2022 Ben McDonald Award contenders

As Hot Stove League heats up, it's time for DMBL owners to vote on the 2022 player awards. Let's start with a look at contenders for the Ben McDonald Award, recognizing the league's top pitcher.

The "Big Ben," named for former Arkansas hurler Ben McDonald, the first winner of the award, goes to the best performance by a pitcher, starter or reliever, as determined by a vote of the owners.

This year's look at at McDonald Award contenders will take a different route. Rather than alphabetical order, or reverse alphabetical order, or league leader, they're listed below in order of where they rank in ESPN's Cy Young Predictor. Now, the predictor is a bit old school, putting heavy emphasis on the classic pitching categories of wins, ERA, innings pitched, strikeouts and saves. It also rewards pitchers on winning teams, bestowing bonus points (12) to those on a division winner. It doesn't take into account too many SABR-metric categories that have become popular, such as WHIP, R/9, H/9 and other percentage and analytics-based statistics, so keep that in mind.

Votes can choose six players on their ballot, based on a 10-7-5-3-2-1 system. An asterisk* denotes rookie status. Here are the potential McDonald Award candidates, followed by their point total and rank in the Cy Young Predictor:

Jacob deGrom, Livingston (239.39 points, 1st)

The Cy Predictor loves deGrom and why not? His point total is the highest in recent memory. He tied for the league lead with 21 wins (21-4) for a Livingston team that won 105 games and nabbed the second seed. He came within 11 strikeouts of Chris Sale's single-season strikeout record set in 2018, and won the ERA title (1.99). He also likely set the new single-season mark for WHIP (0.69) and was tops in the league in K/BB (8.9), matching Clayton Kershaw's 2017 mark and Dennis Eckersley from 30 years ago.

deGrom merely led the league but didn't set records in K/9 (13.6), H/9 (4.7), BB/9 (1.5), and R/9 (6.5) - the last category being by a wide margin over San Francisco's Tyler Glasnow (9.3). To boot, he tossed this season's second no-hitter, coming tantalizingly close to making it the second perfect game in league history.

Walker Buehler, El Paso (200.83, 2nd)

Buehler missed out on 12 bonus points in the Cy Young Predictor since El Paso was not a division winner but he matched deGrom in wins with a 21-7 mark. He also tied with deGrom as the league leader in quality starts (28) and quality start percentage (.848) -- numbers that fell one quality start from tying Tim Hudson's record 2004 season. And he did it for a 79-83 Chihuahuas squad.

Buehler finished 4th in ERA (2.53), was one of two pitchers to face 1,000 batters (1,002), ranked 2nd in the league in innings (245 2/3), and while his 232 strikeouts were solid, they fell just outside the top 10 as did his 1.15 WHIP. Usually, 200 points on the Cy Young Predictor will yield the hardware but this year might be an exception.

Tanner Houck, Tucson* (195.75, 3rd)

The 26-year-old is a likely front-runner for the Pat Listach Award as the league's top rookie and has numbers to garner support on the McDonald ballot. He was among the league's leaders in ERA all season, finishing 2nd (2.23) to deGrom, as well as finishing 2nd to him in OPS (.582). Houck's 1.04 WHIP tied for 4th in the league with Vancouver's Cristian Javier, and he also ranked 4th in H/9 (6.7) with Hillsborough's Nick Pivetta.

He compiled a 19-5 mark for the 106-win King Snakes and racked up 225 strikeouts across 198 innings. In the more obscure categories, Houck also tied deGrom for 4th in the DMBL with .111 runners left scored, and ranked 2nd to Sardine City's Charlie Morton (.041) in extra base hit rate (.047). 

Ranger Suarez, Marietta (193.42, 4th)

Another record-setter, Suarez broke the DMBL's single-season mark for win percentage, winning an incredible 19 of his 20 decisions to go 19-1. That .950 win percentage bested the 20-year-old record of .913, set by Pedro Martinez in 2002 and challenged by Stephen Strasburg in 2018. He also was among the league's leaders all season in ERA, ultimately finishing 3rd (2.42) behind deGrom and Houck. Suarez exceeded rookie limits in 2019 when he made 37 appearances as a reliever with the Philadelphia Phillies, so he's not eligible for the Listach Award.

