGrom, Livingston

For those enamored by power, deGrom's league-best 346 strikeouts (4th-most all-time) and 14.5 K/9 should tickle your fancy. And it came in a huge year for strikeouts. It was only last year that Gerrit Cole of Livingston was the 11th pitcher to eclipse 300 strikeouts in a season, with his 312 punch-outs ranking 6th all-time. His total now ranks 11th after 6 pitchers registered 300 K's in 2021.

San Francisco's Tyler Glasnow racked up 339 strikeouts but managed a meager 11-11 record and 3.94 ERA. In a comparable 210+ innings, Drew Smyly recorded 329 Ks with a better ERA (2.90) and stellar 17-7 mark.

deGrom's Ks might not be enough to look past his pedestrian 15-11 record, nearly 4.00 ERA and 1.27 WHIP. Even the Cy Young Predictor couldn't place him in the top 20.

Max Fried, El Paso

One of eight pitchers to notch 18 wins, Fried was top left-hander in the Cy Young Predictor, finishing 10th (thanks to division winning bonus points), behind Philly's Zack Wheeler and ahead of Sardine City's Kwang Hyun Kim. He matched three others (Bauer, Scherzer,  and Slegers) with an 18-5 mark, ranking 4th in win percentage (.783).

Tony Gonsolin, Arkansas

One of the other rookies in the race, Gonsolin was a 1st rounder, taken 10th - the 4th starter selected, after Anderson,  Corbin Burnes and Tristan McKenzie. In any other year, he likely wins the ERA title (2.11) if not for Nola. Gonsolin also may have an edge against his fellow rookies in WHIP (1.01) and quality starts (22), and win percentage (17-6, .739). The Cy Young Predictor places him 8th, just behind fellow rookie Aaron Slegers of Sardine City and ahead of Philly's Zack Wheeler.

Liam Hendriks, Tucson

Hendriks racked up 40 saves, which may not sound like all that much but it's only the 7th time that a closer has reached that level and the most in the DMBL since Kenley Jansen registered 39 saves in 2014. Hendriks is the top reliever in the Cy Young Predictor -- which relies heavily on saves and strikeouts -- finishing 5th, behind Bauer and ahead of Anderson.

Brad Keller, Blue Ridge/Erie

Keller might be among the more unheralded candidates, in part because he was traded to Blue Ridge from Erie in May (with SP Spencer Howard for 2B Jazz Chisholm), joining the other Keller (Mitch). Between the confusion of two Kellers on the same team, along with Bieber and Bauer, there's not much spotlight left in Blue Ridge.

Still, Keller (Brad) led the league in RC/27 (2.2) and Runs Created ERA (1.99) and extra-base hit rate (.027). The guy not named Mitch Keller matched Bauer with 25 quality starts and .781 quality start percentage (2nd in the league), ranked 4th in ERA (2.29) and 2nd in slugging (.261) only to fellow rookie Anderson. He also ranked 6th in innings (228.0).

Kwang Hyun Kim, Sardine City

Kim was among the league leaders in ERA throughout the season, ultimately finishing 3rd (2.20) behind Nola and Gonsolin. He was also typically the league's leader in wins much of the first half and had his sights set on 20 Ws before he faded in the win column, ultimately finishing 17-5 (.773, 8th). Technically a rookie, the 34-year-old left-hander did what pitchers are supposed to do: keep runs off the board. He ranked 2nd with 42 ground ball double plays but not within the top 10 in strikeouts or any analytics categories. Still, he was in the top 10 for his 22 quality starts and .688 quality start percentage.

The Cy Young Predictor likes him for 11th place, sandwiched with fellow lefties, Max Fried of El Paso and San Francisco's Drew Smyly.

David Peterson, Livingston

The number that sticks out on his resume is the 19 wins, good for 2nd in the league, against 8 losses. His candidacy may be weakened by the fact that the Lords of Swing averaged 5.9 runs in his starts. That explains his 19 wins despite a 4.43 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. The 61 doubles allowed were second only to Newark's Lance McCullers, Jr., who gave up 62.

While he did lead rookie hurlers with 203.3 innings, the Cy Young Predictor probably didn't look kindly on only 178 Ks or that ERA, slotting him somewhere near 20th, in the neighborhood of teammate deGrom around 20th. Maybe support for the Listach Award will be easier to come by.

Aaron Slegers, Sardine City

Sardine City's Aaron Slegers had an incredible 18 wins out of the bullpen - a new league record for relief wins. The Cy Young Predictor has Slegers finishing 7th, sandwiched between rookies Anderson and Gonsolin.

The 6-10, 260-pounder's stats look like that of a starter. Not only did he shatter the DMBL record for relief wins in a season (18-5), he logged enough innings to qualify for the ERA race, finishing 7th (2.52), and ranked 9th in WHIP (1.01). He led the league with 118 appearances (14 more than El Paso's Jesus Luzardo).

If anyone cares about holds, Slegers' 28 normally would be a new league record except that was shattered by a trio of three other relievers. A demerit might be his league-high 9 blown saves and his lack of saves (6) hurt his chances for the Eck but he's technically a rookie and could very well be a dark horse for the Listach Award if he doesn't get the support for the McDonald. The Cy Young Predictor likes his combination of relief/starter stats to slot him 7th, between fellow rookies Anderson and Gonsolin.

Zack Wheeler, Philly

Wheeler tossed more shutouts (4) than any pitcher in the league (Tucson's Adam Wainwright was 2nd with 3), was among at least 8 pitchers with 18 wins (tied for 3rd in the league) and finished tied for 10th in ERA (2.85). He matched Bauer and two other hurlers with 25 quality starts (2nd) and had the 4th best quality start percentage (.758, tied with Poovey's Kenta Maeda). Only Kelly and Livingston's Gerrit Cole faced batters faced (973).

The 31-year-old was 2nd to Kelly in innings (240.0) and tied for 2nd with Nola with 5 complete games. league-best 49 ground ball double plays (2 off of Chien-Ming Wang's record 51 for Newark in 2008), and also a league-leading 23 hit batsmen. Despite being all over the leaderboards, Wheeler ranked 9th according to the Cy Young Predictor, behind Gonsolin and ahead of El Paso lefty Max Fried.

Teammate Zac Gallen had bigger strikeout numbers (254 v. Wheeler's 199) but managed only a 13-11 mark with a 3.58 ERA.