Two new faces surge to the top of latest Cy Young poll

4:08 AM UTC

Throughout much of last season -- and even earlier this season -- a pair of familiar hurlers sat atop our Cy Young poll.

in the National League. in the American League.

Well, that's not the case anymore.

Skubal is sidelined after undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies in his pitching elbow, and while the NanoScope procedure should hasten his recovery, there's not a timetable for his return. Skenes, meanwhile, is healthy, and though he's been plenty good, he certainly hasn't been the best pitcher in his league.

So, who is at the top? A panel of 36 MLB.com experts selected the Cy Young winners in both leagues, based on the results to date and what they expect will happen the rest of the year. Pitchers received points on a 5-4-3-2-1 voting scale -- five points for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote, and so on.

Here are the results.

All stats are through play on Monday.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

1. , Phillies (17 first-place votes)
After finishing a distant second to Skenes in the 2025 NL Cy Young Award voting, Sánchez is emerging as the early frontrunner to take home the hardware this year. The lanky left-hander carries a 37 2/3 scoreless innings streak into Wednesday’s start against the Padres, when he’ll have a chance to surpass Grover Alexander’s 41-inning mark that stands as the longest stretch by a Phillies pitcher since the mound moved to its current distance in 1893. Using a remarkably simple three-pitch arsenal, Sánchez owns the lowest ERA (1.62) in the National League. He's also thrown the most innings (72 1/3) and accumulated the most WAR (2.8) of any pitcher in baseball.

2. , Pirates (nine first-place votes)
Skenes described his latest outing as "good and bad," and that's somewhat indicative of his 2026 season to date. His quest for a second consecutive Cy Young Award has featured peaks and valleys. And of late, there's been more of the latter, as Skenes has allowed nine runs across his last two starts to raise his season ERA to 3.00. We're not used to seeing his ERA begin with a '2,' let alone a '3.' But it would be foolish to think that Skenes won't rediscover his top form. The opposition is hitting just .183 against him, fourth lowest in the National League, and his 24.1% strikeout-minus-walk rate is T-3rd best in the NL.

3. (seven first-place votes)
Misiorowski is probably the hardest-throwing starting pitcher ever, and if you don’t believe us, just check out what he did in his most recent start on Memorial Day against the Cardinals. He hit triple digits 57 times, 10 more than any other pitcher in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008). Nine of his career-high-tying 12 strikeouts were on pitches 100+ mph. He is legitimate must-see TV and, as you might expect, hitters can't keep up. No one has more strikeouts than the Miz, who has 100 K's in 64 innings. And no one is harder to hit -- his .152 opponent batting average is the lowest among all qualified pitchers. That's why Misiorowski has pitched to a 1.83 ERA with a gaudy 32.7% strikeout-minus-walk rate.

4. , Dodgers (three first-place votes)
There's one big thing left for Ohtani to check off on his baseball bucket list, and that's winning a Cy Young Award. How's that going? Well, with five scoreless innings against the Padres on Wednesday, Ohtani lowered his ERA to 0.73, the lowest among all pitchers to throw 40 innings this season. It's the sixth-lowest ERA by a traditional starting pitcher through the first eight starts of a season in the Live Ball Era (since 1920).

5. , Braves
Age is just a number for the 37-year-old Sale, who continues to carve up lineups with a low slot, a funky delivery and an elite fastball/slider pairing. Sale's 16th MLB season is unfolding a lot like the ones that preceded it, which is to say he's been dominant: His 1.89 ERA is the fourth lowest among qualified National League pitchers, while he's tied for the MLB lead with seven wins. He's allowed two runs or fewer in nine of his 10 starts.

Others receiving votes: Chase Burns (Reds), Mason Miller (Padres), Michael King (Padres), Nolan McLean (Mets), Bryce Elder (Braves), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers)

AMERICAN LEAGUE

1. , Yankees (31 first-place votes)
There’s not a clear favorite in the NL, but there sure is in the AL. Schlittler has separated himself from the rest of the pack with a dominant start to his first full Major League season, pitching to an MLB-best 1.50 ERA through 11 starts. His approach may be unconventional in that he throws fastballs 90.8% of the time, but the high-octane three-fastball mix has proven incredibly difficult for hitters to time up. He leads the AL in nearly every major category, including WHIP (0.86), batting average against (.183), fWAR (2.7) and FIP (1.78).

2. , Blue Jays (four first-place votes)
Off the bat, we should note that the majority of votes were cast before Cease landed on the 15-day IL on Monday with a mild left hamstring strain. The Blue Jays are optimistic that this will be a short absence and, if that's the case, the injury won't seriously dent Cease's potential Cy Young candidacy -- especially given how wide open the field is. Cease has lived up to the seven-year, $210 million deal he signed with Toronto last November, pitching to a 3.11 ERA and 2.56 FIP through his first 11 starts. He leads the AL with 92 strikeouts on a 35.7% strikeout rate.

3. , Angels
Soriano's absurdly brilliant start to the season saw him pitch to a 0.24 ERA in his first six starts. That was the lowest ERA in a pitcher's first six starts of a season since earned runs became official in both leagues in 1913 (min. 30 IP). The hard-throwing right-hander was never going to keep that pace up, and he hasn't, pitching to a 5.34 ERA in his last five starts. Still, on the season, Soriano owns an impressive 2.44 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings and a .186 batting average against that is second best in the AL behind Schlittler.

4. , White Sox
The White Sox have emerged as one of baseball's best stories, and Martin is central to that effort. He is a great story within a great story. Although he entered the season with a 4.32 ERA in 256 career innings, the right-hander has quickly become an ace, relying on a diverse pitch mix to keep hitters off balance -- Martin throws six different pitches at least 10% of the time. He is tied for the MLB lead with seven wins and touts a 2.04 ERA through 10 starts. According to FanGraphs, only three qualified pitchers have been more valuable than Martin (2.3 WAR).

5. , Guardians
In his most recent start on Friday against the Phillies, Williams authored one of the best games of his young career, spinning eight scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts, lowering his season ERA to 3.25. It was just another reminder of how dominant this right-hander can be, especially when he is pounding the zone: After issuing 14 free passes in his first three starts, Williams has walked just eight batters in his last eight starts. On top of that, his 84 strikeouts are second most in the AL.

Others receiving votes: Parker Messick (Guardians), Jacob deGrom (Rangers; one first-place vote), Joe Ryan (Twins), Nick Martinez (Rays), Tarik Skubal (Tigers), Kevin Gausman (Blue Jays), Max Fried (Yankees), Drew Rasmussen (Rays), Michael Wacha (Royals), Bryan Woo (Mariners), Aroldis Chapman (Red Sox), Gerrit Cole (Yankees), Shane McClanahan (Rays)