Cy Young Rankings: Skubal pulling away while NL race tightens up

Welcome to the second edition of theScore's 2025 Cy Young rankings, where we look at the top five pitchers in each league. It's June, and the true contenders are finally starting to separate themselves from the pack in both leagues. Let's break down the best on the mound as we near the three-month mark. Odds courtesy of theScore Bet.

American League

5. Kris Bubic, Royals

It's impossible to ignore what Bubic is doing in Kansas City. His MLB-best 1.43 ERA is grabbing the eyeballs, but that's only the start of his story. Bubic's 2.5 fWAR is tied for second in the AL, and he's allowed only three homers in 75 1/3 innings for a 0.36 HR/9 rate. The southpaw also places third in his league in FIP, ninth in strikeouts (79) and K/9 (9.4), and 10th in WHIP. Despite not blowing anybody away - his fastball velocity ranks in the 21st percentile - Bubic's 30.6 whiff percentage sits in the 83rd percentile, and he controls the zone effortlessly with all five of his pitches. Score one for the finesse crowd.

4. Hunter Brown, Astros

What can Brown do for you? Quite a lot, if you're the Houston Astros. Brown has continued his breakout season unabated, as he's now sitting third in the AL in ERA and opponent's average (.187), fourth in strikeouts and fWAR (2.4), fifth in FIP and K/9 (10.6), and top 10 in WHIP. He's also given up only six homers in 79 innings and tossed a complete game (albeit in a 1-0 loss). Opponents are hitting under .200 against three of Brown's six pitches, including a paltry .098 versus his four-seam fastball. When it comes to AL right-handers, Brown is easily the cream of the crop.

3. Garrett Crochet, Red Sox

Last month, we challenged Crochet to cut his walks down in order to move up in these rankings. Boy, did he listen. Crochet has issued just seven free passes over his last six starts to drop his BB/9 rate below three and jump up to the No. 3 spot. The Red Sox lefty also leads the Junior Circuit in strikeouts while sitting second in the AL in K/9 (11.25) and fWAR (2.5), fourth in FIP, and ninth in ERA. He's also thrown an AL-high 88 innings and tallied eight quality starts - no small feats for a pitcher who's had Tommy John surgery and is only in his second season as a full-time starter. As long as he can keep these trends going, Crochet will be here all summer.

2. Max Fried, Yankees

Fried is continuing to exceed even the highest of expectations in his first season with the Yankees. The 31-year-old sits top 10 in a slew of categories, including fWAR (2.2), FIP, ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts. He's allowed two or fewer earned runs in all but one of his 14 starts and has kept his ERA well below two despite that six-run hiccup against the Dodgers on May 30. Fried has also allowed just six homers (two of which came in that Dodgers outing) and hasn't issued more than two walks in any outing. If there's one pitcher who can maybe keep this AL race close, it's almost certainly going to be Fried.

1. Tarik Skubal, Tigers

In any other year, this would be a dogfight of an AL Cy Young race. Unfortunately for the field, Skubal is pulling away in a hurry. The reigning Cy Young Award winner leads the majors by a wide margin in FIP, fWAR (3.4), and BB/9 (0.76), tops his league in K/9 (11.34), and sits second in WHIP and strikeouts and sixth in ERA. His astonishing 15.00 K/BB ratio is already nearly four points ahead of the single-season record. Skubal's issued just three walks - yes, you read that right - in his last 72 2/3 innings, a run that also included a masterful 94-pitch, two-hit shutout. That his ERA remains above two is somewhat shocking, but with the way he's pitching, a drop into the ones feels inevitable. Once that happens, this race will officially be over.

National League

5. Zack Wheeler, Phillies

Wheeler has continued to be his spectacular self for the Phillies, and he stopped their recent slide with six dominant innings against the Cubs on Monday. He owns the NL's second-lowest WHIP and opponent's average (.186), is tied for third in strikeouts, ranks fourth in K/9 (a career-best 11.1) and innings, and places top 10 in ERA, FIP, and BB/9 (2.1). Though he's yet to pitch into the eighth inning this year, Wheeler is one of five NL pitchers with at least 10 quality starts in 2025. While a rough night against Atlanta on May 29 did spike his ERA quite a bit, his 2.41 xERA remains in the 94th percentile, so it's safe to assume that start was an aberration. Don't expect Wheeler to exit this race anytime soon.

4. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers

Yamamoto is the one constant in the Dodgers' rotation and is firmly in the Cy Young conversation. He ranks third in the NL in ERA, is tied with Wheeler for second in opponents' average (.186), sits top five in WHIP, wins (six), and K/9 (10.5), and top 10 in strikeouts, FIP, and fWAR (1.9). Yamamoto has also become one of baseball's premier ground-ball pitchers, sporting the fourth-highest ground-ball rate (57.6%) in MLB and second-best in the NL. A rough outing against the Yankees pushed his ERA above two, and an abnormally high (for him) 3.1 BB/9 rate is also holding him back a bit in this race. Still, Yamamoto has now proven without a doubt that he's one of the best pitchers on earth.

3. MacKenzie Gore, Nationals

Gore has suddenly become one of baseball's premier strikeout artists. The 26-year-old leads the majors in both strikeouts and K/9 (12.6), while his 33.5 whiff percentage sits in the 92nd percentile. He's also third in his league in both FIP - a noteworthy feat given his higher ERA - and fWAR (2.5). Gore possesses a lethal fastball, yet it's the curveball-slider duo that's driving his success, as those two pitches have combined to generate 67 of his 114 Ks. His slider, used almost exclusively against lefties (Gore has only thrown one slider to a right-handed hitter all year), has generated a 47.3 whiff percentage and a .140 average. It may seem strange to debut Gore in these rankings at No. 3, but he's been that great. He deserves this spot.

2. Paul Skenes, Pirates

Skenes leads the NL in innings, WHIP, HR/9 (0.5), opponent's average (.173), and fWAR (2.9), while sitting second in ERA and FIP, sixth in strikeouts, and ninth in BB/9 (1.98). His 11 quality starts are also tops in the majors, and he's allowed one or fewer earned runs in six consecutive starts dating to May 12. Unfortunately for Skenes, his Pirates are just 6-8 when he toes the rubber and have won only three of his last eight outings, leaving him with a personal 4-6 record that doesn't represent his actual production. No starter has ever won a Cy Young with a losing record, but Skenes is great enough to rise above his team and make history. He could easily be atop these rankings right now, and the fact that he's not is ostensibly due to a coin flip.

1. Logan Webb, Giants

Like Skenes, Webb's mediocre 5-5 record can be thrown straight into the trash. The sinkerballer, who's never finished a season ranked among the top 10 in strikeouts, is now tied with Wheeler for the third-most Ks in the NL. Webb's three starts of 10-plus strikeouts and no walks are tied for the league lead and have already equaled the Giants' single-season record, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com. He also leads the NL in FIP and K/BB ratio (5.94) while sitting second in innings and fWAR (2.8), fifth in ERA, and top 10 in both K/9 (a career-best 10.4) and BB/9 (1.8). This is as great as we've ever seen Webb, and his work is just enough to nudge him above Skenes ... for the moment. This NL race is shaping up to be a doozy.