Two exceptional left-handed pitchers, Chris Sale from Atlanta and Tarik Skubal from Detroit, are among the finalists for the prestigious Cy Young Awards to be revealed Wednesday evening. Both athletes not only achieved impressive victories but also led their leagues in strikeouts and earned run average (ERA) among pitchers who qualified.
Sale, representing the National League, recorded an impressive 18 wins against only 3 losses, culminating in a commendable 2.38 ERA alongside 225 strikeouts while playing for the Braves. However, he faced a setback as he was unable to participate in the Braves’ final regular-season match and subsequently missed their Wild Card Series against San Diego due to persistent back issues.
Skubal, celebrating his 28th birthday on the announcement day, topped the major leagues with an impressive 228 strikeouts and posted an 18-4 record along with a 2.39 ERA over 31 starts. In three postseason outings for the Tigers, his record stood at 1-1, with a low 2.37 ERA; however, these performances occurred after the voting for the awards concluded, which took place post-regular season as per the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Joining Skubal as finalists from the American League are Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase, a standout closer, and Kansas City’s Seth Lugo, who achieved a 16-9 record with a 3.00 ERA. For the National League, other finalists include Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler, who finished the season with a record of 16-7 and a 2.57 ERA, and the young ace from Pittsburgh, Paul Skenes. Notably, Skenes, at just 22, emerged as the NL Rookie of the Year on Monday and is only the fifth rookie ever to make it among the top three in Cy Young Award voting history. The distinction of winning both awards in the same year has been achieved only once before, by Fernando Valenzuela in 1981.
Emmanuel Clase has also made his mark with an outstanding 47 saves and a striking 0.61 ERA across 74 games, becoming the first reliever to land in the top three since Trevor Hoffman of San Diego achieved the same for the NL award back in 2006.
The announcement for the Cy Young winners will occur during a dedicated awards show starting at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday, which is highly anticipated by fans and players alike.
