On Thursday night, the MLBPA awards voting came out, and Blake Snell was selected over Zac Gallen for the NL Most Outstanding Pitcher. Gallen was one of three finalists for the award. Snell of the San Diego Padres ultimately won the MLBPA’s voting over Gallen and Justin Steele of the Chicago Cubs.
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Zac Gallen led the National League for most of the year in the Cy Young voting before hitting a rough patch. Unfortunately for Gallen, when he hit a skid, Snell started dominating. In Snell’s last 12 starts he went 10-2 with a 1.63 ERA and allowing just a .146 batting average to hitters. Blake Snell is the likely Cy Young, which would be his second time winning the award. This season he has more starts and better numbers then when he won the Cy Young with the Rays in 2018.
The Diamondbacks starter finished the season second in games started, innings pitched and wins. Gallen was electric at home, but on the road it was a different story. At home Gallen won 12 game and finished with a 2.47 ERA. Aside from the playoffs, Gallen was a different animal at Chase Field in the regular season. On the other hand, Gallen has a 5-6 record on the road, and finished the year with a 4.42 ERA in different ballparks.
A lot of momentum heading into the offseason
Earlier in the season while doing a podcast with Dodgers star Mookie Betts, Gallen stated “it meant a little more” coming from the MLBPA. Gallen finished top five after last season in the MLBPA top NL pitchers voting. This year he was top three, and depending on who you ask, second. In other words, after a successful season where the Diamondbacks proved a ton of people wrong. Gallen has to feel good heading into the offseason being recognized by his peers.
Diamondbacks outside the top-10 in ESPN’s 2024 Power Rankings
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