MLB Cy Young Poll blends surprises and favorites

The top five vote getters in each league

Starting in the American League, Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers was the top vote getter. Coming off back-to-back Cy Young wins, it's no surprise he earned 27 first-place votes.

After Skubal, it gets more interesting. Jose Soriano of the Los Angeles Angels is second, and arguably having the best year of any pitcher, with his 0.84 ERA and 49 strikeouts. Then, the New York Yankees have both Cam Schlittler and Max Fried at third and fourth, respectively. Finally, Dylan Cease of the Toronto Blue Jays rounds out the top five in the AL.

As for the National League, Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates was the top vote getter. Coming off his own Cy Young win, he earned 27 first-place votes. 

Behind Skenes is Nolan McLean for the New York Mets. Even amid a terrible season for the Mets, he's been phenomenal with a 2.55 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. Two Los Angeles Dodgers also popped up. First, Shohei Ohtani came in at third before Yoshinobu Yamamoto finished fifth in the voting. Sandwiched between them was Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves.

Takeaways from Cy Young poll

It's still very early in the MLB season. However, there are a few important takeaways. That starts with who didn't make the top five: Garrett Crochet of the Boston Red Sox. He had been seen as a contender to unseat Tarik Skubal, but has had a bad start and now finds himself on the IL. 

Then, there are the top two vote getters themselves. In many respects, Skenes and Skubal were seen as the favorites, given that they're the defending champions. Neither from a pure statistical analysis is top in their respective leagues, but they're still close to the top, and it seems like these voters are giving them the benefit of the doubt to keep it up all season long. 

There are also some surprises, like Soriano. He wasn't on any preseason watchlists for the Cy Young Award. Still, he's right there, and even if keeping up his current pace isn't sustainable, then he does have a great head start.

On top of that, Ohtani being in the top three of the NL is always worth noting. That puts him in a good spot to win both the MVP and the Cy Young in what would amount to one of the greatest individual seasons in MLB history. 

At the end of the day, it's only April. There's plenty of time to see the Cy Young race shake up. For now, though, there's a clear group of names to keep an eye on.