Clayton Kershaw’s latest masterpiece got me thinking about where he ranks among the best pitchers in baseball. And not just this season, but during the past 2-3 years.
In three seasons as a full-time member of the Dodgers’ rotation Kershaw has posted ERAs of 2.79, 2.91, and now 2.72, with 564 strikeouts compared to just 389 hits allowed in 521 total innings.
Here’s how his ERA ranks among all MLB starters with at least 500 innings since 2009:
IP ERA Felix Hernandez 640 2.59 Roy Halladay 637 2.60 CLAYTON KERSHAW 521 2.82 Tim Lincecum 574 2.93 Chris Carpenter 564 2.99
Some pretty decent company, huh?
Kershaw is the only guy on that list without a Cy Young award, although with the way he’s pitching that could change this season. When he doesn’t start the Dodgers are 30-47, yet Kershaw is 11-4 with a 2.72 ERA and league-leading 167 strikeouts in 146 innings. Oh, and he’s also 23 years old.
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- dodger88 - Jul 21, 2011 at 3:04 PM
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With Kershaw, Billingsley, De La Rosa and Zach Lee on the way, starting pitching may prove to be a strength. If they can keep Kemp and Ethier past next season, the Dodgers will still have holes to fill but it will make for a good group of 5-6 players to build around.
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- Ick McWang - Jul 21, 2011 at 5:40 PM
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Truthfully I thought the Dodgers overworked him too young, a la Scott Kazmir, but he seems to be holding up so far, and is just phenomenal. Fun to watch, too.
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- foreverchipper10 - Jul 21, 2011 at 6:32 PM
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I’m gonna say it again….So you think he has a Ker-shot at the Cy?
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- dodger88 - Jul 22, 2011 at 9:03 AM
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Yes but thanks to the Dodgers poor record and many voters giving credit for pitching games that “count” he’ll have to have numbers substantially better than the likes of Halladay.
