Padres Star Picked as Cy Young Favorite Over Shohei Ohtani, Paul Skenes

The National League boasts some of the best pitchers in baseball.

From Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes to Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani, there is no shortage of talent on the mound.

Both Skenes and Ohtani are poised to be favorites in the race for the NL Cy Young award as the Pirates right-hander is sporting a 1.98 ERA and the Dodgers right-hander is sporting a 0.82 ERA.

According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, though, the highly-touted accolade won't be given to a starting pitcher this season.

"We got four superstars in the [NL Cy Young] race. As you said, [Shohei] Ohtani is going for it. I think [Paul] Skenes is the favorite. I'm actually going to go with [Mason] Miller at this point," Heyman said on MLB Now."

"I think he's the most valuable player in the league. Look at San Diego, they're in first place. How are they doing it? What is good on San Diego other than Mason Miller? It's incredible."

"I'm actually going to go with [Mason] Miller at this point, I think he's the most valuable player in the league."

- @JonHeyman on who he thinks is leading the charge in the NL Cy Young Award race pic.twitter.com/Y5guYVqLGK
— MLB Now (@MLBNow) May 13, 2026

Miller would be the first reliever to win a Cy Young since Los Angeles Dodgers star Eric Gagne in 2003. Gagne was on another level that season, converting all 55 of his save opportunities with a 1.20 ERA and 137 strikeouts in 82.1 innings.

Miller has posted a 0.92 ERA with 40 strikeouts and 13 saves across 19.2 innings thus far this season.

The feat would be monumental for Miller, given the rarity of a reliever winning a Cy Young. The discourse surrounding the right-hander's ability to win the accolade is contingent on whether he's more valuable than a starter who's tossed 180 innings throughout the year.

Only nine relievers have won the award in MLB history, but Miller is no stranger to breaking records and making headlines for his performance.

Mason Miller Makes History in 2026

President of baseball operations A.J. Preller orchestrated the deal of the deadline last summer when the Padres acquired Miller in exchange for top prospect Leo De Vries and three others. Since Miller arrived in San Diego, he has been lights out for the team.

Most notably, the right-hander had a 34.2-inning scoreless streak that recently came to its conclusion at the end of April but began last season.

Miller's dominance has been nothing short of spectacular as he tied for the second-longest strikeout streak in the expansion era by punching out 11 consecutive hitters earlier in 2026.

Additionally, the Padres closer has thrown the fastest pitch of the season.

Miller credits the coaching staff in San Diego for his continued success.

“I think it’s also just the environment and the people that we have here," Miller said. "We have good people, so it’s easy to push one another. It’s easy to have harder conversations with each other, be a little critical, and know that we’re all coming from a place that we just want to succeed as a group. And succeeding as a group results in individual success too, so focusing on that team aspect and letting the individual stuff follow."

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