The Majors’ most prestigious honor in celebration of pitching dominance, the Cy Young Award, is being handed out to the best hurlers in the National and American Leagues. Tune in to MLB Network at 7 p.m. ET as this year’s winners are announced.
Three finalists in each league were announced on Nov. 3: Hunter Brown (Astros), Garrett Crochet (Red Sox) and Tarik Skubal (Tigers) in the AL, and Cristopher Sánchez (Phillies), Paul Skenes (Pirates) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers) in the NL.
Here’s the schedule for the 2025 Baseball Writers’ Association of America awards set to be announced this week on MLB Network (7 p.m. ET each day):
Read below for more on each Cy Young Award finalist:
Hunter Brown, RHP, Astros
Brown, 27, had the best season of his career and was the anchor of the Houston pitching staff. He made 31 starts and was 12-9 with a 2.43 ERA and a career-low WHIP of 1.03. He struck out a career-high 206 batters in 185 1/3 innings and allowed only 133 hits. He had eight starts in which he didn’t allow an earned run.
Garrett Crochet, LHP, Red Sox
One of the top abilities for a true ace is availability, and Crochet took pride in leading the AL with 205 1/3 innings in his first season in Boston. Crochet also set the pace in the AL with an 11.18 K/9 and led MLB with 255 K’s. The big lefty was among the league leaders in several other key categories, including WHIP (fifth) and opponents average (eighth). Only Skubal had a better K/BB ratio than Crochet’s 5.54.
Tarik Skubal, LHP, Tigers
Skubal didn’t win the pitching Triple Crown this year, but in some areas he actually outperformed his Cy Young campaign from last season. His 6.5 bWAR topped last year (6.4), and outpaced fellow finalists Crochet (6.3) and Brown (6.1). Skubal’s 2.21 ERA was nearly a quarter of a run better than second-place Brown (2.43). His 2.45 FIP far outpaced second-place Crochet (2.89). His 7.3 strikeout-to-walk ratio was nearly two better than Crochet at 5.54.
Cristopher Sánchez, LHP, Phillies
Sánchez, who has developed into one of the game’s best pitchers, went 13-5 with a 2.50 ERA in 32 starts this season. He struck out a career-high 212 and walked 44 in a career-high 202 innings. He led MLB with 8.0 bWAR. He finished second in the NL with 6.4 fWAR.
Paul Skenes, RHP, Pirates
Skenes’ 1.97 ERA was more than half a run lower than his closest competition in the NL. His 0.95 WHIP was the best in the League, as was his FIP (2.36), ERA+ (217), home runs allowed per nine innings (0.5) and Win Probability Added (5.1). His 216 strikeouts were the most ever for a Pirates right-hander and tied for the second-most in the NL, and he finished in the top five in the Senior Circuit in hits per nine innings, walks per nine innings and innings pitched. It’s a cocktail of some of the best analytical and old school stats that paints a picture of perhaps the most dominant pitcher in baseball.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, RHP, Dodgers
Yamamoto’s 2.49 ERA ranked second to only Skenes in the NL. Yamamoto led qualified Major Leaguers with a .183 opponent batting average and reached the 200-strikeout mark for the first time as a big leaguer. Statistics don’t paint the full picture of his value to the Dodgers, whose rotation was ravaged by injuries early on. The only member of the rotation who didn’t miss a start, Yamamoto stepped up as the staff ace.
