Mike Soroka is quietly having an elite season for the Atlanta Braves, and one of his teammates thinks that he should be recognized as such.
Speaking with reporters on Sunday after Soroka pitched seven shutout innings in a 4-1 win over the San Diego Padres, Braves slugger Freddie Freeman was asked about the 21-year-old’s candidacy for NL Rookie of the Year.
“Who cares about the Rookie of the Year? I think he’s right in it for Cy Young,” Freeman replied, per David O’Brien of The Athletic. “10-1 with a 2 [ERA], what else do you have to do? He’s pretty special. For him to only be 21 and doing that, that’s what makes it even more special.”
While this could just be a case of teammates hyping each other up, Soroka’s numbers don’t lie. Sunday’s gem improved him to 10-1 on the season with a sparkling 2.24 ERA and 82 strikeouts through 16 starts. The right-hander was also named to this year’s NL All-Star team.
Soroka does have some rather formidable competition for Cy Young honors in the NL, particularly, Los Angeles Dodgers star Hyun-Jin Ryu and Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer. But when you consider that Soroka is right in the conversation as a rookie (in an excellent first-year class no less), it makes for quite an impressive year that he is having.
