NL East Starting Pitchers Are Dominating National League ERA Rankings
Of all six divisions in baseball, five of them are super intriguing and fun to watch. The only one that’s underwhelming right now is the the AL Central. As of Tuesday afternoon, the AL Central has only one team above .500 — Cleveland — and they’re just 30-28. Two of their teams, Chicago and Kansas City, are beyond repair for the time being. Having said that, the National League is solid all the way around from a division standpoint. The NL West, although lacking a true powerhouse, still has their rivalries, as well as two young, exciting teams in Colorado and Arizona. The NL Central is currently the most competitive and finally, the NL East has the major TV markets, star-power, and cache. Historically, it’s hard to separate the three divisions in the National League but the NL Central is currently tops with four of its five teams over .500.
The best story, however, at least currently, belongs to the NL East. Right now, when you look at the National League leaders in ERA, the NL East has four teams represented and is claiming all five spots.
The New York Mets, although currently in a serious tailspin, have the top spot with their ace, Jacob deGrom, leading the league with a 1.49 ERA. Max Scherzer, arguably the best pitcher in the NL, has the No. 2 spot (1.92) while two young guns — Aaron Nola, PHI; Mike Foltynewicz, ATL — have the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, respectively. Gio Gonzalez, who is probably the most unlikely of the five, is No. 5 with a 2.27 mark.
All five guys have a better ERA this year than their career numbers. Foltynewicz has made the biggest jump by cutting his career mark in half.
NL Top-5 Career ERA:
- deGrom (2.83)
- Scherzer (3.24)
- Nola (3.62)
- Foltynewicz (4.46)
- Gonzalez (3.58)
Despite their ERA glory, all five franchises are coming off a loss in their last game (as of 6/5/18).
