Paul Skenes Early Favorite for 2025 Cy Young

The Pittsburgh Pirates haven’t had one of their pitchers win the National League Cy Young since Doug Drabek in 1990. Paul Skenes is looking to end that drought in 2025.

Skenes is fresh off of a historic first season in the big leagues in which he won the National League Rookie of the Year and finished third in the Cy Young voting.

The first-overall pick in the 2023 draft out of LSU, Skenes finished his rookie campaign with an 11-3 record and a sparkling 1.96 ERA. The big right-hander shattered the Pirates’ rookie record for strikeouts in a season with 170 and held opponents to a .198 batting average and a .552 OPS.

Though he finished third in his first season, Skenes is the heavy favorite to take home the National League Cy Young in 2025.

FanDuel Sportsbook has Skenes’ odds to win the award at +300. Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler is second at +750 and reigning Cy Young winner Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves is listed at +800. Every other pitcher has odds of at least +1,000.

If his 2024 season is any indication as to how he will fare in 2025, the betting odds make sense. After making his debut on May 11, Skenes had the lowest ERA in baseball and was second with 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

If Skenes was to win the National League Cy Young, whether in 2025 or beyond, he would be the third Pirates’ pitcher to do so. In addition to Drabek, Vern Law won the award in 1960.

Additionally, fellow Pirates’ starters Jared Jones (+5,000) and Mitch Keller (+15,000) are also included as pitchers with betting odds.