With the Major League Baseball regular season nearing its end, attention is turning to the Cy Young Award races. In the American League, Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers and Garrett Crochet of the Boston Red Sox are in a close contest for the honor. MLB.com’s latest Starting Pitcher Power Rankings continue to list Skubal as the frontrunner, citing his strong performance over both the season and recent games.
Skubal has now held the top spot in these rankings for seven consecutive cycles. He leads the American League with a 2.28 ERA and tops all pitchers in strikeouts with 212. Despite giving up a grand slam in his most recent start, those runs were unearned, allowing him to lower his ERA while increasing his strikeout total to surpass Crochet.
Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates has emerged as a leading candidate for the National League Cy Young Award after Zack Wheeler was sidelined for the rest of the season. Skenes currently holds a league-best 2.07 ERA and has tallied 181 strikeouts across 161 innings.
Garrett Crochet remains third in these rankings and continues to challenge Skubal with a record of 14-5, a 2.38 ERA, and 207 strikeouts. His latest outing included seven innings pitched against the New York Yankees, where he allowed just one run and struck out 11 batters.
Nick Pivetta from the San Diego Padres is ranked fourth. He holds a 13-4 record with a 2.82 ERA this season and has eight quality starts in his last ten games—tied for most among National League pitchers since July.
Houston Astros’ Hunter Brown debuts at fifth place, posting a 2.37 ERA—second best in the AL—and ranking third in strikeouts with 177.
Other notable entries include Jacob deGrom (Rangers), Trevor Rogers (Orioles), Cristopher Sánchez (Phillies), Bryan Woo (Mariners), and Freddy Peralta (Brewers). Sánchez is now expected to take on more responsibility for Philadelphia’s rotation following Wheeler’s absence; he maintains an 11-5 record with a 2.66 ERA and 173 strikeouts as Philadelphia leads their division.
The full list also acknowledges honorable mentions such as 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), and Edward Cabrera (Marlins).
“With Wheeler out, it’ll be up to Sánchez to carry a lot of the weight for the Phillies’ rotation in the playoff push,” according to MLB.com’s analysis.
As teams approach September, performances during this final stretch will likely determine award outcomes for several pitchers across both leagues.
