Every Canadian eye should be on Soroka
Canadian baseball fans, and those who cover the sport in this country, need to start talking more about Braves righthander Mike Soroka.
Soroka, who picked up his 11th win of the season in Atlanta’s 6-3 victory over the Blue Jays on Monday afternoon, is more than just a contender for the National League Cy Young Award. He’s closing in on one of the best seasons produced by someone who grew up on this side of the border.
Sure, there’s an occasional Soroka start on Sportsnet. His outings get regular airtime on the nightly highlight shows. Baseball Canada and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame continue to do all they can to spread the word. Yet, in the daily discourse of baseball, Soroka still doesn’t seem to be getting enough attention.
In a year when tennis star Bianca Andreescu and golfer Brooke Henderson have rightfully been mentioned as early favourites for the Lou Marsh Trophy, handed out annually to Canada’s top athlete, there have only been passing mentions of Soroka in recent weeks. The numbers show he should be getting more notoriety than that.
With approximately four weeks remaining in the regular season, Soroka has an outside shot to become the third Canadian to win a Cy Young Award, after Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins (1971) and former Dodgers closer Eric Gagné (2003). Soroka isn’t the top contender, at least not yet, but he has given himself a chance.
It was only a few weeks ago when Dodgers lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu seemed like a lock for the NL Cy. On Aug. 11, he led all qualified pitchers with a 1.45 ERA over 22 starts.
Since then, Ryu has allowed 18 runs over his last 14 2⁄3 innings, which caused his ERA to jump almost a full run to 2.35.
A couple of more outings like that and Ryu might pitch himself out of the race.
Nationals ace Max Scherzer and Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom remain in the thick of this showdown as well. Scherzer has struck out more batters than Soroka (200 vs. 113) and deGrom has pitched more innings (169 vs. 147 2⁄ ), but the 3 Canadian’s numbers hold up well with four or five starts remaining in the year.
Soroka entered Monday’s outing against the Blue Jays ranked second among all NL pitchers in WAR, his 5.3 trailing only Scherzer’s 5.5. Soroka’s 2.53 ERA is fourth in the majors, and unlike Ryu, his stock is trending in the right direction. He has worked into the seventh inning in five of his last seven starts, all of which involved three earned runs or fewer.
The most remarkable part of Soroka’s season has been his consistency. He’s not the type of power pitcher who generates a lot of talk across the game and yet he has allowed more than four runs just once this season. In 25 outings, Soroka recorded 17 quality starts, including a recent streak of six in a row.
Home runs are being hit at a record rate this year but that rarely seems to be a problem for the native of Calgary. Soroka uncharacteristically allowed two home runs Monday but, prior to that outing, his rate of 0.5 homers per nine innings led all major-league pitchers. So did his .311 opponents’ slugging percentage, while his .597 opponents’ OPS trailed only Houston’s Justin Verlander.
Soroka has a shot at completing the best season by a Canadian pitcher since Gagne led the majors with 55 saves while posting a 1.20 ERA in 2003. Considering the discrepancy in innings, Soroka’s season might rank higher. Eric Bedard, Ryan Dempster and others had some impressive years, but none quite matched Soroka’s current level.
All of this from a guy who turned 22 earlier this month. That’s just five months older than Bo Bichette and almost a full year younger than Toronto’s top pitching prospect, Nate Pearson. This has the potential to be the start of something special for a guy who has all the tools to be considered among the game’s best for years to come.
Soroka may yet enter the national discourse. If he starts inching closer to Ryu, Scherzer and possibly even deGrom in the race for the Cy, the attention should follow. If the Braves make a deep run into the post-season and Soroka is on the mound for a pivotal game, he should finally start getting the attention he deserves.
But there’s no reason people should be waiting that long to tune in. Soroka has an outside shot at doing something a Canadian hasn’t accomplished in 16 years. Soroka might not finish as the top vote-getter but he has been an integral part of a Braves team that is trying to lock down a division title. It’s about time people start giving the rookie right-hander his due.