Nathan Eovaldi is anchoring a historic Texas Rangers season, sitting among the best in ERA, batting average allowed, and WHIP while chasing a 119-inning threshold to qualify for league leaders. His 1.38 ERA and .184 batting average against pace an elite season that could lift him to Cy Young consideration, even as voting momentum stretches across multiple Texas pitchers. The article stacks five strong Cy Young contenders as the most plausible winners this year: Tarik Skubal, Garrett Crochet, Max Fried, Hunter Brown, and Jacob deGrom. Skubal destroys on punchy peripherals (11.58 K/9, 5.5 WAR) and leads in WHIP and ERA among qualifiers, Crochet tokens in both innings and ERA with noted consistency; Fried remains a heavy innings eater with solid strikeouts but waning recent form; Brown and Valdez offer a Houston split with strong ERA and strikeout rates; deGrom stands as a veteran wildcard with Rangers’ innings and high strikeout efficiency. The piece ultimately frames the Cy Young race as the focal September race for Rangers fans, while also highlighting how the voting dynamics could influence Eovaldi’s path to the award.

Beyond the numbers, the piece emphasizes how the Cy Young voting—handled by the Baseball Writers Association of America—could hinge on innings, run prevention, and how votes might split among multiple Rangers arms. It paints a narrative where Eovaldi’s historic season is only a single thread in a broader, competitive AL landscape, with Skubal, Crochet, Fried, Brown, and deGrom each positioned to sway the ballot. The Rangers’ offense and bullpen context add color to the discussion, but the core is a pitched duel across elite performers with very different paths to the same prize.