We're nearly three-quarters of the way through the MLB season, and not only are the various division battles around the league heating up, so too are the postseason awards races. Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh are neck-and-neck in the race for the American League MVP, while in the National League, Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Schwarber and Pete Crow-Armstrong all have strong cases, too.
Last year's Cy Young races weren't particularly close, as Tarik Skubal and Chris Sale both pulled off the rare feat of winning their respective league's Triple Crown by finishing first in wins, ERA and strikeouts. Skubal was a unanimous Cy Young choice in the AL, while Sale took 26 out of 30 first-place votes to easily beat Zack Wheeler in the National League.
This year's races are looking much tighter, especially in the AL. Eight starters currently sport an ERA under 3.00, and that's to say nothing of relievers like Aroldis Chapman, Josh Hader and Andres Munoz, all of whom are having terrific seasons of their own. With less than two months to go until the end of the regular season, let's check in on where the AL Cy Young race stands.
1. Tarik Skubal
Skubal is again the favorite, because by pretty much all metrics, he's actually been even better than he was last year. He's walking less than one batter per start, his strikeouts per nine are up, and he's lowered last season's 2.39 ERA down to a 2.18. He also leads the majors with a ridiculous .832 WHIP.
The Tigers own a six-game lead over the Guardians in the AL Central, the largest margin between the top two teams of any division. Detroit has gotten huge contributions from Riley Greene, Gleyber Torres, Spencer Torkelson and Zach Mckinstry, but nobody has been more instrumental to the Tigers' success than Skubal. Though he doesn't get the same amount of coverage as NL Cy Young favorite Paul Skenes, Skubal is still the standard for what an ace should be.
2. Garrett Crochet
The Red Sox have been red-hot since trading away Rafael Devers on June 15. The team's young core has led the way, and as a result, top rookie Roman Anthony was rewarded today with an eight-year, $130 million extension. Even when the Sox were struggling to find their way earlier in the year though, Garrett Crochet was outstanding.
Boston acquired Crochet from the White Sox in December, and he's proven himself to be the best pickup of the offseason. Some people around the league were concerned about whether he'd be able to hold up after becoming a starter for the first time last year, but he's put those concerns to rest while leading the majors in innings pitched and strikeouts.
Skenes and Skubal are the only two starters with a better ERA than Crochet. Nobody has more wins. His stats would be more than good enough to take home the Cy Young in most years, but against Skubal, he's still a slight underdog.
3. Nathan Eovaldi
As Lil Wayne once said, "real G's move in silence like lasagna." So it goes with Nathan Eovaldi, who has been the best pitcher in baseball when he's been able to take the mound but doesn't get any of the fanfare that his peers do. Availability has been the rub with his Cy Young case, as he's currently just below the minimum innings threshold to be eligible for the award.
Eovaldi missed most of June with triceps inflammation, and he was scratched from a start in late July that would have given him the chance to beat Skubal head-to-head. Despite his absences, he's putting up career-best stats that are as good or better than anyone else in the league. His ERA is 1.38. His .838 WHIP is just behind Skubal's .832.
Eovaldi has allowed more than one earned run just once since April 19. In that time, he's held opposing teams scoreless eight times. His eight-inning, one-hit gem against the Yankees on Tuesday is a sign that he's in this race to win it. If he can avoid any injury setbacks, he could shock the world.
4. Hunter Brown
Speaking of under-the-radar guys, Hunter Brown is quietly putting together a heck of a season. Among qualified American League pitchers, he's currently third in ERA, fourth in strikeouts and he's one of only five AL starters with a WHIP under 1.00.
Brown has improved every year he's been in the big leagues, but I'm not sure anyone saw a season like this coming. He's lowered his ERA by more than a full run, and along with Framber Valdez, he's given the Astros arguably the best 1-2 starter punch in baseball. He's also overcome a rough three-start stretch in mid-July to post consecutive one-run efforts.
Brown's fastball velocity is the highest of his career, and per Statcast, he throws his slider harder than any starter in baseball. Other than Crochet, he's the youngest guy on this list at 26 years old, so he's only going to keep getting better.
5. Joe Ryan
We lost a lot of good men in the Great Twins Trade Deadline Purge of 2025, but Joe Ryan wasn't one of them. Along with Byron Buxton, he's the only Twin of note still standing, but while his team seems to have waved the white flag on the season, that shouldn't diminish what he's been able to do.
Ryan has allowed two runs or less in 16 of his 21 starts, and he's fourth in the majors with a .93 WHIP. His 4-seam fastball is rated by Statcast as the top pitch in all of baseball in terms of run value. He's thrown it more than 52 percent of the time, yet opposing hitters have managed just a .177 average against it.
Ryan made his first All-Star appearance in July, and unlike every other name on this list, he pitched in the All-Star Game and didn't allow a run, striking out Manny Machado and Kyle Tucker in his scoreless inning of work. Whether he stays put in Minnesota or not, he figures to be on lists like this for a long time to come.