Pirates' Paul Skenes Gets Cy Young Votes In Latest Poll

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He may not be the best. But he's darn close. That's the main takeaway regarding Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes and the latest Cy Young poll.

On Tuesday, ESPN.com's Bradford Doolittle named his top 10 NL Cy Young candidates and Skenes, who won the award last year, surprisingly was not on the list.

But on Wednesday, MLB.com's poll has Skenes running second behind Philadelphia Phillies ace Cristopher Sanchez, who received 17 first-place votes.

"Skenes described his latest outing as 'good and bad,' and that's somewhat indicative of his 2026 season to date," MLB.com's Jared Greenspan wrote. "His quest for a second consecutive Cy Young Award has featured peaks and valleys. And of late, there's been more of the latter, as Skenes has allowed nine runs across his last two starts to raise his season ERA to 3.00. We're not used to seeing his ERA begin with a '2,' let alone a '3.'

"But it would be foolish to think that Skenes won't rediscover his top form," Greenspan added. "The opposition is hitting just .183 against him, fourth lowest in the National League, and his 24.1% strikeout-minus-walk rate is T-3rd best in the NL."

Skenes received nine first-place votes in the poll. That was two more than Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski. Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani ranked fourth and received three first-place votes. Atlanta Braves ace (and 2024 Cy Young Award winner) Chris Sale rounded out the top five.

Here's a list of the other pitchers to receive votes in the latest poll: Cincinnati Reds' Chase Burns, San Diego Padres' Mason Miller and Michael King, New York Mets' Nolan McLean, Braves' Bryce Elder and Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

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