Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers and Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves were the best pitchers in Major League Baseball during the 2024 season, and they were rewarded accordingly Wednesday. Skubal took home the American League Cy Young award over fellow finalists Seth Lugo of the Kansas City Royals and Emmanuel Clase of the Cleveland Guardians, while Sale won the National League Cy Young over finalists Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies. Skubal won his in unanimous fashion.
There was an American League Central theme in the AL Cy Young race, which was fitting since three of the final four teams in the AL playoffs came from the division. Skubal's individual brilliance was a major reason the Tigers reached the postseason for the first time in a decade, as he finished with the AL Triple Crown for pitching with 18 wins, a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts.
He also posted a sparkling 0.92 WHIP and led the league with a 2.50 FIP and 170 ERA+, per Baseball Reference .
His ability to mix-and-match a fastball that hits triple digits with a collection of pitches that includes a changeup, slider and knuckle-curve made him nearly unhittable and propelled the Tigers into October. Skubal wasn't the only one who was nearly unhittable in the division, as Clase finished with an 0.61 ERA, 0.
66 WHIP, 66 strikeouts and a league-best 47 saves in 74.1 innings this season for the Guardians. While he struggled in the American League Championship Series loss .
