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Phillies’ Aaron Nola named N.L. Cy Young award finalist

The 25-year-old righthander is joined by two other N.L. East pitchers.

Aaron Nola was the Phillies' opening day starter.
Aaron Nola was the Phillies' opening day starter.Read moreSTEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer

It's official: Aaron Nola was one of the top three pitchers in the National League this season.

After turning in the best year of his brief career, the Phillies ace was named Monday as a finalist for the NL Cy Young award, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced. The designation means that Nola is one of the three top vote-getters for the award for the league's best pitcher. He's joined by the aces of two division rivals — the Mets' Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer of the Nationals.

The 25-year-old righthander was the Phillies' opening-day starter and finished with a 2.37 ERA. He eclipsed the 200-inning mark for the first time in his career.

Cy Young winners for both leagues will be announced on Nov. 14 at 6 p.m.

Nola is the first homegrown Phillies pitcher ever to have a top-three Cy Young finish. He will be the first Phillies pitcher to finish in the top three in a Cy Young balloting since Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee were second and third, respectively, in 2011. Halladay was the Phillies' last Cy Young winner in 2010.

Nola was also the Phillies' only finalist for any of the end-of-the-year awards. The Indians' Corey Kluber, Blake Snell of the Rays and the Astros' Justin Verlander are the American League Cy Young finalists.

The Rockies' Bud Black, the Brewers' Craig Counsell and the Braves' Brian Snitker are the NL nominees for manager of the year. In the AL, the Rays' Kevin Cash, the Red Sox's Alex Cora and the Athletics' Bob Melvin were the top vote-getters.

Finalists for the MVP awards include the Nolan Arenado (Rockies), Javier Baez (Cubs) and Christian Yelich (Brewers) in the NL, and Mookie Betts (Red Sox), Jose Ramirez (Indians) and Mike Trout (Angels) in the AL.