Braves’ offseason recruit emerging as dark horse potential for Cy Young

The Atlanta Braves finally broke their five-game losing run on Thursday with a much-needed 6-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

While the offense finally came alive after scoring only two runs in the first two games of the series, Atlanta’s starting pitching, spearheaded by righty Reynaldo Lopez, helped propel the team to victory. Lopez earned his fourth win of the season after pitching six great innings, allowing only two hits, one walk, and striking out eight Orioles. His ERA is now an MLB-best 1.69 as he continues to lead the Braves rotation, which lost ace Spencer Strider for the season in April.

Especially after his latest gem against a powerful Baltimore lineup, Reynaldo Lopez is emerging as a dark horse Cy Young Award candidate in the National League.

After today's performance, Reynaldo Lopez has lowered is ERA to an MLB best 1.69 👏 pic.twitter.com/bJ3KWJNVGW

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 13, 2024

Reynaldo Lopez Becoming a Dark Horse Cy Young Candidate

Lopez has been everything the Braves hoped for since signing him to a three-year, $26 million deal in November. The offseason signing was actually competing for the fifth slot in the Braves rotation, which Atlanta handed him back in spring training.

He hasn’t looked back since. While his 4-2 record isn’t impressive at this point in the season, he has been pitching quite effectively, particularly in his last six starts. He lasted at least six innings in five of those starts and surrendered a total of seven runs. Lopez has had a losing record his entire career, so this has been a significant reversal for him. If he keeps pitching this way, his career numbers will start to trend in a more positive direction.

Durable and Consistent

In addition to his outstanding performances in his previous few starts, Lopez has been durable and steady throughout the season. Lopez’s shortest appearance has been 4 2/3 innings, and he has gone six innings or more in eight of his 12 starts to date. He allowed no more than two earned runs in a single game. He’s been deceptively good, to say the least.

Lopez appears to have been ignored this year in a rotation known for aces such as Strider, Max Fried, and newcomer Chris Sale. Now, following this recent excellent performance by the right-hander, it is time to consider him for one of the league’s most important accolades. Even though it’s only June and there’s still a lot of baseball to be played, Reynaldo Lopez is a dark horse candidate for the Cy Young award.