Verlander, Alcantara lead latest Cy Young poll

With the Trade Deadline behind us, teams have officially shown their postseason intentions -- as have many of baseball's best pitchers.

In the AL, there's a new overwhelming favorite in MLB.com's last Cy Young Award poll, one whose mettle has been well-tested in tight divisional races and World Series runs. Meanwhile, the top NL vote-getter's continued brilliance has him holding his position for the third straight MLB.com poll.

Once again, voters were asked to rank their top five Cy Young candidates in each league based on what has happened so far and what they expect will happen in the months to come. Pitchers received vote 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, with 39 voters participating. Here are the results, with all stats entering Wednesday's games.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

1) Justin Verlander, Astros (27 first-place votes)
DraftKings odds: -175 bet $175 to win $100

As you may remember, Verlander was the favorite in our first poll back in May, and through remarkable consistency finds himself back in first place. Going for his third career Cy Young Award, the 39-year-old leads the Majors in wins (15), ERA (1.73), and ERA+ (224). As the season wears on, he’s only getting better – in his three second-half starts, he’s given up just two earned runs over 20 2/3 innings (0.87 ERA).

2) Dylan Cease, White Sox (5 first-place votes)
DraftKings odds: 2.7-1

Cease has never appeared higher on our Cy Young poll, but after being named the AL Pitcher of the Month in both June and July, it's well deserved. He ranks second in the AL in ERA (1.98), strikeouts (166) and strikeouts per nine innings (12.2), with his only particular weakness being the free pass: He’s walked more batters than anyone in the Majors (53).

3) Shane McClanahan, Rays (4 first-place votes)
DraftKings odds: 6.5-1

McClanahan had finished first in the previous two polls. But despite his streak being broken, he’s been no less incredible to watch, holding onto a 2.24 ERA with opponents hitting just .184/.226/.300 against him on the year. He leads MLB in WHIP (0.83) and the AL in hits per nine innings (5.9) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.0, or 166 K’s against 23 walks.)

4) Alek Manoah, Blue Jays
DraftKings odds: 35-1

The Blue Jays’ workhorse hasn’t taken his foot off the gas, even despite taking a line drive off of his pitching arm on July 30 against the Tigers. He ranks second in the AL with 137 innings pitched and has posted a 2.56 ERA and 1.02 WHIP across 22 starts.

5) Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays (1 first-place vote)
DraftKings odds: 50-1

While Gausman’s 2.91 ERA doesn’t quite line up many of the others on this list, but he’s been even better than you might think – his strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.85) and home runs per nine (0.5) show how he’s maintaining the lowest FIP in baseball (1.98), which in turn has him tied for the highest pitching WAR by FanGraphs’ formula at 4.4.

Others receiving votes: Shohei Ohtani (1 first-place vote); Nestor Cortes (1 first-place vote); Martín Pérez; Framber Valdez; Gerrit Cole; Shane Bieber; Emmanuel Clase

NATIONAL LEAGUE

1) Sandy Alcantara, Marlins (36 first-place votes)
DraftKings odds: -280 bet $280 to win $100

Alcantara’s dominance – both of opposing hitters and this poll – continues. For the third time in a row, Alcantara is the near-unanimous favorite for NL Cy Young, which may have something to do with his league lead in ERA (1.88) and ERA+ (217). He’s also been an absolute workhorse, racking up three complete games (no other pitcher has more than one) and leading all pitchers with 158 1/3 innings pitched.

2) Corbin Burnes, Brewers (1 first-place vote)
DraftKings odds: 8-1

The categories not led by Alcantara largely belong to Burnes – he leads the NL in strikeouts (175), WHIP (0.93), strikeouts per nine (11.6), and hits per nine (5.9), and is pitching to a 2.45 ERA, on par with what he posted when he won the Cy Young Award in 2021.

3) Max Fried, Braves (1 first-place vote)
DraftKings odds: 17-1

Fried carries a 2.60 ERA and 1.08 WHIP, has the lowest HR/9 among qualifiers (0.4), and is tied with Alcantara for the NL lead in quality starts with 17. He also ranks second in baseball in pitching WAR (4.3), in part owing to his excellent control – he’s walked 25 batters against 127 strikeouts in 138 1/3 innings.

4) Tony Gonsolin, Dodgers
DraftKings odds: 35-1

Gonsolin came back to earth last month – he pitched to a 4.40 ERA in July – but he still leads the National League in wins (13) against just one loss, and opponents are hitting .178/.242/.322 against him.

5) Aaron Nola, Phillies
DraftKings odds: 50-1

Nola is the only pitcher with an ERA above 3 to make the cut – his is at 3.17 – but he’s been brilliant at limiting baserunners. His 0.95 WHIP is third-lowest in the NL, and he’s walked just 20 batters against 157 strikeouts for the best K/BB rate in baseball (7.85), which would be the highest by a qualifying pitcher in a non-shortened season since Max Scherzer’s 8.12 in 2015. Nola also ranks second in the league with 144 2/3 innings pitched.

Others receiving votes: Carlos Rodón (1 first-place vote); Edwin Díaz; Zack Wheeler; Joe Musgrove; Tyler Anderson; Julio Urías; Max Scherzer