As the baseball season sprints towards summer, the favorites for the Cy Young Award are starting to distance themselves from the field -- at least, that's the case in MLB.com's latest Cy Young Award poll.
Paul Skenes takes over the No. 1 spot in the National League from Yoshinobu Yamamoto in our updated rankings as Pittsburgh's dominant right-hander one-ups his impressive rookie campaign. Meanwhile, Tarik Skubal has strengthened his grip on the top spot in the American League.
MLB.com's team of experts picked the Cy Young winners in each league, based on the results to date and what they expect will happen the rest of the year. Pitchers received points on a 5-4-3-2-1 voting scale -- five points for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote, and so on, with 40 voters participating in the poll. Here are the results.
All stats below are through Sunday.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
1. Tarik Skubal, Tigers (37 first-place votes)
Skubal is the runaway vote-getter in the AL, widening his lead since our last poll in mid-May. The defending AL Cy Young Award winner is on an absolute tear, allowing just one run in his last 23 2/3 innings to lower his ERA to 2.16. Skubal leads all qualified AL starters with a 1.84 FIP and a gaudy 15-to-1 K/BB ratio -- double that of the next-closest pitcher. Not to mention, Skubal’s 3.4 fWAR leads all hurlers.
2. Max Fried, Yankees (2 first-place votes)
The only other AL pitcher to receive multiple first-place votes, Fried continues to live up to his eight-year, $218 million contract in the Bronx. The veteran left-hander is 8-1 with a 1.78 ERA that ranks fourth in the big leagues and has helped the Yankees succeed in spite of a deluge of pitching injuries. Fried has allowed one run or fewer in nine of his 13 starts, giving New York a great chance to win virtually every start.
3. Garrett Crochet, Red Sox
Another spot in the top five goes to a dominant left-hander, with Crochet pitching like the Red Sox envisioned when they acquired him in an offseason blockbuster. The 25-year-old leads all of baseball with 110 strikeouts, and he’s been a workhorse, too, leading the AL in innings (88) while fueling a Boston rotation that has otherwise struggled. Crochet’s 2.35 ERA would be a career best.
4. Hunter Brown, Astros
Brown continues to pitch like an ace for the Astros, taking a significant leap after a breakout campaign in ’24. He ranks fourth in the AL in ERA (1.82), third in opponents’ batting average (.187), and third in K% (31.1%), cementing himself as a Cy Young contender. Thanks in part to a velocity bump, Brown's four-seamer is nearly unhittable, holding the opposition to a .098 batting average.
5. Kris Bubic, Royals (1 first-place vote)
While the top four vote-getters remained the same from our previous poll, Bubic slides into the fifth-place spot on the heels of a spectacular May. Bubic, the reigning AL Pitcher of the Month, has allowed just three total runs in his last six starts, lowering his ERA to a microscopic 1.43 -- the best mark among qualified starters. The 27-year-old left-hander reinvented himself following early-career struggles, and the changes are paying off on the other side of Tommy John surgery.
Others receiving votes: Jacob deGrom (Rangers), Carlos Rodón (Yankees), Nathan Eovaldi (Rangers), Framber Valdez (Astros), Bryan Woo (Mariners), Cole Ragans (Royals)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
1. Paul Skenes, Pirates (32 first-place votes)
A shakeup in the NL vaults Skenes atop our latest poll. Buoyed by a wicked seven-pitch mix, Skenes looks even nastier than he did during his historic rookie season. After holding the Phillies to one run across 7 2/3 innings on Sunday, the right-hander has allowed one run or fewer in six consecutive starts, pitching into the eighth inning on three occasions. He leads qualified NL starters in WHIP (0.84) and batting average against (.173), while his ERA (1.88) trails only Kodai Senga (1.59).
2. Zack Wheeler, Phillies (two first-place votes)
Wheeler’s quest for his elusive first Cy Young Award continues, following a pair of second-place finishes in the last three seasons. Will this be the year he finally breaks through? In his age-35 season, Wheeler looks as dominant as ever: He’s striking out hitters at the highest clip of his career, with a 11.1 K/9 rate. Wheeler’s 0.92 WHIP and .190 batting average against would both be career-best marks.
3. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers (two first-place votes)
Yamamoto tumbled to third place after capturing 22 first-place votes in our initial poll. But that slide has little to do with his own performance as he continues to build upon a promising -- albeit injury-riddled -- rookie season. After six brilliant innings against the Cardinals on Saturday, Yamamoto ranks inside the top 10 among qualified starters with a 2.20 ERA, 10.51 K/9 rate, and .186 batting average against. His splitter is one of baseball’s premier weapons, running a 43.3% whiff rate while holding the opposition to a .121 batting average.
4. Logan Webb, Giants (two first-place votes)
Quietly, Webb continues to flourish: He dominated the Braves to the tune of 10 strikeouts in six innings of two-run ball on Saturday, his fourth double-digit strikeout game of the season. That's tied for the most starts with at least 10 strikeouts in the Majors; notably, Webb did not have a single start with double-digit strikeouts in ‘24. Overall, his 2.12 FIP is the lowest among qualified NL starters, and his 2.8 fWAR trails only Skubal and Skenes.
5. MacKenzie Gore, Nationals
In his age-26 season, Gore has emerged as baseball’s premier strikeout artist: The left-hander has 108 strikeouts in just 75 1/3 innings, good for a league-best 12.9 K/9 rate. But as Gore blossoms into a bona fide ace, his evolution isn’t just about racking up strikeouts. His ERA (2.87), FIP (2.50), and WHIP (1.14) would each be a career-low by a healthy margin.
Others receiving votes: Robbie Ray (Giants; 1 1st-place vote), Kodai Senga (Mets; 1 1st-place vote), Chris Sale (Braves), Andrew Abbott (Reds), Jesús Luzardo (Phillies), David Peterson (Mets), Robert Suarez (Padres), Spencer Schwellenbach (Braves)