Baseball is so close that we can almost taste it. The Tokyo Series is upon us and Opening Day is not far away. There is so much to be excited about and to look forward to and the fun part is making predictions! We are starting an award series and the first on deck is the CY Young.

NL CY Young: Paul Skenes (Pirates)

One of the biggest faces in our sport today, Paul Skenes took the stage and never looked back. From the moment he threw his first pitch, Skenes delivered on all fronts and certainly delivered on the hype that surrounded him. Skenes finished with a very impressive rookie season, with a 1.96 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. He also finished as a CY Young finalist for the NL, but did not win the award. Skenes will pick up where he left off and capture the award.

Skenes was dominant when he was on the mound and he is about to be even nastier in 2025. Skenes has quite the arsenal, from his high velocity packed four seam fastball to his sinker and sweeper. As if those weren’t already untouchable, he’s added a cutter to his mix.

Paul Skenes, New Cutter? pic.twitter.com/T9pRvmxAjJ

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 1, 2025

His cutter is mean, wicked fast, and has movement. For a pitcher that ranked in the 95th percentile in strikeout percentage, he’s now got a new weapon at his disposal.

Skenes is projected to have a 3.01 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. I don’t envision a sophomore slump.

AL CY Young: Garrett Crochet (Red Sox)

The filthiest pig in the pen, Garrett Crochet is poised for a monstrous season. He is coming off a strong campaign in what was his first true season as a starting pitcher. Crochet finished with a 3.58 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP and was a quality ace on a very poor white sox team. The Red Sox believe in his ability and gave up a strong prospect package to land the ace.

Crochet brings a lot of things to the table that the Red Sox like. He is a strikeout machine and has a nose for the zone, finishing with a 35.1 strikeout percentage and also averaging 12.88 K/9. He has impeccable command and also does a tremendous job at generating the swing and miss.

Garrett Crochet, 97mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/YuSJ9uIChK

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) February 23, 2025

Crochet has not missed a beat this Spring Training. He has shown the velocity, hitting 101 MPH this spring, and having 19.89 K/9 in 6.1 innings pitched.

He is going to thrive in the Andrew Bailey laboratory and the filthy pig is going to capture the CY Young. Crochet is projected to have a 2.99 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.

Up Next: Rookie of the Year