2026 MLB Cy Young Award Odds & Predictions For AL and NL

The 2026 MLB Cy Young races open with two different market shapes. The American League has a clear favorite at the top, while the National League board is more complicated depending on which book you trust.

In the AL, Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet sit in their own tier on the FanDuel board. In the NL, FanDuel lists Cristopher Sanchez first, but the broader market still treats Paul Skenes as the pitcher to beat.

That is what makes this market interesting right now. The favorites are easy to identify, but the better betting question is whether the short prices are worth it or whether a better path sits a tier lower. For readers comparing futures value with daily betting content, it also helps to keep the broader MLB picks board in view alongside these season-long markets.

The latest Cy Young odds are up at your favorite sports betting sites, so let’s inspect the latest pricing and see which aces are the best bets to claim the hardware in 2025.

What Is the Cy Young Award?

The Cy Young Award goes to the best pitcher in each league in Major League Baseball. It is named after Cy Young and remains the top individual pitching award in the sport.

The award was first handed out in 1956. From 1956 through 1966, there was one winner for all of MLB, and since 1967 there has been one winner in the American League and one in the National League.

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America votes on the award before the postseason. In most years, the winning profile is straightforward: elite run prevention, frontline workload, and enough strikeout volume to separate from the rest of the field.

Who Has the Most Cy Young Awards?

Roger Clemens owns the American League record, while the National League lead is shared by all-time greats.

American League: Roger Clemens (7), Randy Johnson (5), Jim Palmer (3), Pedro Martinez (2), Justin Verlander (2), Corey Kluber (2), Johan Santana (2)

National League: Roger Clemens (7), Randy Johnson (5), Steve Carlton (4), Greg Maddux (4), Clayton Kershaw (3), Max Scherzer (3), Tom Seaver (3)

2026 AL Cy Young Odds

Here is the current snapshot for the American League market.

This board is pretty easy to read. Skubal and Crochet are clearly separated from the rest, then the market jumps to Fried at +1000 before settling into a deeper middle tier.

That does not make it a one-man race, but it does make it a concentrated one. If you are betting the AL today, you are either deciding whether Skubal is worth the short number, whether Crochet gives you a cleaner price, or whether one of the Seattle arms can become a real threat with a step forward.

If you want more futures breakdowns and league-wide market coverage beyond this award race, the strongest companion read is the broader MLB betting analysis hub

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American League Cy Young Award Predictions

The AL board starts with the obvious names, but there is still a value conversation here.

Tarik Skubal (+240)

Skubal is the rightful favorite. He is the reigning back-to-back AL Cy Young winner, and his 2025 line gives the market plenty of reason to keep him on top: 195.1 innings, 2.21 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 241 strikeouts.

The team context helps too. Detroit enters 2026 as a AL Central favorite, so Skubal has both the personal resume and the contender backdrop that voters usually reward.

The downside is price. +240 is not much room for error in a full-season award market, and that number gets even less attractive when there is at least some chatter about contract-year uncertainty around him.

He can absolutely win again. The question is whether this number is paying enough for that path, and it is fair to say the price is steep.

Garrett Crochet (+350)

Crochet is the clearest threat to Skubal at the top of the board. He finished runner-up in the 2025 AL Cy Young voting and backed that up with a strong full-season case: 205.1 innings, 2.59 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 255 strikeouts.

That strikeout total matters. Crochet brings a different kind of pressure to this race because he can match frontline workload while still carrying elite bat-missing upside.

Boston’s team context also works in his favor. If the Red Sox are in the middle of a real division race and Crochet posts another ace-level year, he will not need much narrative help.

The price is no longer soft, but it is still a little friendlier than Skubal’s. If you want exposure near the top without paying full favorite tax, Crochet makes sense.

Max Fried (+1000)

Fried sits in the second tier, and the case is not hard to make. He is attached to the Yankees, he logged 195.1 innings in 2025, and he posted a 2.86 ERA with a 19-5 record.

There is always value in a pitcher who can stack workload, wins, and visibility on a high-profile team. If the Yankees win the East and Fried anchors that push, the narrative could become very real.

The weaker part of the case is strikeout ceiling. His 189 strikeouts from 2025 trail both Skubal and Crochet, so he may need the race to break a little more in his favor.

Still, +1000 is where the AL board starts to become more playable. He is not as dominant as the top two, but the number is easier to live with.

2026 AL Cy Young Longshot

Bryan Woo is the realistic longshot worth a look. At +1800, he is priced well behind the top of the board, but his 2025 numbers are strong enough to make the case serious: 186.2 innings, 2.94 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 198 strikeouts.

