Garrett

Crochet

Skubal beat out finalists Garret Crochet and Hunter Brown to win his second consecutive Cy Young. Skubal received 26 of the 30 first-place votes, with Crochet getting the other four. He’s the first to do it in the American League since Pedro Martinez back in 1999-2000, which is pretty good company. Skubal finished 2025 with a 241/33 K/BB ratio and 2.59 ERA, and while there’s some question as to where he’ll be playing in 2026, he’ll be well worth taking early in every league he’s eligible to play in.

Skubal enters as the overwhelming favorite to capture his second consecutive Cy Young Award after posting a dominant 2.21 ERA with a 241/33 K/BB ratio across 195 1/3 innings over 31 starts. Crochet, the likely runner-up, wrapped up his first season in Boston with a stellar 2.59 ERA and a 255/46 K/BB ratio across a junior-circuit-leading 205 1/3 innings in 32 starts. Brown’s inclusion among the three finalists guarantees Houston a compensatory pick after the first round of the 2026 MLB Draft. The 27-year-old right-hander logged a sharp 2.43 ERA across 185 1/3 innings in 31 starts. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, November 12.

Bello threw just 28 pitches in a losing effort against the Bombers in Game 2 on Wednesday, so he’ll be available if he’s needed on Thursday. Garrett Whitlock will also be available. The only pitcher on the Red Sox’ staff that’s unlikely to be available is Garrett Crochet, and Cora even hinted that he could be in a pinch when saying “probably not” when asked about his availability. Expect an all hands on deck situation as the Red Sox attempt to stave off elimination.

Crochet delivered a phenomenal performance in his playoff debut at Yankee Stadium, shaking off an early homer to stifle New York’s formidable lineup into the eighth inning. He escaped a first-inning jam with a tailor-made double play from Giancarlo Stanton but wouldn’t be so lucky in the ensuing frame when he served up a go-ahead solo homer to Anthony Volpe. The Yankees generated plenty of loud contact into the middle innings, but he avoided further damage by retiring 17 straight after Volpe’s homer. He was lifted with two outs in the eighth inning after striking out Austin Wells on his 117th pitch of the night. The 26-year-old ace will take the ball in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Blue Jays if the Red Sox manage to close out the best-of-three Wild Card Series.

No surprise here. Boston won’t know their opponent until after the regular season concludes this weekend, but Crochet will make his first career postseason on Tuesday when they kick off a three-game Wild Card Series. The 26-year-old fantasy ace wrapped up his Red Sox debut with a phenomenal 2.59 ERA and 255/46 K/BB ratio across a career-high 205 1/3 innings over 32 starts.

Although he hasn’t lost since Aug. 11, Crochet hadn’t been at his best lately, amassing a 4.68 ERA in his first four starts of September. That makes this showing particularly encouraging. With his velocity up a little from his season norm, he seemed completely in control the entire way, even though he wasn’t blowing hitters away with his six strikeouts and 10 missed swings. Crochet ends the regular season 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA and 255 strikeouts in 205 1/3 innings. He’ll almost certainly finish second to Tarik Skubal in the AL Cy Young balloting.

The Red Sox opted to give Brayan Bello an extra day of rest, which means Crochet will pitch on Wednesday. While this move is partially about Bello, it also means Crochet would be lined up to pitch Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series on Monday or even throw a few innings of relief on Sunday if the Red Sox are in a do-or-die situation in the final game of the season. While all of that makes sense, Crochet has been much worse when pitching on four days’ rest this season, posting a 3.85 ERA in 10 starts, while he’s had a 2.27 ERA in 18 starts when he gets five days of rest. “We’re at the point in the season that we need to do this, and we’ll do it,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “We took care of him during the season, and he’s going to take care of us, the rest of the season.” You’re obviously starting Crochet, even if we would have liked that extra day of rest.

Crochet gave up four hits, walked three and struck out nine. The win was his 17th of the year. Crochet allowed solo home runs to Carson Williams and Yandy Diaz, but was otherwise very good. He has a 2.69 ERA and 249/46 K/BB ratio in 197 1/3 innings this year. Crochet is lined up to face the Blue Jays at home in the final week of the regular season.

The 26-year-old southpaw matched his season-high with 12 strikeouts in the ballgame while issuing one free pass. All of the scoring done against him came via the long ball as Amed Rosario slugged a two-run homer in the fourth inning and Aaron Judge swatted a solo shot in the fifth. Crochest piled up a whopping 23 swings and misses on 99 pitches on the night — eight on his fastball — while posting a strong CSW of 37 percent. Now 16-5 on the season, he’ll bring a stellar 2.63 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and a 240/43 K/BB ratio (191 1/3 innings) into Saturday’s showdown against the Rays in Tampa Bay.

Crochet allowed three hits and walked none in the 101-pitch outing. It’s the fifth time this season that he’s gone without allowing a run, and he moved to 15-5 with a 2.57 ERA. He’s again the major league leader with 228 strikeouts, though probably only until Tarik Skubal, who has 222, pitches Friday. Crochet figures to make his next start Sunday against the Yankees.