SF Giants ace falls short of being a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award

On Monday, MLB revealed its finalists for each of its annual awards, including the NL Cy Young Award. There were three finalists for that award, but SF Giants ace Logan Webb was not among that group.

SF Giants ace falls short of being a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award

Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cristopher Sánchez of the Philadelphia Phillies, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers were the finalists. 

The voting has already taken place, so these three players were the top vote-getters. There is no additional voting that takes place. The winner in both leagues will be announced on November 12.

While all three pitchers have a compelling case to take home the award, Skenes is viewed as the clear front runner. He comfortably led all qualified starters with a 1.97 ERA in 32 outings for Pittsburgh.

Yamamoto finished with a 2.49 ERA in 30 starts. Sánchez was right behind him in that category, with a 2.50 ERA in 32 starts. He finished second in the NL among pitchers with 6.4 fWAR, behind only Skenes (6.5 fWAR).

While Logan Webb was not a finalist, he will still receive considerable support. He has received NL Cy Young votes in each of the past three seasons, including a second-place finish in 2023. Blake Snell took home the award that year.

It was another vintage year for the Giants hurler, who continued to establish himself as one of the top workhorse pitchers in baseball. Webb posted a 3.22 ERA, 2.60 FIP, 1.23 WHIP, 9.7 K/9, and a 4.87 SO/W rate in 2025.

Webb led baseball in both starts (34) and innings pitched (207 innings). It was the third straight year he surpassed the 200-inning threshold, and it was the third straight year he led the NL in that category. While pitcher workloads have declined in recent years, Webb is a throwback in that regard.

The veteran starter has often excelled at pitching to contact and keeping the ball on the ground. He continued to thrive in that area, inducing a ground ball in 53.2 percent of batted-ball events. That was seventh among qualified pitchers.

However, Webb saw a notable spike in strikeouts in 2025. His 9.7 K/9 rate was the highest of his career, and well above his 8.4 K/9 career mark.

There was a notable shift in pitch mix this past season. As usual, Webb relied on his sinker to steal strikes and induce ground balls. However, he relied more on his sweeper than he had in 2024. The changeup saw a corresponding decrease in usage.

That said, both the sweeper and changeup saw increases in whiff rate in 2025. In particular, the changeup saw more vertical drop, leading to more swings and misses from opposing hitters.

Webb may not have been a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award, but it was another strong season. Plus, he showed improvement in fielding his position and was recognized for it.