Sanchez over Miz for NL Cy Young? Schlittler for Cy. . . . and MVP? Latest on MLB’s awards races
Sanchez over Miz for NL Cy Young? Schlittler for Cy. . . . and MVP? Latest on MLB's awards races. Skip to main content Skip to navigation Sanchez over Miz for NL Cy Young?
What happened
Latest on MLB's awards racesArizona Diamondbacks4hBradford DoolittleYankees pull Judge vs. So let's do that with NL Cy Young front-runners Misiorowski, Sanchez, Chris Sale, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jesus Luzardo, starting with a table of the metrics that feed AXE, along with some others. Cy YoungAmerican LeagueFront-runner: Cam Schlittler, Yankees (153. Either way, Sanchez's stinker against the struggling Nationals this week in the midst of the Phillies' playoff push did no favors for his Cy Young case.
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Arizona Diamondbacks7dJeff PassanplayPCA hits 2 homers, becomes single season lefty Cubs leader (0:46)Bradford DoolittleSep 17, 2026, 07:00 AM ETCloseMLB writer and analyst for ESPN. com Former NBA writer and analyst for ESPN. com Been with ESPN since 2013Multiple AuthorsEmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsThis has been a banner year for elite starting pitching in the National League, even though preseason Cy Young favorite Paul Skenes has had a down season.
The wider picture
By and large, I consider any AXE rating to be awards-worthy once it reaches 130, which means the player has performed at a level three standard deviations better than league average. This standard usually helps narrow each race down to a precious few, but this season nearly the entire NL Cy Young top 10 is made up 130 AXEers, and this doesn't include Tarik Skubal, whose 136 overall AXE is split across both leagues after his deadline trade from the Tigers to the Dodgers.
Despite the array of outstanding pitching in the NL, the betting markets have increasingly tilted toward young Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski as the NL Cy Young favorite. Yet for much of the season, though not all, he has lagged behind the Phillies' Cristopher Sanchez in AXE. As for our other 2026 front-runners, their results are: Sanchez (18-13, 15. Now he's earning a little buzz both in articles speculating on awards consideration and the betting markets. 8)Leader trend: When you combine dominance with consistency, you get the kind of season Schlittler has enjoyed.
It's possible Cease could close the gap if Schlittler blows up in his last couple of starts, but there's no evidence that this will happen.
What has been reported
Schlittler had achieved front-runner status by going 12-6 with a 2. Biggest mover: Cease has remained outstanding, but in terms of winning a Cy Young, he just picked the wrong season to be this good. National LeagueFront-runner: Cristopher Sanchez, Phillies (154. 5)Leader trend: You can probably tell from the slant of the introduction that I favor Misiorowski for the award, even if my own metric suggests it should be Sanchez. So much of Sanchez's edge in AXE is fueled by a strangely big lead in bWAR that I don't think is a real thing.
Of course, it's not the only bottom-line metric in which Sanchez leads, so maybe we're all ignoring reality. 9 points of AXE since our last Awards Watch, second in baseball among starting pitchers behind rejuvenated Rays righty Freddy Peralta. If there was any chance of Luzardo muscling his way into the NL Cy Young race, the injury nullified it.
What happens next
Miller won't win the Cy Young, or the MVP for that matter, but it will be interesting to see where his final AXE lands, because 133 is already an outlandish number for a relief pitcher. 4)Overview: The White Sox's recent struggles have dropped Venable behind Cash, who has won two previous AL Manager of the Year awards during his 12 years with the Rays. Twins due to leg tightnessNew York Yankees18hPCA launches Nos. 43, 44 as 'grateful' Cubs look on 'in amazement'Chicago Cubs11hDodgers' Snell exits vs.
9 pitching AXE, Misiorowski is more than qualified for the award. Well, AXE is just an index, a system to sort out performances so that each narrowed-down pool of players can be considered more deeply. With advanced numbers all over the place, it might simply come down to this: Misiorowski has the "wow!