We are now over a full month into the 2026 baseball season, but still in the infant stages of knowing which MLB players will be top contenders for awards like MVP and Cy Young. Today, we’ll take a look at the National League Cy Young race.
Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes is the favorite at +210, with the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto (+400) and the Braves’ Chris Sale (+550) also in the mix.
Favorites
Paul Skenes (+210)
Skenes won the NL Cy Young award last year as he went 10-10 with a 1.97 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. He struck out 216 batters (fourth-most in MLB).
The case for Skenes to win this year should be even easier to make considering the Pirates have a halfway decent team this season (currently 19-16 overall) and are projected to be in the playoff mix.
Skenes just has to hold up his end of the bargain. In seven starts in 2026, the 23-year-old righty is 4-2 with a 3.18 ERA and an 0.85 WHIP. He has struck out 39 batters.
There is little worry that he can lower that ERA over the next month or so as he has been lights-out in five of his seven starts.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (+400)
Yamamoto is plugging right along as he has been consistently sharp. He has not allowed more than 3 earned runs in a game thus far in 2026.
The Japanese superstar is 3-2 with a 3.09 ERA and has struck out 40 batters in seven starts.
The one knock on Yamamoto is that he often pitches poorly in the first inning. In his three seasons as a Dodger, he has a 4.60 ERA in the first inning.
Chris Sale (+550)
At 37-years of age, Sale’s time as a true Cy Young candidate should probably be over. But, as he’s proven time and time again over the past 14 years, there is no better pitcher in baseball when healthy.
Health, of course, is always the major caveat with the lanky lefty. He has not started more than 30 games in a season since 2017.
So far so good for Sale in 2026, though, as he leads the Majors with a 6-1 record. He sports a 2.14 ERA with an 0.90 WHIP.
Longshots
Nolan McLean (+2000)
McLean has slashed his NL Cy Young odds price in half since early April. He was +4000 to win the award on April 3, but is now +2000 at Fanatics Sportsbook.
The 24-year-old righty has been a steadying force in what has been a chaotic season thus far for the Mets. He has allowed 2 runs or less in five of seven starts so far this season, and has struck out a total of 51 batters.
Chase Burns (+2000)
Burns has also cut his price in half, from +4000 to +2000, thanks to his hot start to the season. In his first start of the season, against Pittsburgh, Burns worked 5.0 innings and allowed just 1 hit. Against the same opponent this past Sunday, Burns went 7.0 innings and allowed just 3 hits. The Reds righty has a 2.20 ERA on the season.