The left-hander ranked 5th in OPS (.618), 3rd in slugging (.327), and tied for 6th in H/9 (7.3). He finished 10th in innings (219), WHIP (1.13), batting average (.222). His 25 quality starts tied him with Tucson's Kevin Gausman for 4th in the DMBL and his quality start percentage (.758) was good for 4th. He was among more than 10 starters to hurl 2 shutouts - tops in the league.

Suarez and Buehler were the only McDonald contenders in the top 10 of the Cy Young Predictor to not get 12 bonus points for pitching on a division winner, which helped Suarez drop behind Houck. The 5th overall pick in 2022 was not a rookie this season; he qualified for the 2020 campaign as a relief after 37 appearances and 48 2/3 innings in MLB in 2019.

Zack Wheeler, Philly (181.75, 5th)

Wheeler, 32, has become one of the most consistent starters in the league the past few seasons. You can find him scattered throughout the top 10 in numerous pitching categories, and leading the DMBL in workhorse categories: 248 2/3 innings, 1,106 batters faced, and 6 complete games. That's all while he compiled a mark of 18-11 and his 27 quality starts and .818 QS% trailed only deGrom and Buehler. Wheeler ranked 5th in ERA (2.86), just edging San Francisco's Tyler Glasnow (2.87) and Livingston's Chris Bassitt (2.88), while finishing 4th in strikeouts (271).

Kevin Gausman, Tucson (175.14, 6th)

Gausman, a longtime prospect who finally broke out, benefited from a league-best .067 runners left scored percentage, helping him to finish 8th in race for the ERA title (3.06). He does well in other traditional categories, ranking 3rd in DMBL in wins (18-6) and 4th in win percentage (.750). He also ranked 10th in strikeouts (237) and tied with San Francisco's Joe Musgrove for 8th in the league in innings (220 1/3), yet did not lead his team in either category. SABR-metricians might like Gausman for his 3rd-best R/9 (9.6) in the league, along with ranking 3rd in on-base percentage (.266) and 6th in batting (.217).

He also tied for 6th in H/9 (7.3) with Bassitt and Suarez. The 31-year-old's 25 quality starts were good for 4th in the league, tied with Suarez, and he finished 4th in QS% (.781).

Chris Bassitt, Livingston (166.94, 7th)

When you pitch in the same rotation as deGrom and 2019 McDonald Award winner Gerrit Cole, it's easy to get overlooked but Bassitt still compiled a 17-7 mark and .708 win percentage. He was one of just 7 pitchers with a ERA of less than 3.00 (2.88) and ranked in the top 10 across a number of categories, including WHIP (1.06, T5th), OPS (.642, 9th), BA (.218, T7th), OBP (.274, 7th), R/9 (10.0, T7th). He also benefited from a very good runners left scored percentage (.133, 7th).

Framber Valdez, Philly (150.78, 8th)

The lefty flies under the radar perhaps because he checks all the boxes: 200+ innings (209 1/3), better than 9+ K/9 (210 strikeouts), and a winning mark (16-6) for a 97-win division champ. That's in spite of his wildness; Valdez ranked 8th in the league in walks (78). But he also tied for 7th in quality starts (23), along with Adam Wainwright and Brandon Woodruff of Tucson and Allentown's Marcus Stroman, as well as quality start percentage (.719).

Liam Hendriks, Tucson, RP (149.58, 9th)

The only reliever in the top 10, his 27 saves tied with left-hander Will Smith of Arkansas for 3rd in the league behind Loudon's Ryan Pressly and Rockland's Joe Barlow. Hendriks pops into the top 10 in Cy Young Predictor on the strength of his 139 Ks in 87 1/3 IP plus a nifty 6-2 mark out of the bullpen.

Gerrit Cole, Livingston (147.61, 10th)

The 2019 McDonald Award winner will always be a favorite in the Cy Young Predictor for his power. He racked up 230 strikeouts in just 188 innings even though neither cracked the top 10 in the league. Still, he compiled a 16-8 mark (tied for 9th in wins with Valdez) in 29 starts and finished 9th in the DMBL in WHIP (1.12) and tied with Loudon's Robby Ray for 7th in K/BB ratio (5.2).

