PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes is up for the National League Cy Young Award, but faces great challengers for the honor.
Skenes is up against right-handed pitchers in Cristopher Sánchez from the Philadelphia Phillies and Yoshinobu Yamamoto from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Sánchez posted a 13-5 record over 32 starts, a 2.50 ERA over 202.0 innings pitched, 212 strikeouts to 44 walks, a 1.06 WHIP and a .227 opposing batting average, as well as a 9.45 K/9, 1.96 BB/9 and a 4.82 K/BB.
His 2025 season saw him amongst the best pitchers in the NL, ranking second in innings pitched, third in ERA, fourth in WHIP, fifth in strikeouts and sixth in opposing batting average, plus third in BB/9 fourth in K/BB and eighth in K/9.
He also dominated in the postseason for the Phillies in the NLDS vs. the Dodgers, with a 2.25 ERA over two starts and 12.0 innings pitched, with 13 strikeouts to three walks, a .200 opposing batting average and a 1.00 WHIP.
Oct 9, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sanchez (61) throws in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game four of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Yamamoto had a 12-8 record in 30 starts, a 2.49 ERA over 173.2 innings pitched, 201 strikeouts to 59 walks, a 0.99 WHIP and a .183 opposing batting average, as well as 10.42 K/9, 3.06 BB/9 and a 3.41 K/BB, which earned him his first MLB All-Star nod.
His play also put him amongst the best NL pitchers, ranking first in opposing batting average, second in ERA, third in WHIP, seventh in strikeouts and 15th in innings pitched, plus third in K/9, 10th in K/BB and 14th in BB/9.
He had an excellent postseason, with a 5-1 record in five starts and six games pitched, two complete games, a 1.45 ERA over 37.1 innings pitched, 33 strikeouts to six walks, a .174 opposing batting average and a 0.78 WHIP.
Yamamoto also earned World Series MVP honors, as he threw a complete game in the 5-1 win in Game 2, gave up one run over seven innings in the 3-1 win in Game 6 and then pitched 2.2 innings of relief in Game 7, securing the championship for the Dodgers.
He finished that World Series with a 3-0 record, a 1.02 ERA over 17.2 innings pitched and 15 strikeouts to two walks.
Nov 1, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) throws a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays in the ninth inning for game seven of the 2025 MLB World Series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images / Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Both pitchers had excellent seasons and postseasons, but how does Skenes match up to them in the 2025 regular season.
Category
Paul Skenes
Cristopher Sánchez
Win-Loss Record
(10-10)
(13-5) ✅
ERA
(1.97) ✅
(2.50)
Innings Pitched
(187.2)
(202.0) ✅
Strikeouts
(216) ✅
(212)
WHIP
(0.95) ✅
(1.06)
Opp. Batting Avg.
(.195) ✅
(.227)
K/9
(10.36)✅
(9.45)
BB/9
(2.01)
(1.96) ✅
K/BB
(5.14) ✅
(4.82)
Skenes leads Sánchez in most categories, aside from wins, innings pitched and BB/9, which marks how many walks a pitcher averaged over nine innings.
Category
Paul Skenes
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Win-Loss Record
(10-10)
(12-8) ✅
ERA
(1.97) ✅
(2.49)
Innings Pitched
(187.2) ✅
(173.2)
Strikeouts
(216) ✅
(201)
WHIP
(0.95) ✅
(0.99)
Opp. Batting Avg.
(.195)
(.183) ✅
K/9
(10.36)
(10.42) ✅
BB/9
(2.01) ✅
(3.09)
K/BB
(5.14) ✅
(3.41)
Skenes again leads in most categories against Yamamoto, besides wins and K/9, but also opposing batting average.
It is highly likely that Skenes will win the NL Cy Young Award this season, as he has had a better season than both Sánchez and Yamamoto.
Skenes ranked amongst the best pitchers in the MLB, with the lowest ERA, tied for the fourth most strikeouts, the fourth lowest WHIP, the sixth lowest batting average and the 10th most innings pitched, plus the fifth best K/BB, seventh best K/9 and ninth best BB/9.
He also ranked highly in the NL, possessing the lowest WHIP, the fourth lowest batting average, tied for the second most strikeouts and the fourth most innings pitched, as well as the second best K/BB and both the fifth best K/9 and BB/9.
Sep 16, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
This was also an historic season for Skenes, who broke and set new franchise and MLB records, which saw him become the first pitcher to start consecutive All-Star games in their first two seasons.
He was the first NL pitcher with a sub-2.00 ERA and 200+ strikeouts since right-hander Jacob DeGrom did it with the New York Mets in 2018. He is the first MLB pitcher to finish with a sub-2.00 ERA in a season since right-hander Justin Verlander did so with the Houston Astros in 2022.
Skenes became the first pitcher in MLB history to finish with 200+ strikeouts and a sub-2.00 ERA and still not have a winning record, since ERA became a stat in 1913.
He was the first qualified pitcher to post a sub-2.00 ERA in a season at 23 years or younger, since right-hander Dwight Gooden did so at age 20 with the Mets in 1985.
Skenes also made Pirates history, with his 216 strikeouts the most for a right-handed pitcher in the live-ball era (since 1920). Only Ed Morris, who had 326 strikeouts in 1886 and 298 strikeouts in 1885, the most and second most in a season in franchise history, has more than him.
His 216 strikeouts rank seventh most in a season in franchise history and fifth most in the live-ball era.
Skenes is just one of three Pirates pitchers that led the MLB in ERA, with right-hander John Candelaria last doing so in 1977 and right-hander Cy Blanton doing it first in 1935.
These stats all show that he’s above both Sánchez and Yamamoto, even with their strong postseasons, which should make it an easy win for the BBWA to make Skenes the Cy Young Award winner.
He will become just the third Pirates pitcher to win the Cy Young if he does so, along with Vern Law in 1960 and Doug Drabek in 1990.