Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal was unanimously selected as the American League Cy Young Award winner.
For the third consecutive year, the AL Cy Young Award winner has been a unanimous choice. Skubal’s election follows those of Gerrit Cole in 2023 and Justin Verlander in 2022. The only other time that three consecutive Cy Young Award winners were unanimous selections in either league was in the AL with Roger Clemens in 1998 and Pedro Martinez in 1999 and 2000.
It marks the 12th time overall that an AL pitcher has been a unanimous choice for the award. The others were Verlander in 2011 and ‘22, Martinez in 1999-2000, Clemens in 1986 and ‘98, Johan Santana in 2004 and ‘06, Cole in 2023, Ron Guidry in 1978 and Denny McLain in 1968. There have been 15 unanimous Cy Young Award winners in the National League.
Skubal, who led AL pitchers in victories (18-4 record), earned run average (2.39) and strikeouts (228), is the seventh “triple crown” winner in the league to take the Cy Young Award. Clemens did it in back-to-back seasons (1997-98). The others were Martinez (1999), Verlander (2011), Santana (2006) and Shane Bieber (2020). It has occurred nine times in the NL, including this year with Chris Sale. This is the second time both Cy Young Award winners won pitching’s triple crown as well. The other year was 2011 with Verlander in the AL and Clayton Kershaw in the NL.
It is the sixth time a Detroit pitcher has been honored. Skubal joins McLain, a two-time winner (1968-69), plus Verlander (2011), Max Scherzer (2013) and Guillermo “Willie” Hernandez (1984).
Emmanuel Clase of the Cleveland Guardians finished third, the highest for a relief pitcher in either league since 2008 when Francisco Rodriguez placed third behind winner Cliff Lee and runner-up Roy Halladay.
Skubal and the Kansas City Royals’ Seth Lugo were the only pitchers listed on every ballot.
Ballots were submitted prior to postseason play. They are tabulated on a system that awards seven points for first place, four points for second place, three points for third place, two votes for fourth place and one point for fifth place.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tarik Skubal, Tigers | 30 | 210 | ||||
| Seth Lugo, Royals | 14 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 93 | |
| Emmanuel Clase, Guardians | 9 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 66 | |
| Cole Ragans, Royals | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 48 | |
| Corbin Burnes, Orioles | 3 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 47 | |
| Logan Gilbert, Mariners | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Framber Valdez, Astros | 2 | 3 | 5 | 17 | ||
| Kirby Yates, Rangers | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Yusei Kikuchi, Astros | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Cade Smith, Guardians | 1 | 1 |
Below is a breakdown of the 30 individual ballots, submitted by two writers representing each city in the American League. For more information on the voting, see our Voting FAQ.
| Name | Affiliation | Chapter | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rich Dubroff | BaltimoreBaseball.com | BAL | Skubal | Clase | Lugo | Burnes | Valdez |
| Gabe Lacques | USA Today | BAL | Skubal | Clase | Burnes | Lugo | Smith |
| Alex Speier | Boston Globe | BOS | Skubal | Gilbert | Ragans | Burnes | Lugo |
| Ian Browne | MLB.com | BOS | Skubal | Lugo | Clase | Burnes | Ragans |
| LaMond Pope | Chicago Tribune | CHI | Skubal | Lugo | Clase | Burnes | Ragans |
| Scott Merkin | MLB.com | CHI | Skubal | Clase | Lugo | Burnes | Ragans |
| Mandy Bell | MLB.com | CLE | Skubal | Lugo | Clase | Ragans | Burnes |
| Ryan Lewis | Akron Beacon Journal | CLE | Skubal | Lugo | Burnes | Ragans | Clase |
| Evan Petzold | Detroit Free Press | DET | Skubal | Lugo | Burnes | Gilbert | Ragans |
| Chris McCosky | Detroit News | DET | Skubal | Lugo | Gilbert | Ragans | Burnes |
| Brian McTaggart | MLB.com | HOU | Skubal | Lugo | Ragans | Valdez | Clase |
| Kristie Rieken | The Associated Press | HOU | Skubal | Clase | Valdez | Lugo | Burnes |
| Jeff Zimmerman | FanGraphs | KC | Skubal | Ragans | Lugo | Gilbert | Kikuchi |
| Dave Skretta | The Associated Press | KC | Skubal | Clase | Lugo | Yates | Valdez |
| Rowan Kavner | FOX Sports | LA | Skubal | Lugo | Ragans | Clase | Gilbert |
| Rhett Bollinger | MLB.com | LA | Skubal | Clase | Lugo | Ragans | Valdez |
| Dan Hayes | The Athletic | MIN | Skubal | Clase | Ragans | Gilbert | Lugo |
| Dave Campbell | Associated Press | MIN | Skubal | Clase | Ragans | Burnes | Lugo |
| Greg Joyce | New York Post | NY | Skubal | Lugo | Valdez | Burnes | Clase |
| Erik Boland | Newsday | NY | Skubal | Burnes | Lugo | Clase | Valdez |
| John Shea | San Francisco Chronicle | OAK | Skubal | Burnes | Lugo | Gilbert | Ragans |
| Martín Gallegos | MLB.com | OAK | Skubal | Lugo | Burnes | Ragans | Gilbert |
| Ryan Divish | Seattle Times | SEA | Skubal | Ragans | Lugo | Gilbert | Burnes |
| Tim Booth | Associated Press | SEA | Skubal | Lugo | Ragans | Gilbert | Clase |
| John Romano | Tampa Bay Times | TB | Skubal | Lugo | Clase | Valdez | Gilbert |
| Mark Didtler | Associated Press | TB | Skubal | Clase | Lugo | Burnes | Ragans |
| Kevin Sherrington | Dallas Morning News | TEX | Skubal | Lugo | Clase | Burnes | Valdez |
| Jeff Wilson | DLLS | TEX | Skubal | Lugo | Clase | Valdez | Burnes |
| Ian Harrison | Associated Press | TOR | Skubal | Ragans | Gilbert | Lugo | Clase |
| Keegan Matheson | MLB.com | TOR | Skubal | Burnes | Clase | Ragans | Lugo |