With just a few days left of the 2025 MLB regular season, the awards races are all but wrapped up. In fact, most of them have been for weeks. Still, that doesn’t make the honorees any less exciting.
In a true showing of dominance, several players are in line to repeat as winners. Tigers ace Tarik Skubal looks destined for a second consecutive Cy Young award, a feat not accomplished since Jacob deGrom did so with the Mets in 2018 and 2019. Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers’ two-way superstar, is all but inevitable as the National League MVP. Paul Skenes, who won Rookie of the Year with the Pirates last season, has run laps around the NL pitchers. Nick Kurtz is the easy ROY pick in the American League, but the senior circuit has more options.
Meanwhile, the biggest question of the awards season is whether Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh can beat Yankees’ Aaron Judge for the American League MVP. Judge has better rate stats, but Raleigh has been breaking records all over the place.
Here’s how CBS Sports’ MLB experts voted:
American League
Anderson: Cal Raleigh has had a terrific, historic season and plays a more premium defensive position than Aaron Judge does on most days. But I had to give Judge the nod anyway because I couldn’t ignore that he has such a sizable lead in the triple-slash categories, even after park-adjustment calculations. Likewise, while Garrett Crochet has had a tremendous first year in Boston, I just think Tarik Skubal has been better. In either of those cases, I’m fine with people arguing the other way. When it comes to Nick Kurtz, though, I don’t see a compelling argument for anyone else. He’s been that good.
Axisa: Raleigh has had an incredible, historically significant season and if he wins MVP, I would understand completely. He’s more than worthy of the award. I just think Judge’s significant advantage at the plate outweighs the defensive advantage Raleigh has behind the plate. The gap between Judge and every other hitter right now is just too massive to ignore and overcome. Similarly, Skubal vs. Crochet is a close race (don’t sleep on Hunter Brown either), so we have to nitpick a bit. Skubal has been better at limiting walks and generating weak contact, even once you adjust for quality of competition. Skubal by the tiniest of edges here. Kurtz is the easy one. He should win Rookie of the Year unanimously.
Feldman: I was Team Judge up until Raleigh hit No. 60 Wednesday night (and there’s like a 5% chance I only changed my vote to make things a little more interesting), but let’s get some fresh blood in here. Judge is a superstar. We know. We get it. Raleigh is doing it all and squatting behind the plate most nights. Give the guy a trophy. Skubal’s all-but-guaranteed back-to-back wins in the Cy Young race, which is well deserved, but it also kind of makes for a boring award season. Kurtz, similarly, has been just so much better than his competition that it’s a fait accompli. At least he’s one and done (in this category).
McWilliams: Raleigh has had a historic season, but I sense some fatigue around Judge’s dominance. A quick scan of his Baseball Reference page shows most of his offensive categories in bold and italics, meaning he’s leading the league. Raleigh deserves credit for handling the toughest position in baseball, yet I have trouble voting for someone hitting .248, even with this many homers. Meanwhile, the Tigers wouldn’t be in contention without Skubal. He’s box office and embodies what it means to be an ace. Crochet had a strong case early but has looked more human in recent outings. As for Rookie of the Year, Kurtz is the clear choice. Even Jim Thome has gone out of his way to praise him to people around the A’s.
Perry: Obviously, you can make a compelling case for Raleigh, as he’s a skilled defensive catcher who’s put up a 50-homer season. For me, though, the offensive gap between Raleigh and Judge is still too substantial for Raleigh to make up the ground with defense and positional scarcity. We’re talking about a 40-ish point gap in OPS+ between the two, and that’s just too much for me to move off Judge. On the Cy, I’m favoring Skubal by a nose over Crochet thanks to the former’s big edge in ERA+ and more modest edges in FIP and K/BB ratio. Kurtz is the runaway choice for me among AL rookies.
Snyder: Judge is crushing Raleigh in the rate stats and I’m well aware of that, but I think there’s room to give a nod to such a historic season here. There should be bonus points given for Raleigh being a catcher for the overwhelming majority of his games, as that takes such a huge toll on the body and he’s still been producing at such a ridiculous level. Further, if we’re going to ding hitters in Coors Field and ding pitchers for having a pitcher-friendly home park, shouldn’t we give bonus points for hitters in places like T-Mobile? Again, