Evaluating Freddy Peralta’s strong case for NL Cy Young

Coming off of August NL Pitcher of the Month honors, Peralta enters his start on Wednesday, September 4 having tossed four consecutive scoreless outings, including 24 scoreless innings. His season ERA is an outstanding 2.58, which ranks second in the NL, trailing only Paul Skenes at 2.08.

Furthermore, Peralta ranks first in the NL in wins (16), second in opposing batting average (.192), second in H/9 IP (6.27), sixth in WHIP (1.07), seventh in K/9 IP (9.84), 10th in strikeouts (168), and 12th in innings pitched (153.2). Peralta enters the day just 13.1 innings behind Skenes, in which both pitchers have each made 28 starts.

Outside of Skenes, Christopher Sanchez of the Philadelphia Phillies is having a Cy Young type of season. His ERA sits at 2.66 over 27 starts, while ranking sixth in strikeouts at 181. Outside of those two, Nick Pivetta (2.84 ERA) and Matthew Boyd (2.94 ERA) are the only other two healthy pitchers in the NL with ERA’s under 3.00.

With only a few weeks remaining in the regular season, Peralta has solidified his place in the NL Cy Young race, and this time he has the innings to support his case. Back in 2021, Peralta put together a Cy Young-worthy campaign with a 2.81 ERA and a minuscule .165 opponent batting average, but fell short of qualifying due to logging just 144 innings. Now, in 2025, he’s pairing production with increased volume that previously eluded him, making his candidacy stronger than ever.

At this time, Skenes and Sanchez are likely ahead of Peralta in the Cy Young award race, but if Peralta puts together another historic month he’ll be a legitimate threat to take home the award. Follow me on X @tylerkoerth. Follow us @WiSportsHeroics for more great up to date sports content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in Wisconsin sports, click here!.   We cover the Milwaukee Brewers, Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Bucks, Wisconsin Badgers, LOVB-Madison, and Wisconsin High School Sports.  Additionally we provide the latest news coverage on the NFL, MLB, and NBA in which you can follow Gridiron Heroics, Hardwood Heroics, and Homeplate Heroics.