Padres: Dinelson Lamet is in thick of NL Cy Young Race

After a brilliant start on a big stage for the San Diego Padres Monday night, Dinelson Lamet is right back in the running for the NL Cy Young award.

It could be a busy awards season for the San Diego Padres with strong candidates for the MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, and Comeback Player of the Year.

You could possibly even through Jayce Tingler in there for the Manager of the Year; although some Padres fans might not agree with that notion.

If you follow college football at all then you know that every Heisman hopeful is looking to have that signature moment in the season that sets them apart.

Monday night certainly could have bene that moment for Dinelson Lamet.

In perhaps the biggest regular-season game of the year for the Padres, Lamet was absolutely brilliant on the mound against their NL rival in the Los Angeles Dodgers and their potent lineup.

He allowed just 1 earned run on 3 hits and 2 walks over 7 innings with 11 strikeouts.

And while the final score ended up being somewhat lopsided, it was 1-1 game when he left after the top of the seventh.

He had gone toe-to-toe with Clayton Kershaw, who was vintage Clayton Kershaw on Monday night, and took him down.

If that isn’t a signature moment, I don’t know what is.

Padres — But is it good enough to win the Cy Young

If you go by the numbers, right now Lamet is fifth in the NL in WAR at 2.0, but Jacob deGrom isn’t that far in front at 2.3.

He’s sixth in ERA, eighth in xFIP, sixth in K/9, fourth in innings pitched, and third in strikeouts.

Despite how great he has been for the Padres this year, he hasn’t really been the best in any one category.

This award is probably still deGrom’s to lose with two weeks left. But the margin is close enough that Lamet could overtake him in his last two starts, especially since he and the Padres are in a postseason race and the Mets aren’t.

Trevor Bauer and Yu Darvish remain in the mix as well.

Lamet might not have the numbers or notoriety to win it this year, but he’s certainly establishing himself as one of the best starting pitchers in the game. I’d love to see him at least finish in the top three.