Padres Rumors: MLB Writer Predicts Friars Pitcher Wins NL CY Young Award

He has been one of the better pitchers in all of baseball of late!

Part of the reason that the San Diego Padres are even in contention after an up and down first half is their pitching staff. The rotation in particular has helped carry the team this season while the offense has been hit and miss at times. Literally. It's a good sign for the club, however, because if the offense continues its recent run of getting going, the Padres will be as scary as many thought they would be entering the season.

San Diego has relied upon their pitching staff to help them win games in spite of the offense, which is a rarity in this era of baseball. But it's gotten the job done so far and now the team is looking to fight their way back into a potential postseason spot.

One of the main pitchers for San Diego that has dominated is starter Blake Snell. Snell has been special over his last nine starts and he has one writer thinking that he can win the National League Cy Young Award for the season. In a bold predictions for the rest of the season article, writer Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report makes his case for the Friars starter.

"Blake Snell has been the best pitcher on the planet since late May.Over his last eight starts, he has gone 5-1 with a 0.56 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 78 strikeouts in 48 innings while limiting opposing hitters to a .148 batting average and .435 OPS."

Per Bleacher Report

Snell is having one of his better seasons in a while and it has shown in his overall game. He has an ERA of just 0.68 in his last nine starts and has struck out 84 batters over that time. Snell is on a major streak right now and if he can continue this level of production into the second half of the season, he will be in line for the award.

The door is open for him to sneak in with guys like Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw being out for a few more weeks with an injur. Snell has been really great to watch this season and it could end with him winning another Cy Young Award.