Philly Leader

There are intriguing narratives in this year's Cy Young Award races. In the National League, veteran pitchers Chris Sale of the Braves and Zack Wheeler of the Phillies, both previous finalists, compete for their first award. Meanwhile, Pirates rookie Paul Skenes aims to match Fernando Valenzuela's achievement of winning both Rookie of the Year and Cy Young in the same season.

In the American League, all three candidates hail from the AL Central but differ significantly. Tigers' Tarik Skubal had a breakout year with his powerful pitching style. Royals' Seth Lugo relied on precision over speed during his best season at age 34. Guardians' Emmanuel Clase is notable as a reliever finalist for the first time in 16 years.

The winners will be announced Wednesday on MLB Network at 6 p.m. ET.

Emmanuel Clase's performance as a reliever has been remarkable, with an ERA starting with zero: "Clase owned a 0.61 ERA in 74 regular-season appearances," allowing only five earned runs over 74 1/3 innings and leading the league with 47 saves.

Seth Lugo's transition from Mets reliever to Royals starter culminated in him being a Cy Young finalist at age 34: "Lugo was one of four AL starters...to make 33 starts this year."

Tarik Skubal achieved a pitching Triple Crown, leading in wins (18), strikeouts (228), and ERA (2.39): "Skubal became the 22nd player in Major League history to win a pitching Triple Crown."

Chris Sale nearly won MLB’s Triple Crown but led NL pitchers with an ERA of 2.38 and fWAR of 6.4: "Sale finished four strikeouts shy...of becoming the first pitcher since Johan Santana in 2006 to win MLB’s Triple Crown."

Paul Skenes impressed despite fewer starts due to beginning his season in the minors: "Skenes started the season in the Minors...nearly matched their WAR production in just 23 starts."

Zack Wheeler emphasized workload alongside performance metrics: "Wheeler finished the season...with a workload that should matter."

Bryce Harper expressed strong support for Wheeler: “He’s a Cy Young, man,” Harper said, highlighting Wheeler's standout performance this year.