As the Major League Baseball season moves into August, the race for the Cy Young Award in both leagues is taking shape. In the National League, Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates has moved into first place according to a recent poll by MLB.com. Skenes, who leads all qualified starters with a 2.02 ERA and holds opponents to a .187 batting average, received 26 first-place votes from a panel of 32 experts.
Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies remains close behind Skenes in the NL race. Wheeler, now in his age-35 season, continues to be one of baseball’s top strikeout pitchers, leading all pitchers with 182 strikeouts and posting an 11.73 K/9 ratio. His ERA stands at 2.64 and his WHIP is tied with Skenes at 0.92 among qualified NL starters.
Cristopher Sánchez, also of the Phillies, has entered the Cy Young conversation as well. Sánchez owns a 2.40 ERA—fifth best in MLB—and is noted for his strong changeup and high ground ball rate. Since June 19, he is the only pitcher in baseball to have completed eight innings in three separate starts.
In addition to Wheeler and Sánchez representing Philadelphia among the NL leaders, other notable pitchers receiving votes include Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers), Logan Webb (Giants), Matthew Boyd (Cubs), Nick Pivetta (Padres), Freddy Peralta (Brewers), Robbie Ray (Giants), Edwin Díaz (Mets), Andrew Abbott (Reds), and MacKenzie Gore (Nationals).
The American League race is led by Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers, who received all 32 first-place votes. Skubal leads qualified AL starters in WHIP (0.83) and fWAR (5.7) while pacing the league in ERA (2.18) and strikeouts (181). Other AL contenders include Garrett Crochet (Red Sox), Hunter Brown (Astros), Jacob deGrom (Rangers), and Max Fried (Yankees).
MLB.com’s expert panel used a points system for voting: five points for a first-place vote down to one point for fifth place.
“Skubal seems to be zeroing in on his second consecutive AL Cy Young Award, pitching even better in 2025 than he did in ’24,” according to MLB.com.
“Wheeler may have ceded the top spot in the NL, but he’s still very much in the running for his elusive first Cy Young Award,” stated MLB.com about Zack Wheeler’s performance this season.
The poll reflects performances through Monday and offers insight into how experts view the remainder of each pitcher’s season as teams continue their push toward October.
