Max Fried’s chance to win his first Cy Young Award in 2027 could depend on whether the Yankees left-hander can turn another effective season into a healthy, full workload.
Fried joins Mets pitcher Nolan McLean on Will Leitch’s MLB.com list of potential first-time Cy Young winners. Mets outfielder Juan Soto also appears among Leitch’s five candidates to earn a first MVP Award next season.
Fried’s performance puts health in focus
Fried finished second in National League Cy Young voting in 2022. According to Leitch, his 2.82 ERA over the past seven seasons is the lowest in the majors among pitchers with at least 700 innings, and he has not finished a season with an ERA above 3.25 since 2019.
He allowed only four home runs in 112 2/3 innings in 2026. But left elbow trouble twice interrupted his season, limiting him to 20 starts before offseason surgery to remove a bone spur.
Workload has mattered in his previous award bids. In 2022 and 2025, the two seasons in which he exceeded 175 innings, Fried finished among the top four in Cy Young voting. He shares the Yankees’ rotation with award winners Gerrit Cole and Cam Schlittler.
McLean joins established Cy Young contenders
McLean, 25, has not received a Cy Young vote, but Leitch identifies him as a possible breakout candidate after a strong finish with the Mets. He posted a 2.61 ERA in 12 starts after the All-Star break; a difficult May, when his ERA was 6.10, stood apart from his broader performance.
Leitch sees McLean as a long-term foundation for the rotation regardless of whether New York signs Tarik Skubal this offseason. That potential acquisition remains unresolved.
Toronto’s Dylan Cease and Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sánchez offer more established award credentials. Both were runners-up in 2026, with Cease also finishing second in 2022 and Sánchez placing second in 2025.
Cease recorded a 2.40 ERA over 29 starts in his first Blue Jays season. Among qualified American League pitchers, he led in strikeout rate at 34.9%, hits allowed per nine innings at 5.8 and home runs allowed per nine at 0.59. His 2.56 fielding independent pitching mark tied Schlittler for the league lead.
Sánchez won 18 games in 2026 and led the majors in Baseball-Reference pitching wins above replacement at 8.1, matching his total from the previous year. He turns 30 on Dec. 12.
Cincinnati’s Chase Burns completes the pitching list. The 23-year-old went 15-3 with 185 strikeouts in 154 1/3 innings during his first full major league season. He was 11-1 with a 2.54 ERA at the break, though the Reds limited him to nine innings across three September starts.
Soto seeks an MVP breakthrough
Soto enters his 10th major league season at 28 without an MVP Award. His best finish was second in 2021, and he placed third in both 2024 and 2025. Although he received no votes in 2026, he has six career top-10 finishes.
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Leitch identifies a healthy full season as central to Soto’s next opportunity. His Mets contract runs through 2039.
Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero heads the other MVP possibilities after finishing second in 2026 and helping the Rays reach the World Series. His on-base percentage improved by nearly 50 points, and Leitch sees the potential for a future 50-home-run season.
Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr., the 2024 AL runner-up, remains a contender despite declining offensive totals over the past two seasons. He stole 45 bases in 2026 but hit a career-low 18 home runs. His 2024 season included a .332 average, 32 homers, 31 steals and 9.6 Baseball-Reference WAR.
San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. finished 2026 with 25 home runs, a career-high 38 steals and a .996 second-half OPS. Leitch pairs that offensive recovery with his strong outfield defense in projecting another potential step forward.
Washington’s James Wood rounds out the list after finishing 16th in NL MVP voting. He improved his strikeout and walk rates in 2026 while raising his on-base percentage to .388 and slugging percentage to .503. Leitch identifies maintaining that production through the season’s final stretch as his next challenge after two years of late-season declines.
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