The Tigers’ Tarik Skubal and the Pirates’ Paul Skenes were the clear Cy Young favorites going into the 2025 season, and they never let up. Along the way, though, other pitchers made their own impressive bids for the honor.

Skubal, who won the American League Cy Young Award last year, is joined by the Astros’ Hunter Brown and the Red Sox’s Garrett Crochet among this year’s AL finalists.The Phillies’ Christopher Sanchez and the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto are the National League finalists alongside Skenes, the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year.

The winners will be revealed Wednesday on MLB Network at 7 p.m. ET. Before we find out who won, here’s a look at each finalist’s Cy Young case.

Brown,27,had the best season of his career and was the anchor of the Houston pitching staff. He made 31 starts and was 12-9 with a 2.43 ERA and a career-low WHIP of 1.03. He struck out a career-high 206 batters in 185 1/3 innings and allowed onyl 133 hits. He had eight starts in which he didn’t allow an earned run.

Among AL starters, Brown ranked first in opponents’ slugging percentage (.318), second in ERA and opponents’ OPS (.589), tied for second in quality starts (21), third in strikeouts, fourth in WHIP, strikeouts per nine innings (10) and pitching WAR (4.8) and fifth in opponents’ batting average (.201).

The longest scoreless innings streak in the Major Leagues in 2025 belonged to brown, who threw 28 of them from April 3-27 — the fifth-longest single-season streak by an Astros starter in history.

Brown was named the AL pitcher of the Month for June, posting a 1.19 ERA and 0.82 WHIP in 30 1/3 innings, with the Astros winning all five of his starts during the month. He began the season with seven consecutive quality starts, becoming the first pitcher to do that as Guardians right-hander Shane Bieber had eight in a row to start the ’21 season.

The astros went 18-13 in games Brown started. — Brian McTaggart

One of the top abilities for a true ace is availability, and Crochet took pride in leading the AL with 205 1/3 innings in his first s

Cristian Sánchez Emerges as Phillies’ Top Pitcher

The Philadelphia Phillies faced a meaningful setback in August when Zack Wheeler’s season ended prematurely due to a blood clot near his right shoulder, requiring surgery. Though, the team was remarkably well-prepared to absorb this loss, thanks to the emergence of Cristian Sánchez as one of the game’s premier pitchers.

Sánchez’s Stellar 2024 Season

Sánchez delivered a breakout performance in 2024, going 13-5 with a stellar 2.50 ERA across 32 starts. He showcased impressive durability, logging a career-high 202 innings. His numbers weren’t just good; they were elite. He recorded a career-best 212 strikeouts while walking only 44 batters. His contributions were recognized with leading MLB in bWAR at 8.0 and finishing second in the NL in fWAR with 6.4.

The Dominance of the Changeup

Watching Sánchez pitch is a treat,especially when his changeup is working. opponents struggled mightily against the pitch, batting just .170 against it – ranking 11th among pitchers who threw at least 250 changeups. The pitch also generated an impressive 45.1% whiff rate, second only to Matt Skubal (minimum 250 swings on changeups).Remarkably, Sánchez led all of baseball with 130 strikeouts recorded on his changeup.

No other pitcher in baseball struck out more batters on a single offspeed or breaking pitch than Sánchez did with his changeup.

– Todd Zolecki

Key Takeaways

• Cristian Sánchez stepped up substantially after Zack Wheeler’s injury.
• He finished the season with a 13-5 record and a 2.50 ERA.
• Sánchez’s changeup was a dominant weapon, leading the league in strikeouts.
• His performance earned him recognition as one of the most valuable pitchers in MLB.

Looking Ahead

cristian Sánchez’s emergence is a huge positive for the Phillies, both in the short and long term. With Wheeler’s return expected in 2025, the Phillies boast a formidable one-two punch at the top of their rotation. Sánchez has proven he can be a reliable and dominant force, and his continued development will be crucial to the Phillies’ success in the years to come. The future looks shining for both Sánchez and the Phillies.