My AL/NL Cy Young Rankings
- emeredith55
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
By Elias Meredith 9/11/2025 SportzNation
In nearly two weeks, the 2025 MLB regular season will be wrapping up. It has been an eventful season to say the least. 2025 has provided another year of dazzling performances from hurlers across the league. TheCy Young Award recognizes the best pitchers throughout the year, and this season we have had nothing less than dominance on the bump from these superstars.
American League
Tarik Skubal
The best left-handed pitcher in the game right now has taken the league by storm. The 29th rounder out of Seattle University is now on pace to become the first AL pitcher since Pedro Martinez to win consecutive Cy Young Awards (1999-2000). The Tigers ace is in the top three in several league statistics, including first in WHIP (0.86), first in strikeout to walk ratio (7.93), second in strikeouts (222), and second in ERA (2.10).
He also has the best pitch in baseball; Skubal's changeup is the hardest pitch to hit in baseball. That pitch has the highest whiff percentage in the league at 47.7 percent, and it is utilized the most. The best hitters in the world are whiffing at a pitch nearly half the time. That deserves some recognition in its own right.
Hunter Brown
Hunter Brown has improved every year as an Astro, and this year is his best year yet. In 2025, Brown is having a career year. The 27-year-old is 11-7 with 225 strikeouts in 167.2 innings pitched this season.
He also features an electric four-seam fastball that ranks first in strikeout percentage (38.1) and fourth in whiff percentage (29.5) for that pitch. With numbers like that, you would expect the pitcher to have an overpowering fastball, but that is not the case with Brown. Brown’s average fastball velocity is a tick under 97 mph, but he spins the ball at an elite level and can hit any part of the zone in any count. The Astros will be relying heavily on their farm-raised ace to lead the pitching staff heading into the postseason.
Garrett Crochet
One of the biggest deals of this past offseason paid off from the Sox. The Boston Red Sox shipped off four of their top prospects to acquire Garrett Crochet from Southside Chicago. The move bolstered Boston’s starting rotation that needed help in 2024. Crochet was inserted into a much bigger market than where he was in Chicago, and he stepped his game up. Crochet ranks first in strikeouts (228), first in innings pitched (185.1), and fourth in strikeouts per nine innings (11.07). These numbers are what is keeping Crochet in Beantown for the next five years.
National League
Paul Skenes
The youngest player on this list is arguably the best pitcher in the game today, and he is only in his sophomore season. Paul Skenes has the most intimidating frame in the league without a doubt.
He is built like an NFL tight end and has an arsenal of seven pitches. Skenes has a variety of options on the bump to make hitters look foolish, but his preferred weapon of choice is heat. The average speed of his fastball is 98 mph, and as soon as you look like you see that well, he can throw both the slider and split-finger fastball for strikes consistently
If Skenes wins the Cy Young Award this year, he would be the youngest Pirate to win the award in franchise history.
Freddy Peralta
Two of the best pitchers in the league are in the NL Central. The Milwaukee Brewers are the best team in baseball right now, and have one of the best pitching staffs in the league. The leader of the staff is Brewers ace Freddy Peralta.
Peralta is leading the National league in wins and winning percentage, while maintaining his durability throughout the season. Peralta would make his 30th start of the season for the third straight season. Peralta has continued to improve because of the amount of game action that he has accumulated over the years, and it is showing in 2025. Currently, Peralta is on a 29-inning hitless streak, and he is missing barrels based on the utilization of his off-speed and breaking ball pitches.
Mixing pitches and his command will be the key to his success in the postseason. Peralta has struggled with command throughout his career. Something he has to fix if the Brewers want to make a run for their first World Series victory in franchise history.
Cristopher Sanchez
Who predicted this? Cristopher Sanchez is in talks for the Cy Young Award. The dark horse of the list has established himself in the Phillies rotation and has helped them win ball games. The most impressive thing about it is that Sanchez is having this dominance with only three pitches: sinker, changeup, and slider. The changeup is Sanchez's best pitch in his repertoire, and it is whiffed at over 40 percent of the time.
The 28-year-old would need to step up in order for the Phillies to make a deep playoff run without Zack Wheeler, but it seems like Sanchez is unfazed by the pressure. In three of his last four starts since Wheeler’s season-ending injury, Sanchez has had quality starts.
What has helped Sanchez this season is the effectiveness of his changeup. Sanchez’s changeup is the second most whiffed pitch in the MLB (44.5), and when batters do make contact, it produces lots of groundouts, which is critical to Sanchez producing a high rate of double plays to kill rallies. Sanchez is fourth in the MLB in double plays with 18, and his changeup staying at the bottom of the zone has led to most of Sanchez’s twin killings.
These guys have about 1-2 more starts left this season. Interested to see how they make their final bid for the Cy Young to wrap the 2025 regular season.
Thank you for reading!
Elias Meredith (@EAM_55)