Pirates’ Paul Skenes, Konnor Griffin Favorites to Win ’26 Awards
A pair of Pittsburgh Pirates are the betting favorites to win some major hardware for the 2026 season.
Right-hander Paul Skenes (+250) is the favorite to win the National League Cy Young and shortstop prospect Konnor Griffin (+330) holds a slight edge in the National League Rookie of the Year odds according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Skenes won his first career Cy Young in November after finishing the 2025 season at 10-10 with an MLB-best 1.97 ERA and 216 strikeouts in 187.2 innings across 32 starts in his second big-league season. Through the first 55 starts of his career, Skenes, who won the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year, is 21-13 with a 1.96 ERA.
The Pirates’ ace is looking to become the first National League pitcher to win back-to-back Cy Youngs since Jacob deGrom from 2018-19.
After Skenes, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto (+550) has the second-best odds, followed by Cristopher Sánchez (Phillies, +700), Hunter Greene (Reds, +1000) and Chris Sale (Braves, +1000). Sale won the award in 2024.
Griffin, meanwhile, took the top spot in the Rookie of the Year race after his two-homer game against the Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers on Tuesday afternoon.
The consensus top prospect in baseball, Griffin made his professional debut last season and went on to bat .333 with a .941 OPS, 23 doubles, four triples, 21 home runs, 94 RBI and 65 steals in 122 games across three levels.
The 19-year-old is trying to earn a spot on the club’s Opening Day roster when they take on the New York Mets at Citi Field on March 26.
Speaking of the Mets, they have the biggest threat to Griffin in right-handed pitcher Nolan McLean (+370). St. Louis Cardinals prospect and Pittsburgh-native JJ Wetherholt is third at +500. Pirates pitcher Bubba Chandler is sixth at +1200.
Skenes is one of three Pirates to ever win Cy Young, along with Vern Law (1960) and Doug Drabek (1990). He’s also one of two Pirates to win Rookie of the Year. The other is Jason Bay, who won in 2004.
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