With teams around the halfway mark of the 2026 regular season, the two Cy Young races have become much clearer. There are obvious candidates in both leagues, with an undisputed top three in the NL and a Yankees phenom building a lead in the AL.
AL
1. Cam Schlittler
Since conceding four earned runs to the Guardians earlier this month, Schlittler has allowed two runs across his next three starts. He leads the AL in bWAR, fWAR, xERA, ERA, FIP, SO/BB, and K-BB%.
There is no logical argument to have Schlittler anywhere other than the top spot. His 95 innings are not far off the AL lead, so this is not a case of dominant numbers built on short outings. The quality of his stuff suggests this level can hold up across the full season.
2. Joe Ryan
Outside the top four in ERA and xERA, Ryan is second in FIP and tied for third in fWAR. The right-hander is having another excellent year and should earn the second All-Star selection of his career.
When hitters do make contact against him, it tends to be loud. That is the biggest difference between Ryan and Schlittler at the moment. His high strikeout rate and low walk rate still give him a strong foundation, though, and his wide arsenal keeps hitters off balance.
3. Reid Detmers
Ignore the 3.93 ERA. Detmers is second in fWAR, second in xERA, and third in FIP. Despite what the traditional numbers suggest, this is a genuinely strong season. Increased changeup usage is the biggest change to his repertoire, and the pitch's stuff-plus grade has also taken a leap.
His command is sharp at 109 command-plus. He does not have the nastiest stuff or a true signature pitch like many aces, but Detmers works with five solid offerings and has been able to expand the zone more often thanks to an uptick in first pitch strikes.
NL
1. Jacob Misiorowski
Misiorowski is in a league of his own. Leading the NL in fWAR by 0.4, he has a barely believable 2.04 xERA and a K-BB% seven percentage points ahead of anyone else in the league.
This could be a season that rewrites the record books. Misiorowski seems to do something historic every time he takes the mound, and there is no sign of this kind of dominance slowing down.
2. Cristopher Sánchez
It feels slightly harsh that Sánchez is second in the majors in innings with 3.8 fWAR across 16 starts, yet still is not the leader in the NL Cy Young race. In most other seasons, the Phillies' ace would be the runaway favorite for the award, but Misiorowski has other plans.
The numbers are not quite as spectacular for Sánchez. He sits in the 86th percentile in xERA and has allowed far more hard contact than Misiorowski. There is a genuine chance he wins this award by season's end, but he still has ground to make up.
3. Paul Skenes
Second to Misiorowski in xERA, Skenes isn’t quite at the level he showed in his first two big league seasons. Some of that can be traced to his opening day mishap. Since then, he has posted a 2.37 ERA and a 2.74 FIP.
The underlying numbers for Skenes look similar to 2024 and 2025. He does not have quite as much fastball velocity, but that is unlikely to hurt his Cy Young chances much and remains very much in the mix.
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