Padres News: Blake Snell Earns Major Award to Close Out Dominant Season
Blake Snell had a dominant 2023 season and even though he won't be carrying his amazing year into the postseason, Snell finished out the year with another award.
Snell won his second Pitcher of the Month for the National League this year after winning his first in June for his outstanding month.
During the last month of the year, Snell pitched to a 0.58 ERA along with a league-leading 41 strikeouts.
Snell has been the best pitcher since June having three separate months with an ERA lower than 1.00.
On the year, Snell tossed 180 innings with an MLB-leading 2.25 ERA while striking out 234 batters which is 3rd in baseball. Snellzilla was absolutely dominant in his contract year for the Padres.
Snell joins Jake Peavy as the only Padres pitcher to win Pitcher of the Month multiple times in a season. Peavy won it three times during his 2007 Cy Young winning year.
Snell recorded 6 Wins Above Replacement for the Padres and looked to be better than his 2018 AL Cy Young winning season.
If Snell does win the Cy Young for the National League, he would join an elite group of six pitchers to have won the award in both leagues.
He would put his name up with the likes of Gaylord Perry, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, Roy Halladay, and Max Scherzer.
Snell is going to be a free agent soon and after this dominant year, he will be the most sought-after player that can pitch next season, with Shohei Ohtani most likely not being able to pitch until sometime in 2025.
Snell has already expressed interest in coming back to the Padres in free agency but knows his value and wants to most likely test the market.
Other reports have come in that the Padres may not bring back Snell or Josh Hader due to the fact they spent so much money last season with Yu Darvish, Xander Bogaerts, Joe Musgrove and Manny Machado.
If this was Snell's last season as a Friar, he went out as the best pitcher in baseball.
