LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 12: Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws a pitch against the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium on May 12, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Kershaw threw a complete game shutout with 13 strikeouts as the Dodgers won 5-0. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

With Jake Arrieta’s historically amazing run over the last year, and Noah Syndergaard’s emergence as a starting pitcher unlike anything we’ve ever seen, it seems Clayton Kershaw’s been — at least slightly — forgotten when talking amazing pitchers.

Which is pretty unfair to Kershaw, given that he’s been the best pitcher in baseball over the last several years, and you could make a great argument he’s still the best pitcher in the game right now (you really wouldn’t be “wrong” if you argued either Kershaw or Arrieta at the moment).

And Kershaw provided a great reminder of that on Thursday night, with a complete game shutout over the New York Mets. The left-hander allowed just three hits, one walk, and struck out 13.

How crazy are Kershaw’s numbers right now? The 13 strikeouts and one walk actually worsened his strikeout-to-walk ratio:

Kershaw has struck out 77 batters on the season, and walked just four. That’s good for a 19.25 K/BB rate (!).

Kershaw also has a 1.74 ERA, a 1.47 FIP, and a 3.0 WAR per Fangraphs. So, using Fangraphs’ WAR (fWAR), he has been worth three wins over replacement level, in just eight starts. No other starter has been worth at least 2-fWAR this season, and only 32 pitchers were worth at least 3-fWAR over a full season last year (Kershaw led with 8.6).

And Kershaw’s numbers over the past calendar year are every bit as insane:

Some more eye-opening Kershaw tidbits:

Kershaw has won three Cy Young awards — finishing second last year only because of Arrieta’s unheard of second half — and is off to quite a fantastic start in his hopes for a fourth. And he’s usually been a slow starter (aside from 2012 and 2013), before turning it on as the year goes on: 

That is a scary, scary thought for National League hitters.

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.