The Baseball Writers’ Association of America is set to hand out the Cy Young Awards on Wednesday night, and the race has been narrowed to six arms who all made their case in very different ways.
In the National League, Jacob Misiorowski enters as the clear favorite after a season that looked almost unfair on a radar gun and in the box score. The Brewers right-hander hit 105.5 mph, then backed it up by leading the majors in ERA (1.80), strikeouts (252), strikeout rate (37.9 percent), WHIP (0.80) and opponents’ average (.157) across 174 2/3 innings. That kind of dominance is why he’s expected to become the 17th unanimous NL winner, following Paul Skenes a year ago.
Misiorowski isn’t the only NL finalist with a strong argument. Chris Sale is back in the mix after winning the 2024 NL Cy Young Award, and he put together another elite season for a second straight run at the trophy. Sale finished second in the NL in ERA (2.16), third in WHIP (0.98), fourth in strikeouts (200) and sixth in batting average allowed (.215).
Cristopher Sánchez rounds out the NL group, and his profile is built on production, not velocity. The Phillies left-hander went 18-7 with a 2.91 ERA in 33 starts, led MLB in wins and bWAR (8.1), and paced the National League in quality starts (22), starts (33), complete games (one) and shutouts (one).
The American League race has a different feel, with three first-time finalists all chasing the award.
Cam Schlittler, who made a national impression with his shutdown of the Red Sox in last year’s American League Wild Card Series, followed that up with a full season that put him at the front of the pack. The Yankees right-hander went 14-6 with an AL-best 1.95 ERA.
Dylan Cease’s case comes from the kind of overpowering stuff that can carry a pitcher into the award conversation on its own. The Blue Jays right-hander struck out 12.7 batters per nine innings, setting a new franchise record for qualified pitchers, and his 237 strikeouts were the fourth-most in Blue Jays history behind only Robbie Ray and Roger Clemens, both Cy Young winners.
Then there’s Parker Messick, who turned a rookie season into something far more than a feel-good story. The Guardians left-hander, also an AL Rookie of the Year finalist, became just the sixth rookie ever to be named a Cy Young finalist, joining Mark Fidrych (1976), Fernando Valenzuela (‘81), Dwight Gooden (‘84), José Fernández (2013) and Paul Skenes (‘24).
The winners are being announced live on MLB Network and MLB+, with coverage also available on MLB.com, MLB.TV and the MLB App.
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