The start to baseball season is right around the corner as Spring Training is underway and we are getting a first-hand look at what each team is rolling out.
I am personally excited to see Paul Skenes pitch and have a little more run support this season, in addition to seeing who can contend and potentially knock him off as he attempts to win back-to-back Cy Young awards. Last year, Skenes was a runaway selection, but this year, there is more competition behind him. Let’s take a look at the top five options to win Cy Young in 2026. All odds courtesy of DraftKings.
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National League Cy Young Rankings
1. Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates (+225)
Paul Skenes is the rightful favorite to win the NL Cy Young after winning his first award last season. Skenes posted a 1.96 ERA and 1.97 ERA in his first two seasons to become arguably the most dominant pitcher in all of baseball. The struggle for Skenes has been recording wins as he barely gets run support from the Pirates’ offense.
Skenes posted a 10-10 record last year after a 11-3 record as a rookie. His WAR improved from 5.9 to 7.6 and he totaled back-to-back seasons of a 0.95 WHIP. Skenes’ baseball savant page is nothing but red as he is in the top percentile for almost every pitching statistic, including the 97th percentile for pitching run value (100th), fastball run value (99th), offspeed run value (98th), and xERA (97th).
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The Buccos brought in four new bats this season after Skenes made comments about the need to sign some offense in the offseason. Marcell Ozuna, Brandon Lowe, Ryan O’Hearn, and Jake Mangum are the new hitters, which may not seem like much to Dodgers or Yankees fans since they spend money freely every year, but it could be quite the difference for Skenes and the Pirates. If Skenes repeats a sub-.200 ERA, it will be hard to knock him off as a repeat winner, even if he has more losses than wins or another 10-10 record. At 23-years-old, Skenes is just getting started.
2. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers (+500)
Yoshinobu Yamamoto won a World Series MVP last season and the cat is out of the bag. Yamamoto is no longer a Cy Young sleeper, he is now a Cy Young favorite. Yamamoto will be a contender for this award the next five seasons or so as long as he stays healthy.
The 27-year-old had a fantastic regular season in his sophomore year with a 2.49 ERA and a 12-8 record in 30 starts. The 5-foot-10 RHP cracked 200 strikeouts and had a WHIP of 0.99, and a WAR of 5.0.
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Prior to joining the Dodgers, Yamamoto was the best pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball. Yamamoto won three MVP’s and three Eiji Sawamura Awards, which is their version of the Cy Young. Dodgers’ Manager Dave Roberts was quoted as saying Yamamoto wants to win a Cy Young and it’s one of his goals and if you’ve watched any of Yamamoto the past two years — it’s clear he will be the biggest competition to edging out Paul Skenes.
3. Hunter Greene, Cincinnati Reds (+1400)
Hunter Greene‘s 2025 season was cut short due to a groin injury, so his value might be impacted slightly, but there is no doubt that when healthy, he is one of the best pitchers not only the NL, but all of baseball.
Greene was on pace to set career-highs in strikeouts, WHIP, earned runs, and innings pitched before his season was cut short. Greene finished with an impressive 2.76 ERA, 132 strikeouts to 35 walks, and a. 0.94 WHIP over 19 games and 107.2 innings (7-4 record). Greene has yet to pitch more than 26 games in his four-year career, likely due to how hard he throws, but I am optimistic this is the year he posts a career-high in games started and basically every pitching statistic across the board.
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When you look at Greene’s baseball savant page, you’ll notice that everything that has to do with the fastball is the 94th percentile or better. His chase, whiff, K% and BB% are all 82nd or better as he continues to dominate hitters with his four-seam fastball and slider. One could only assume at 26-years-old, Greene will improve and throw his name in contention for Cy Young. Green and youngster Chase Burns figure to be one of the most exciting pitching duos in baseball as they both have flamethrowers for an arm.
Below are the odds for DraftKings with Skenes leading the pack, Yamamoto right behind and Greene sitting in fourth.
National League Cy Young Odds on DraftKings
4. Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves (+1400)
Chris Sale‘s 2025 season was cut short to only 21 games after a monster 2024 debut season with Atlanta where he won the NL Cy Young over Paul Skenes. Sale went from 18 wins and 3 losses in 2024 to 7 wins and 5 losses in 2025, but the Braves were not the same machine as the year prior.
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This season, Atlanta figures to be much improved, they get a healthy Ronald Acuna Jr. and Sale back, plus a few more pieces that has Atlanta marked as the close favorite threat to win the NL East. The Braves are +190 to win the NL East, while the Mets are +165 and the Phillies are +180, so not much is separating them. If Sale returns to that 2024 form and Atlanta wins the NL East, well Sale figures to be a top three contender for the award, which makes me give him the edge over the Phillies’ Cristopher Sanchez (+1000) or Zack Wheeler (+2000), the Giants’ Logan Webb (+2000), or the Dodgers’ Blake Snell (+1800).
As he approaches 37-years-old to start the season in a contract year, Sale is running out of time to win another Cy Young. He was quoted as saying he wants to retire as an Atlanta Brave, but that’s not going to be this season or the next. If Sale pitches at a high level this year, he could earn himself a $40 or $50 million dollar bag over the next two years, so I wouldn’t count Sale out for this award.
5. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers (+3000)
Last year, Shohei Ohtani won his fourth MVP in five seasons, but has never won a Cy Young or come close. Ohtani only pitched in 14 games and 47.0 innings last season as he was returning from major elbow surgery. This year, the Dodgers see a difference in Ohtani as he prepares to be in the regular rotation.
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“To see him face hitters, kind of start his buildup — he’s certainly way ahead of where he was last year on the pitching side. That’s a good thing,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But I just really don’t worry too much about his buildup and preparation.”
Ohtani was limited in almost every start last season and this year that obviously won’t be the case. He will be pitching and hitting for Samurai Japan in the World Baseball Classic later this month, so we will witness how far along he is right before the MLB season starts.
For +3000 odds or better, Ohtani could be worth a lunch money bet as I like to say. If he has his best pitching season and still hitting bombs, then Ohtani will likely take home his fifth MVP in six seasons. I question whether Ohtani will take home a Cy Young in his career, but this season or next could year would be it, in my opinion, at 31-years-old, he doesn’t have much more time to throw and hit on a daily/weekly basis.
MLB Futures Card
3 units: Pittsburgh Pirates Over 76.5 Wins (-115)
1 unit: Pittsburgh Pirates to win NL Central (+800)
1 unit: Paul Skenes to win NL CY Young (+250)
1 unit: Garrett Crochet to win AL CY Young (+425)
0.5 unit: Konnor Griffin to win NL Rookie of the Year (+600)
0.5 unit: Bubba Chandler to win NL Rookie of the Year (+1200)
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