NL Cy Young watch: Breaking down top candidates as Zack Wheeler and Walker Buehler lead a crowded field

We're coming up on the six-week mark in terms of what is left on the 2021 Major League Baseball season. Given that last year was only 60 games, this has been especially fun, but that's beside the point we're here to make. As an admitted awards junkie, the individual races are always being monitored over here.

Let's take a look at the race for the National League Cy Young, which is wide open thanks to Jacob deGrom's lingering absence. The following candidates are by no means the only ones who have a chance to win the award, but they are the ones most in the mix, in my opinion. They are not ranked.

Last time out, Wheeler totally dominated the Mets, throwing a two-hit shutout while walking one and striking out 11. It was a bit of an exclamation point after the work he's been doing this season. He leads the majors in innings and batters faced while still posting a 2.42 ERA, 165 ERA+, 0.99 WHIP and 2.42 FIP. His 181 strikeouts lead the majors and he's third in win probability added as well. All this adds up to him leading in WAR. He's sixth in ERA and ERA+, but with that workload to ease the pressure on a shaky bullpen, this might be the most impressive resume. I've long maintained innings pitched from an effective starter is an underrated stat and it might be more true than ever coming off the season that was 2020. Give him bonus points for that.

Any good analyst knows that limited yourself to just one stat to define a pitcher is totally foolish and ignorant. We need a complete picture in order to evaluate the entire situation. ERA is still my top one, though, much to the dismay of many FIP fans. Buehler leads the league in ERA. He's also fifth in WHIP, third in innings, ninth in strikeouts, third in WAR, fourth in win probability added and one win away from the league lead, if you're into that archaic stat.

Trivia tidbit for your friends: The Dodgers have the most Cy Young winners at 12 and also lead all franchises with the eight different pitchers having won it. Buehler would be the ninth if he can pull it off. Can you name the previous eight? Clayton Kershaw and Sandy Koufax are your free spaces.