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Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto's competition for Cy Young is Phillies lefty, not Paul Skenes originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the top team in all of Major League Baseball and have the best chances of winning the World Series this season.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the ace of the Dodgers' pitching staff, is also a leading candidate for the NL Cy Young award in 2026. It's not a surprise, especially after a solid 2026 season debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
However, as ESPN's David Schoenfield noted, following the initial series of the year across all MLB teams, Yamamoto's biggest competition for the NL Cy Young award isn't Paul Skenes, but instead a Philadelphia Phillies lefty.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto's top Cy Young competition is Phillies lefty
"The NL Cy Young race is wide open after the Pirates' collapse," Schoenfield writes. "Meanwhile, fellow National League Cy Young contenders Cristopher Sanchez and Yoshinobu Yamamoto found better success in their Opening Day starts."
While Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates Cy Young winner from a year ago, would easily be the top contender for the Cy Young award this season, his disastrous season debut has opened the door for a new winner.
It might only be one start, but Skenes now has a 67.50 ERA after allowing five runs in just 0.2 innings pitched against the New York Mets on Opening Day.
Yamamoto, on the other hand, went six innings against the Diamondbacks, allowing two runs on five hits with one home run allowed and six strikeouts. His ERA after one start sits at 3.00.
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He's bound to get better as the year goes on, and he has a significant leg-up on Skenes to begin the year in the Cy Young race. Now, Yamamoto's biggest competition isn't Skenes, but the Phillies lefty Cristopher Sanchez.
Against the Texas Rangers, Sanchez went six innings, allowing only three hits, no walks, and no runs allowed while striking out 10 for an incredible season debut.
The Dodgers got a good look at Sanchez in the postseason last year, and know well how good a pitcher the Phillies' lefty can be.
If Sanchez can continue to pitch well all year while staying healthy, he will be Yamamoto's biggest competition for the NL Cy Young Award, not Skenes, this season.
More MLB news:
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- Joey Wentz is out for the season with a torn ACL for the Braves
- Braves predicted to trade Bryce Elder for Lars Nootbaar
- Jesus Luzardo’s $135 million extension is a steal for Phillies
- This 19-year MLB record is finally over for the Giants
- Luis Gil sent down to minor leagues in strange Yankees roster move
- Jacob DeGrom is only 149 strikeouts from 2,000 for his career
- Three ways Pirates' Paul Skenes could lose NL Cy Young Award
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