Strider’s 3.83 ERA would be the highest of any Cy Young honoree, ahead of 1983 AL winner LaMarr Hoyt (3.66), 2001 AL winner Roger Clemens (3.51), and 2005 AL winner Bartolo Colon (3.48), all of whom finished first thanks in large part to having notched 20 or more wins. Adjusted for ballpark and league scoring levels, Clemens’ 80 ERA- and Colon’s 82 ERA- are both substantially better than Strider’s 86, which is at least better than Hoyt’s 88, as well as the 87 of 1982 AL winner Pete Vuckovich (on a 3.34 ERA). Still, that ERA is the biggest impediment to voting for Strider, whose 6.28 runs per game of offensive support has helped push his won-loss record to 16–5 nonetheless.

If not Strider, then who? One could point to Wheeler, who leads in fWAR (5.7, a full win ahead of the second-ranked Snider) and is second in FIP (2.93), xERA (3.13), and K-BB% (23.1%); or Snell, who leads in ERA (2.50) and bWAR (4.6) and is second in both strikeouts and strikeout rate (31.1%). Steele is second in ERA (2.55), third in FIP (2.98) and fWAR (4.3), and fourth in bWAR (4.1); thanks to his 6.39 runs per game of offensive support, he has an even gaudier won-loss record than Strider at 16–3.

While there are other NL starters having fine seasons, such as Gallen and Kodai Senga, I don’t see any statistic or combination of stats that elevates them into that quartet. Senga’s 3.08 ERA is the league’s third-lowest, and his 29.3% strikeout rate the fourth-highest, but he also has just 143.1 innings, 26.2 fewer than Wheeler (the leader of that quartet, and third overall) and 8.2 fewer than Steele (the low man of the group).

Capable of doing something incredible every time he steps on the mound, Spencer Strider celebrated his grandmother’s 90th birthday in dominant fashion. His bid for perfection fell short, but his performance only heightened his status as one of the game’s elite starters.

Strider recorded a season-high 13 strikeouts and helped the Braves snap a four-game losing streak with an 11-0 win over the Marlins on Monday night at Truist Park. The right-hander proved perfect through the first six innings and lost his no-hit bid with one out in the eighth inning…

Though he fell short with his no-hit bid, Strider became the first Braves pitcher to record at least nine strikeouts in nine consecutive starts. John Smoltz is the only other pitcher in franchise history to do so over eight straight starts.

Strider also is the seventh MLB pitcher to record at least nine strikeouts over nine or more starts. Nolan Ryan set the record in 1977 with 11 consecutive such starts.