The Seattle angle matters here. The Mariners are the FanDuel AL West favorite, and Woo does not need a miracle path if the team wins and he separates himself from the rest of that rotation.

That is the key, though. He has to create clear distance inside his own staff and take another step in innings or overall dominance.

Logan Gilbert also deserves a quick mention at the same +1800 price. The innings and strikeout base are there, so Seattle gives bettors two deeper AL options if they want to avoid the chalk.

Who Will Win AL Cy Young in 2026?

Skubal is the safest answer, and the board says as much. But safety and betting value are not always the same thing.

Crochet gives you a better balance of price and path. He has the strikeout profile, the workload, the recent voting support, and the team environment to make a real push without asking bettors to swallow the shortest number on the board.

That makes him the best AL futures angle right now.

Bet: Garrett Crochet (+350)

2026 NL Cy Young Odds

Here is the current FanDuel snapshot for the National League market.

This market is more fluid than the AL board. FanDuel has Sanchez first, but the broader market still sees Skenes as the NL favorite, which means price shopping is a big part of the handicap here.

That conflict matters because it changes how the board feels. On FanDuel, the race looks tightly packed at the top. On the wider market, Skenes is still the clear standard and everyone else is chasing.

National League Cy Young Award Predictions

The NL race has more pricing tension, and that is where the betting value shows up.

Paul Skenes (+400)

Skenes is still the talent benchmark in this league. He is the reigning unanimous NL Cy Young winner, and his 2025 line is exactly what you want from a true favorite: 187.2 innings, 1.97 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 216 strikeouts.

The case for backing him is simple. He was dominant, he already has the award momentum, and the broader market still treats him like the pitcher to beat.

The case against him is also simple. Across most books, he is expensive, and his team context is not as clean as what Dodgers or Phillies starters can offer.

On FanDuel, +400 is at least playable relative to the broader market. But in a general sense, he still feels more like the best pitcher than the best value.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto (+400)

Yamamoto brings one of the best balanced cases on the board. He finished third in the 2025 NL Cy Young voting and followed that with a strong stat line: 173.2 innings, 2.49 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 201 strikeouts.

The team context is a major part of the appeal. He pitches for the Dodgers, who are clear World Series favorites, and that gives him the kind of stage that can help a full-season award case.

The gap between Yamamoto and Skenes is not huge from a betting standpoint. Skenes may own the pure dominance edge, but Yamamoto has the cleaner team backdrop and a more favorable price at some books.

That is what makes him interesting. At the wrong number, the value disappears. At the right one, he becomes one of the better NL bets on the board.

Cristopher Sanchez (+350)

Sanchez has a real case. He was the 2025 NL Cy Young runner-up, received all 30 second-place votes, and put together a strong workload-driven profile with 202.0 innings, a 2.50 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, and 212 strikeouts.

Philadelphia also gives him strong team support. If the Phillies stay in the thick of the NL East and Sanchez pitches like a true staff ace again, the path is obvious.

The problem is price, at least on FanDuel. This board is much more aggressive on Sanchez than other market snapshots, so you are not getting much discount for betting into that case.

He matters in the race, but this specific number feels a bit too tight. He is easier to respect than to back.

2026 NL Cy Young Longshot

Logan Webb is the longshot to keep on the card. At +3000 on FanDuel, the number is long enough to justify interest, especially after a 2025 season that included 207.0 innings and 224 strikeouts.

That is a real starting point for an award run. Workload still matters in this market, and Webb already has that piece checked off.

The honest limitation is that he still needs another step in run prevention. If the ERA does not move into the true elite range, the innings alone will not be enough against names like Skenes, Yamamoto, and Sanchez.

Still, this is the kind of longshot that makes sense. The path is narrow, but it is real.

Who Will Win the NL Cy Young Award?

Skenes is the best pitcher on the board, and if you want the cleanest pure baseball case, that is where it starts. But futures betting is about price as much as talent.

Yamamoto offers the strongest betting mix of team context, high-end production, and a realistic road to the top of the vote. He does not need chaos to win this award. He just needs another ace-level season on the league’s highest-profile contender.

That makes him the best NL futures play from this sheet.

Bet: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (+400)

Recent Cy Young Award Winners

The following is a list of the most recent Cy Young Award winners:

For readers who like to compare futures markets with broader industry options, it is also worth reviewing current online sportsbook review rankings and tracking the proven names on the best handicappers leaderboard.