Hunter Greene looked like a fine option to win NL Cy Young. He sat just outside the favorites, but has showcased overpowering stuff when able to stay on the mound.
Well, his season won't start until July at the earliest after he underwent surgery to remove bone spurs from his pitching elbow, effectively rendering his chances at winning the Cy Young obsolete.
As spring training inches toward its conclusion, keep an eye on the latest MLB odds and 2026 MLB Cy Young predictions below.
Odds to win AL Cy Young award 2026
| Player |  |
|---|---|
 Tarik Skubal |
+350 |
 Garrett Crochet |
+425 |
 Jacob deGrom |
+1300 |
 Cole Ragans |
+1300 |
 Hunter Brown |
+1300 |
 Max Fried |
+1700 |
 Bryan Woo |
+2000 |
| Logan Gilbert |
+2000 |
| Framber Valdez |
+2200 |
 Gavin Williams |
+2500 |
 Kyle Bradish |
+3000 |
| Ranger Suarez |
+3500 |
 Dylan Cease |
+3500 |
 Joe Ryan |
+4000 |
| Carlos Rodon |
+4000 |
| Trevor Rogers |
+4000 |
| Kevin Gausman |
+4000 |
| MacKenzie Gore |
+4000 |
| Nathan Eovaldi |
+4000 |
| George Kirby |
+4000 |
 Jose Soriano |
+4500 |
| Bryce Miller |
+5000 |
| Cam Schlittler |
+5000 |
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Odds last updated on 3-11.
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Odds to win NL Cy Young award 2026
| Player | |
|---|---|
 Paul Skenes |
+225 |
 Yoshinobu Yamamoto |
+500 |
 Cristopher Sanchez |
+1000 |
 Chris Sale |
+1400 |
| Blake Snell |
+1800 |
 Logan Webb |
+2000 |
 Zack Wheeler |
+2000 |
| Spencer Strider |
+3000 |
| Shohei Ohtani |
+3000 |
 Brandon Woodruff |
+3000 |
 Freddy Peralta |
+3000 |
| Jesus Luzardo |
+3000 |
| Jacob Misiorowski |
+3000 |
| Nolan McLean |
+3500 |
| Tyler Glasnow |
+3500 |
 Michael King |
+4000 |
| Nick Pivetta |
+4500 |
 Nick Lodolo |
+4500 |
 Eury Perez |
+4500 |
| Mitch Keller |
+5000 |
Odds last updated on 3-11.
MLB Cy Young futures bets
| Bet | Odds | Bet date | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter Greene |
+1400 | February 24 | 0.25 |
| Cole Ragans |
+1300 | February 24 | 0.25 |
Well, so much for Hunter Greene.
The Cincinnati Reds right-hander underwent surgery to remove bone spurs from his pitching elbow, which will sideline him into July...at least. This is a perfect encapsulation of why it's wise to avoid these markets entirely before the season, or to severely limit how much you're wagering.
For now, I'm holding off on a replacement bet. Paul Skenes at +225 just isn't great value based on everything we know about pitcher arms, even if he does seem like a freak of nature. Yoshinobu Yamamoto has racked up way too many innings between last regular season, postseason, and the WBC for me to lock in on him at +500 in March. And the likes of Chris Sale, Blake Snell, Zack Wheeler, and Spencer Strider all have injury concerns that make their relatively shorter odds unappealing.
Similarly, Cristopher Sanchez at +1000 is too short for my liking. He's really good, but he also doesn't miss a ton of bats, so even if he just hits a string of bad luck, it could be enough to derail his chances.
So, let's hold for now and revisit this market after the season gets going.
Previous Cy Young analysis
2-24: The chalk picks of Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes make sense, and it's hard to bet against them before a regular-season inning is played, but their odds are simply too short for my liking. The same goes for Garrett Crochet in the American League, who is certainly a viable alternative. Instead, I'm looking at two pitchers who are priced a tier or two below the major front-runners because of lengthy injury histories standing in their way. Kansas City Royals left-hander Cole Ragans was limited to 61 2/3 innings in 2025, but he was electric when able to take the mound. The 4.67 ERA is unseemly, but that came with a 2.67 expected ERA and a 2.50 FIP. It's reasonable to assume he was a bit unlucky, especially with improvements to his strikeout rate and walk rate. His 30.4% K-BB rate was the best among MLB starters with at least 60 innings pitched last season, and he has a clean bill of health entering spring training. As for Cincinnati Reds righty Hunter Greene, he threw just 107 2/3 innings but was arguably the best version of himself. His 2.76 ERA was just a tick off his 2024 mark, and he posted the best strikeout and walk rates of his career, at 31.4% and 6.2%, respectively. If Greene can roll those improvements into a larger workload, he has the stuff to be there in the home stretch.
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Previous Cy Young Award winners
Here are the last 10 winners of the AL and NL Cy Young Award, with Detroit, Cleveland, Houston, Washington, and the New York Mets each leading the way with two. Overall, the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers have the most Cy Youngs all time (12), followed by the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves with eight and the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, and Mets with seven apiece.
Previous AL Cy Young winners
| Year | American League Winner |
|---|---|
| 2025 |  Tarik Skubal |
| 2024 | Tarik Skubal |
| 2023 | Gerrit Cole |
| 2022 | Justin Verlander |
| 2021 | Robbie Ray |
| 2020 | Shane Bieber |
| 2019 | Justin Verlander |
| 2018 |  Blake Snell |
| 2017 | Corey Kluber |
| 2016 | Rick Porcello |
Previous NL Cy Young winners
| Year | National League Winner |
|---|---|
| 2025 |  Paul Skenes |
| 2024 | Chris Sale |
| 2023 | Blake Snell |
| 2022 |  Sandy Alcantara |
| 2021 | Corbin Burnes |
| 2020 | Trevor Bauer |
| 2019 | Jacob deGrom |
| 2018 | Jacob deGrom |
| 2017 |  Max Scherzer |
| 2016 | Max Scherzer |
Pitchers with multiple Cy Young awards
Twenty-two pitchers have won multiple Cy Young Awards, led by Roger Clemens' seven trophies. Of those 22 winners, five are still active in the majors.
| Pitcher | Number of Cy Young Awards (Years) |
|---|---|
| Roger Clemens | 7 (1986, 1987, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2004) |
| Randy Johnson | 5 (1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002) |
| Steve Carlton | 4 (1972, 1977, 1980, 1982 |
| Greg Maddux | 4 (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995) |
| Seven different pitchers | 3 |
| 12 different pitchers | 2 |
Popular MLB futures markets
MLB Cy Young Odds
Detroit Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal is again favored after winning the award in 2024 and 2025.
Paul Skenes is the favorite to repeat as NL Cy Young winner after taking home the hardware in 2025.
Detroit Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal and Pittsburgh Pirates RHP Paul Skenes won the AL and NL Cy Young Awards, respectively.
Roger Clemens won seven Cy Young awards throughout his career. Only one other pitcher, Randy Johnson, has even won five.
Detroit Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal won AL Cy Young in 2024 and 2025 to become the first pitcher since Jacob deGrom won the NL Cy in 2018 and 2019.
Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson are the only pitchers to ever win three straight Cy Young Awards, each accomplishing the feat in four consecutive seasons.
