With the end of May just around the corner, Major League Baseball (MLB) is preparing to launch the All-Star Game voting process, a key milestone on the calendar that also drives the first individual award analysis and rankings of the season. In a 162-game campaign, tracking the best players of the moment is one of the biggest attractions, and the race for the 2026 accolades is already beginning to take shape.
This Tuesday, ESPN published its 2026 MLB Awards Watch report, compiled by Bradford Doolittle, in which New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler emerges as the frontrunner in the American League Cy Young race. It is a surprising development considering the initial outlook of the season, followed by a list of candidates few would have predicted at this point in the year.
“Important reminder: just a year ago, only those who closely followed prospect lists knew who Cam Schlittler was. Today, he has arguably become the Yankees’ most valuable player, especially given the injury issues in the rotation. He leads the American League in ERA (1.50), ERA+ (277), and WHIP (0.864), confirming that his 2025 postseason breakout was no fluke,” the analysis highlighted.
2026 MLB Cy Young: Top Candidates in the American League
Behind Schlittler, Doolittle’s ranking presents the following Cy Young contenders:
- Davis Martin (White Sox)
- Parker Messick (Cleveland Guardians)
- José Soriano (Angels)
- Nick Martínez (Rays)
- Louis Varland (Toronto Blue Jays)
- Casey Mize (Tigers)
- Dylan Cease (Blue Jays)
- Max Fried (Yankees)
Schlittler consolidated his position last season as one of the major revelations of the Yankees’ pitching staff. At just 25 years old, he has yet to exceed 160 innings in a full campaign, but projections indicate that he could easily surpass that mark in 2026 if he stays healthy.
With the return of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón, the Yankees possess one of the most potent rotations in all of MLB on paper. However, if Schlittler establishes himself as the team’s most dominant arm—even ahead of Max Fried—he could become a central figure in the race for the American League Cy Young.
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