Tyler Glasnow, San Francisco (143.11, 11th)

If you're Tyler Glasnow, you ask votes to ignore your rather pedestrian 14-7 record for an 86-loss Experience squad. If you cover up that part of his resume, you have a much more serious candidacy on your hands than the Cy Young Predictor portrays. The 29-year-old ranked 3rd in the DMBL in strikeouts (296) behind deGrom and Corbin Burnes and 2nd only to deGrom in WHIP (1.00) and R/9 (9.3).

He finished 6th in ERA (2.87) and quality starts (24), 7th in innings (222 2/3), and found himself scattered throughout the top 10 in batting, on-base, slugging and OPS.

Julio Urias, Hillsborough (130.08, 13th)

The win total was a little light (14-7) but the young lefty compiled 205 strikeouts across 225 innings, numbers that put him in the mix. He tied for 2nd in BB/9 (1.6) with Max Scherzer, trailing only deGrom and his 5 complete games, second only to Wheeler, could draw some attention on the McDonald ballot.

John Means, Loudon (129.33, 14th)

Means will always be behind the 8-ball in the Cy Predictor because he doesn't usually rack up the strikeouts like others. But don't let that fool you. He logged 200 innings and sported an 18-8 record (tied with Gausman and Wheeler for 5th in wins) that put him in the top 15 on the Cy Young Predictor. Whether that translates into support for the McDonald, we'll see. On the plus side, the left-hander limited walks (2.0 BB/9) to help rank 6th in R/9 (9.9) and finished 8th in WHIP (1.08). On the other hand, he tied for 4th in HR allowed (45), including a league-high 42 vRHB.

Brandon Woodruff, Tucson (124.92, 16th)

Woodruff led the King Snakes in innings (224 2/3) and strikeouts (256), ahead of Gausman, and ranking 5th in DMBL in both categories, which the Cy Young Predictor likes. His dark horse candidacy however takes a hit when you look at his barely .500 record (13-12) and 1.17 WHIP (better than average but hardly elite). Interestingly, Hoboken's Ian Anderson precisely matched Woodruff's Cy Young Predictor point total, thanks to a 15-8 record but only 163 strikeouts in 186 innings and no bonus points a a division winner.

Max Scherzer, Tucson (124.64, 18th)

Mad Max was right behind teammate in the Cy Young Predictor. Despite going only 13-8, Scherzer compiled with 219 K's in 184 1/3 innings across 29 starts. In his favor, he ranked 3rd DMBL with a 1.03 WHIP and 4th in R/9 (9.7), along with a K/BB ratio (6.6) that tied with Vancouver's Aaron Nola for 2nd in the league.

Cristian Javier, Vancouver (119.19, 20th)

The second-year pro and 2021 1st round pick might be easy to miss because he's a bit of a tweener. He didn't record enough saves (14) to contend for the Eck and only pitched in relief, and yet compiled some numbers that could be rival some starting pitchers.

He went 8-4 and while his 4.17 ERA is nothing to write home about, Javier put the Iron Fist bullpen on his back, logging an incredible 164 IP in 91 appearances (tied for 5th in the league) with 205 strikeouts (11.3 K/9, 5th in the league) and a 1.04 WHIP that matched Houck for 4th in the DMBL.

The innings load was enough to qualify for league leader categories, and Javier was among the top 10 in batting, on-base and slugging against, R/9, and was 2nd to deGrom in R/9 (5.2). He also tied for 9th in total walks (77).

The 25-year-old likely eclipsed the record for strikeouts in a season by a relief pitcher, set by Chad Green of Marietta in 2018, who had 200 Ks across 136 2/3 IP - 13.2 K/9).

Corbin Burnes, Arkansas (112.75, 21st)

Oh, you'll find Burnes among the top 10 in some pitching categories, particularly the sexy ones. The 2021 1st-round pick finished 2nd in the league in strikeouts (303) behind deGrom, becoming one of just a handful of pitchers to reach 300 punchouts in a season. His 13.3 K/9 was also second to deGrom while he led the DMBL in HR/9 (0.3) yielding  a measly 7 HRs all season in 204 1/3 innings.

Burnes will have to convince voters to look past his paltry 11-6 mark, coupled with a pedestrian 1.25 WHIP and 3.57 ERA.