New leader emerges in latest Cy Young poll

With less than three weeks to go in the regular season, the NL Cy Young Award race is as tight as can be.

In our latest Cy Young poll, five NL pitchers received at least three first-place votes while none got more than 14, with 39 voters participating. For the first time all year, Arizona ace Zac Gallen was not selected as the NL leader by MLB.com voters. The D-backs righty led the NL in each of our four previous polls.

It was a much different story in the AL, where Yankees ace Gerrit Cole was a near-unanimous selection, holding steady in the AL's top spot for the third straight poll.

As usual, MLB.com voters were asked to rank their top five in each league. Pitchers received points on a 5-4-3-2-1 scale -- five points for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote and so on.

Here are the full results. (All stats are through Monday.)

AMERICAN LEAGUE

1) Gerrit Cole, Yankees (38 first-place votes)
After a number of close calls in the past, including second-place finishes in 2019 and 2021, Cole could be nearing his first Cy Young Award. The right-hander leads the AL in ERA (2.79), innings (187) and WHIP (MLB-best 1.03) and recently secured his sixth career 200-strikeout season. He’d be the Yankees’ first Cy Young winner since Roger Clemens in 2001.

2) Luis Castillo, Mariners
Castillo has been outstanding in his first full season with the Mariners, notching a 3.08 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP with 191 strikeouts in 175 1/3 innings. He ranks among the AL’s top five in all four categories, headlining one of MLB's best rotations.

3) Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays (1 first-place vote)
Gausman is lagging behind Cole and Castillo in ERA (3.28), but he leads the AL in strikeouts (217) and the Majors in FIP (2.83) over 167 1/3 innings. No AL pitcher has recorded more double-digit strikeout games than Gausman, who notched his eighth such outing of 2023 on Sept. 9 against the Royals.

4) Sonny Gray, Twins
Gray has allowed more than three earned runs only three times in 29 starts this season, registering a 2.96 ERA -- second best in the AL -- with 165 K’s over 167 innings. The 33-year-old last finished among the top five in his league's Cy Young voting in 2015, when he placed third in the AL as a member of the A's.

5) Framber Valdez, Astros
After following up his no-hitter on Aug. 1 with a rough stretch during which he allowed 15 earned runs over 19 2/3 innings, Valdez has gotten back on track lately, recording a 2.00 ERA in 27 innings over his past four starts. The lefty has gone at least seven innings in 15 starts this season, the most in the Majors.

Others receiving votes: Pablo López, Kyle Bradish, Zach Eflin, Félix Bautista, Logan Gilbert, Shohei Ohtani

NATIONAL LEAGUE

1) Justin Steele, Cubs (14 first-place votes)
While some of the NL’s other top Cy Young contenders have fallen off lately, Steele has gotten stronger, yielding just one run with 26 K’s over 21 innings in his past three starts. The consistent left-hander leads the Majors with a 2.49 ERA, having allowed three earned runs or fewer in 25 of his 27 starts this season.

2) Blake Snell, Padres (10 first-place votes)
Snell (2.52 ERA) is neck and neck with Steele for the Major League ERA lead and has a significant advantage in strikeouts, 209 to 159, but his wildness could be a detriment in this razor-thin race. The southpaw, who won the AL Cy Young Award in 2018, has walked more batters (92) than anyone in baseball.

3) Zac Gallen, D-backs (9 first-place votes)
Gallen looked to be the clear NL Cy Young favorite for much of this season, leading the race in each of our first four polls of 2023. However, his chances took a hit when he allowed 11 runs over two starts on Aug. 28 and Sept. 3, causing his ERA to climb to 3.48. He returned to form in his most recent start, throwing a shutout against the Cubs, but he still has some work to do to close the gap.

4) Spencer Strider, Braves (3 first-place votes)
Strider is likely going to end up with more than 275 strikeouts, but his Cy Young hopes are fading. The right-hander now has a 3.83 ERA on the year after giving up six runs over 2 2/3 innings against the Cardinals in his most recent start. His ERA is nearly a run higher than his NL-leading 2.89 FIP.

5) Zack Wheeler, Phillies (3 first-place votes)
Wheeler leads all pitchers in FanGraphs WAR thanks to his superb 2.93 FIP, and he also has the lowest WHIP (1.05) among qualifying NL arms. However, his 3.49 ERA could prevent him from receiving serious consideration for the Cy Young, and a clunker start against the Braves on Tuesday won't help matters.

Others receiving votes: Kodai Senga, Logan Webb, Corbin Burnes, Merrill Kelly, Bryce Elder