MLB Cy Young Award 2024: Chris Sale, Tarik Skubal Win NL, AL Awards; Voting Results

Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers and Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves were the best pitchers in Major League Baseball during the 2024 season, and they were rewarded accordingly Wednesday.

Skubal took home the American League Cy Young award over fellow finalists Seth Lugo of the Kansas City Royals and Emmanuel Clase of the Cleveland Guardians, while Sale won the National League Cy Young over finalists Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Skubal won his in unanimous fashion.

There was an American League Central theme in the AL Cy Young race, which was fitting since three of the final four teams in the AL playoffs came from the division.

Skubal’s individual brilliance was a major reason the Tigers reached the postseason for the first time in a decade, as he finished with the AL Triple Crown for pitching with 18 wins, a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts. He also posted a sparkling 0.92 WHIP and led the league with a 2.50 FIP and 170 ERA+, per Baseball Reference.

His ability to mix-and-match a fastball that hits triple digits with a collection of pitches that includes a changeup, slider and knuckle-curve made him nearly unhittable and propelled the Tigers into October.

Skubal wasn’t the only one who was nearly unhittable in the division, as Clase finished with an 0.61 ERA, 0.66 WHIP, 66 strikeouts and a league-best 47 saves in 74.1 innings this season for the Guardians.

While he struggled in the American League Championship Series loss to the New York Yankees, this is a regular-season award. It is a testament to his individual performance that he became the first reliever to be named a Cy Young finalist since Francisco Rodríguez was in 2008.

Clase’s Guardians and Skubal’s Tigers were joined in the postseason by Lugo and the Royals thanks in large part to the veteran right-hander’s ability to anchor Kansas City’s staff.

He tallied a 3.00 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 181 strikeouts in 206.2 innings in his age-34 season while making his first career All-Star Game. After previously pitching for the New York Mets and San Diego Padres, he joined the Royals ahead of the 2024 campaign and immediately delivered in the American League even if he didn’t put up Triple Crown numbers like Skubal.

Sale did, though, on the National League side of things.

The Braves’ ace led the NL in wins (18), ERA (2.38) and strikeouts (225) while also putting up a league-best 2.09 FIP and 174 ERA+ in 177.2 innings, per Baseball Reference. The eight-time All-Star was at his best in his first season in the NL after previously suiting up for the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox.

Unfortunately for Atlanta, a back injury sidelined him for the final week of the regular-season and the team’s NL Wild Card Series loss to the Padres, but he still exceeded all realistic expectations for 2024.

He wasn’t the only NL pitcher to make headlines, as Skenes lived up to and exceeded the overwhelming hype in his rookie campaign for the Pirates. While he didn’t make his debut until May 11 and pitched just 133 innings, the flamethrower posted an 11-3 record with a 1.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 170 strikeouts.

Skenes figures to be the face of the franchise in Pittsburgh for years to come and started off his career in impressive fashion, finishing third while earning a second-place vote in the final results.

Wheeler has been under the spotlight for much longer and finished second in Cy Young voting in 2021 and sixth in 20223 during previous seasons for the Phillies. All he did in 2024 was tally a 2.57 ERA, league-best 0.96 WHIP and 224 strikeouts in 200 innings while helping guide his team to a division title.

All six finalists were standouts throughout the season, but only two could take home the awards. And that is exactly what Skubal and Sale did.