CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Jacob deGrom is one step closer to winning the National League Cy Young Award. The Baseball Writers' Association of America on Monday named the heavily favored deGrom a finalist, along with Max Scherzer of the Nationals and Aaron Nola of the Phillies.
The final announcement will take place on Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. ET on MLB Network. The BBWAA will present the award at its annual New York chapter dinner Jan. 26 in Manhattan.
While deGrom is also likely to land on many NL Most Valuable Player Award ballots, he was not among the three finalists for that honor. Milwaukee's Christian Yelich, Chicago's Javier Baez and Colorado's Nolan Arenado all received more votes than deGrom.

In what was easily his best season as a professional, deGrom finished with a 1.70 ERA -- sixth lowest since the mound was lowered to its current height in 1969 -- to pull away from the pack in that category late in the year. He ended 2018 with 24 consecutive quality starts and 29 straight outings of three runs or fewer, both Major League single-season records. deGrom also led the NL in both Baseball Reference's and FanGraphs' valuations of WAR, and finished second behind Scherzer in the NL in strikeouts (269), innings (217) and WHIP (0.91).
That deGrom went just 10-9 may not have hurt him much, as voters have increasingly relied on more modern statistics in recent years.
"I don't know how anybody ever beats him," Braves manager Brian Snitker said after deGrom's final start, an eight-inning shutout performance at Citi Field. "You don't like to face him. But you know what? When you do face him, man, you appreciate what he is and what he can do."