American League Cy Young Award Winner and Runner Ups
Tarik Skubal
Tarik Skubal won the AL Cy Young Award beating out 2nd place Seth Lugo and 3rd place Emmanuel Clase. Skubal put up an 18-4 record in 192 innings pitched with the Detroit Tigers. He put up an earned run average (ERA) of just 2.39 which was the lowest in the league. He struck out 228 batters which was the most in the MLB. Tarik Skubal pitched 3 games in the playoffs with his first 2 starts giving up no runs and helping the Tigers move on to the next round. In his third and final game pitched in the playoffs, he gave up 5 runs involving a Tigers loss and elimination.
Seth Lugo
Seth Lugo came in second place in the AL Cy Young Award race losing to Tarik Skubal. Lugo put up an 16-9 record in 206.2 innings pitched with the Kansas City Royals. He put up an earned run average of 3.00 in 33 games started. Lugo struck out 181 batters and made the All Star Game for the first time in his 8 year career. Lugo started 2 games in the postseason while giving up 3 runs in 9.1 innings pitched.
Emmanuel Clase
Emmanuel Clase came in third place in the AL Cy Young Award race losing to Tarik Skubal and Seth Lugo. Emmanuel Clase is a relief pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians as he was the first reliever to be a Cy Young Finalist since 2008. Clase came in to relieve 74 games in 74.1 innings pitched whilst stricking out 66 batters. Clase put up an outstanding 0.61 earned run average while getting 47 saves as well. Clase came in 7 games in the postseason as he struggled while giving up 8 runs in 8 innings pitched as he gave up his first home run on a slider to a left handed hitter since 2022 in game 2 of the division series. The Guardians eventually lost in the Championship Series to the New York Yankees.