Tracking Jacob deGrom’s 2021 season: Start #8

With six scoreless innings of work, eight strikeouts, no walks, and just two hits allowed, Jacob deGrom was once again dominant on the mound last night as he made pitching against the Diamondbacks look very easy. And he regularly threw his fastball over 100 miles per hour, something that he also makes look easy on a regular basis these days.

On the season, deGrom now has a 0.71 ERA and 1.08 FIP in 51.0 innings. Among qualified starting pitchers in baseball, he ranks first in both metrics. Brandon Woodruff ranks second with a 1.27 ERA, while Kevin Gausman ranks third with a 1.40 ERA. Crosstown ace Gerrit Cole ranks fourth with a 1.78 ERA, and it’s worth noting that two of deGrom’s rotation-mates are high on the list, too: Taijuan Walker’s 1.84 ERA ranks fifth, and Marcus Stroman’s 2.45 ERA ranks fourteenth.

It’s been a few starts since our last check-in, but here’s how deGrom’s season thus far compares to some of the greatest pitching seasons in Mets history.

Considering he’s missed some time with side tightness recently, deGrom’s eighth start took place a bit later in the year than those of the Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden, and 2018 deGrom above, but both the strikeouts and the walks really stand out this year.

deGrom has always had excellent control, and walks have never been a problem for him. But to see him improve significantly on something that already good—1.24 walks per nine and a 3.9 percent walk rate compared to 2.15 per nine and 6.0 percent for his career—is incredible.