With less than a month to go in the 2025 MLB season, the Cy Young races in each league appear all but decided. Though there are many pitchers in the discussion for the award in the AL and NL, the latest MLB.com poll shows two names have emerged as the strong favorites.
The race in the NL became less volatile after the season-ending injury to Phillies ace Zack Wheeler, and now appears likely to be a landslide. The AL race also appears to be a runaway, even though the stats would seem to indicate a tighter campaign.
In the new poll, 35 MLB.com experts cast ballots for who they think will end up taking the prize in each league. The votes were based on performances to date, as well as how things are expected to shake out between now and the end of the season.
Voters were asked to rank their top five picks in each league. Pitchers received vote points on a 5-4-3-2-1 scale — five points for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote and so on. Here are the results.
All stats are through Monday.
Skubal seems all but guaranteed to win his second straight AL Cy Young Award. For good reason, too. Through Monday, the lefty was 12-4 with an AL-best 2.18 ERA and 11.2 K/9 ratio, and an MLB-best 216 strikeouts. He also led all AL pitchers with a 6.2 bWAR and his 0.87 WHIP was the best in the bigs. These numbers are also why he’s in the running for a second straight pitching Triple Crown (leading in wins, ERA and strikeouts), and why he did so well in this vote. But the race is still notable because of a certain lefty in Boston.
Crochet is close to Skubal in overall stats, but an overwhelming majority of voters still sees Skubal as the favorite. Crochet is 14-5 on the season with 218 strikeouts, and his 11.0 K/9 ratio is a shade under Skubal’s. Crochet’s pitching Triple Crown shot took a hit when his ERA jumped from 2.40 to 2.67 after Tuesday’s start against the Guardians. Though they’re separated by small margins in some important categories, Crochet’s margin for error is very slim.
Brown has been nearly as stingy when it comes to allowing runs as Skubal and Crochet. His 2.34 ERA entering Tuesday was second-best in the AL behind Skubal, while his 182 strikeouts ranked third behind Skubal and Crochet. Meanwhile, his 1.01 WHIP was fifth-best in the AL and his .199 opponents’ average was fourth-best. It’s pretty easy to see why he’s consistently performed well in these polls.
After a strong 2024 season, Woo has continued to establish himself as one of the top pitchers in the AL. Though August, the All-Star righty was 12-7 with a 2.95 ERA, which ranked fifth-best in the league. Meanwhile, his 0.95 WHIP was third-lowest in the AL. Woo has also been durable. He’s averaged 6.33 innings per start, which ranked as the sixth-best mark in the Majors entering Tuesday.
This continues to be somewhat of a throwback season for deGrom. After several seasons of injuries and limited playing time, he’s been mostly healthy and has put up some of the best numbers among the starters in his league. Entering Tuesday, his 0.92 WHIP and .194 average against both ranked second in the AL, while 2.69 ERA was fourth-best in the league. Meanwhile, his 161 strikeouts ranked ninth.
Others receiving votes: Framber Valdez (Astros), Max Fried (Yankees), Carlos Rodón (Yankees), Aroldis Chapman (Red Sox), Joe Ryan (Twins), Nathan Eovaldi (Rangers), Trevor Rogers (Orioles)
Skenes remains the favorite here, but with Wheeler’s season-ending thoracic outlet surgery, the Pirates righty now appears to have a commanding lead in the race after the two traded places in these polls for much of the season. But there’s no doubt that Skenes is deserving. His 2.05 ERA entering Tuesday was easily the best in the NL, while his 187 strikeouts were tied for third. And his 0.95 WHIP ranked as second-lowest by one one-hundredth of a point. He continues to be dominant.
Speaking of dominant, Sánchez falls into that category, too. His 2.66 ERA ranked fourth-best in the NL entering Tuesday, while his 181 strikeouts ranked sixth. Meanwhile, his 169 1/3 innings pitched were second-most in the league. He’s held opponents to three earned runs or fewer in 24 of his 27 starts, and allowed one or zero runs in 13 of those games.
Peralta is a big reason why the Brewers built a commanding lead in the NL Central during August. He went 4-0 in the month with a 0.32 ERA and struck out 34 batters in 28 innings. His 16 wins are the most in baseball, while his 2.58 ERA ranked second in the NL entering Tuesday. Opponents are hitting .192 against him, which is the second-best mark in the NL and the third-best mark in MLB.
Another Cy Young poll, another Logan Webb appearance. It’s like clockwork. The Giants’ ace has pitched more innings than anyone else (172 2/3 entering Tuesday). He’s faced 716 batters and he’s struck out 187 of them, which is tied for the third-highest total in the NL. Meanwhile, he ranks third in wins (12), ninth in ERA (3.16) and 10th in WHIP (1.21).
Yamamoto has been one of the most effective pitchers in baseball all season, though he’s done so in surprisingly quiet fashion. Entering Tuesday, he ranked in the NL’s top 10 in WHIP (1.05, fourth), opponents’ average (.199, fifth), ERA (2.82, sixth), wins (11, ninth) and strikeouts (167, 10th). He’s also had nine starts in which he went at least five innings and allowed no earned runs.
Others receiving votes: Nick Pivetta (Padres), Zack Wheeler (Phillies), Matthew Boyd (Cubs), Andrew Abbott (Reds), Ranger Suárez (Phillies), Edwin Díaz (Mets), Jesús Luzardo (Phillies), Adrian Morejon (Padres)
