There's only a month left in the regular season, and it's make-or-break time in the Cy Young races -- especially in the American League, where Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet are battling it out.
Does Crochet have what it takes to dethrone Skubal? Our Starting Pitcher Power Rankings still see the Tigers ace as the favorite -- but a lot could change in September.
As always, these rankings are based on a formula constructed by MLB.com’s data team, which considers performance over the past 365 days but places greater weight on season-long and especially recent performance.
Here are the latest Starting Pitcher Power Rankings.
1. Tarik Skubal, Tigers (Previously: 1)
Make that seven rankings in a row in the No. 1 spot for Skubal. He's going for his second straight AL Cy Young Award, and right now Skubal leads Crochet in two key categories: ERA (2.28) and strikeouts (212). He leads the AL in ERA, and the Majors in K's. He has three double-digit strikeout games this month and six in his last 10 starts. Skubal gave up an untimely grand slam in his most recent start, but he actually lowered his ERA, since those runs were unearned, and the 12 K's he racked up leapfrogged him over Crochet.
2. Paul Skenes, Pirates (4)
Skenes is a huge favorite for the NL Cy Young Award now that Zack Wheeler is out for the rest of the season. He leads the Majors with a 2.07 ERA and has six scoreless starts in his last 10 games going back to the start of July. Skenes also has 181 strikeouts in 161 innings, putting him on track for his first 200-K season.
3. Garrett Crochet, Red Sox (3)
The Cy Young race between Crochet and Skubal is one of the closest award races to watch. Crochet is 14-5 with a 2.38 ERA and 207 strikeouts, which gives him a shot at a Triple Crown -- if he can catch Skubal in the latter two categories down the stretch. Crochet just dominated the rival Yankees in his last start, throwing seven innings of one-run, 11-strikeout baseball.
4. Nick Pivetta, Padres (6)
The Padres' unsung ace keeps chugging along. Pivetta is now 13-4 with a 2.82 ERA and 161 strikeouts this season. He has eight quality starts in his 10 games, tied with Cristopher Sánchez for the most of any National League pitcher since the start of July. In nine Major League seasons, this is Pivetta's first time with an ERA under four.
5. Hunter Brown, Astros (Not ranked)
Brown ranks second in the AL in ERA, with his 2.37 mark putting him right between Skubal and Crochet. He's also third in strikeouts with 177, behind only the two Cy Young frontrunners. Brown is about to set a career high in K's, and he has a chance to reach 200.
6. Jacob deGrom, Rangers (Not ranked)
A healthy deGrom is good for baseball, and the two-time Cy Young Award winner has now made 25 starts in a season for the first time since 2019, when he won the second of those Cy Youngs. The 37-year-old probably won't win this year, but he's a top five candidate in the AL -- deGrom is 10-6 with a 2.79 ERA and 155 strikeouts.
7. Trevor Rogers, Orioles (5)
Rogers' out-of-nowhere run continues. The southpaw is now 7-2 with a 1.40 ERA and 76 strikeouts since joining the Baltimore rotation. Rogers has gone at least seven innings and allowed one run or fewer in five of his last six starts. He has 11 quality starts in his 13 games.
8. Cristopher Sánchez, Phillies (2)
With Wheeler out, it'll be up to Sánchez to carry a lot of the weight for the Phillies' rotation in the playoff push. The lefty is one of the top NL Cy Young candidates behind Skenes, with an 11-5 record, 2.66 ERA and 173 K's for the first-place Phils.
9. Bryan Woo, Mariners (7)
Woo very nearly made it to the final month of the season with his streak of six-inning starts intact, but it ended at 25 games on Wednesday when he was chased by the Padres with two outs in the sixth. Still, that's five more starts of six-plus innings than any other pitcher (Logan Webb has 20). And they're not just starts, they're good starts -- Woo has a 2.90 ERA and 166 K's.
10. Freddy Peralta, Brewers (Not ranked)
Peralta has been a big part of the Brewers' surge to the best record in baseball. He's 10-1 in his last 13 starts, which has brought him up to an MLB-leading 15 wins on the season. Peralta also has a 2.68 ERA, which is currently a career best, and 160 strikeouts.
Honorable mentions: Drew Rasmussen (Rays), Cade Horton (Cubs), Shota Imanaga (Cubs), Logan Webb (Giants), Cam Schlittler (Yankees), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers), Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers), Hurston Waldrep (Braves), Brady Singer (Reds), Edward Cabrera (Marlins)