The MLB season is just around the corner, and that means there's no better time than the present to try to pick 2026 MLB award winners. Paul Skenes has been the talk of the pitching universe in the National League for a few years, but there are a few players who could challenge the reigning Cy Young Award winner.
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NL Cy Young Winner Odds, Predictions
Last season, Paul Skenes ascended to superstardom with an amazing season for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Skenes already had a top-three finish in Cy Young voting as a rookie in 2024 despite only making 23 starts, and topped that season by winning the award unanimously in 2025. Skenes led the NL with a 1.97 ERA and was tied for second with 216 strikeouts.
Is anyone going to stop Skenes from repeating as the Cy Young Award winner in 2026? I think there are a few worthy candidates. The first big-name candidate is the Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yamamoto has made his name by stepping up in a major way in the postseason both years that he has been with Los Angeles.
Last season, the Dodgers' ace tossed 17.2 innings across two starts and one relief appearance in the World Series, posting a 1.02 ERA with a complete game en route to capturing World Series MVP. Yamamoto posted a 2.49 ERA in the regular season as well, and if he can keep his strikeout numbers in line with last season while slightly reducing his ERA, he'll give Skenes a run for his money.
Philadelphia Phillies starter Christopher Sánchez finished second in 2025 NL Cy Young Award voting, just barely ahead of Yamamoto. Sánchez's 2.50 ERA was nearly identical to Yamamoto's 2.49 ERA, but Sánchez's ability to throw 28.1 more innings than Yamamoto threw allowed him to claim second in the Cy Young voting.
However, there's one more well-established starter who has a great chance at taking home the NL Cy Young Award. That pitcher is San Francisco Giants ace, Logan Webb. Webb actually led the National League in both innings pitched (207.0) and strikeouts (224). Webb's 224 strikeouts were a career high, but his 3.22 ERA was the lone statistic that limited his ceiling as a Cy Young Award contender to a fourth-place finish.
Webb is primarily a ground-ball pitcher, and with the stellar infield defense behind him, he should have another phenomenal season in 2026. If Webb can lower his ERA a little bit and keep all his other numbers similar, he'll have a very worthy Cy Young argument this season.
All four of those pitchers have what it takes to take home the NL Cy Young Award, but who will actually take home the crown?
NL Cy Young Pick: Paul Skenes
Unless he gets injured, Skenes is the runaway favorite for a reason. It's also worth noting that Cy Young voting is not like the NBA MVP, as voter fatigue isn't a factor here. Look no further than the 2010s, when Clayton Kershaw (2013-14), Max Scherzer (2016-17), and Jacob deGrom (2018-19) all went back-to-back in the span of a decade. Skenes will look to do the same in 2026, despite the best efforts of Yamamoto, Sánchez, and Webb.
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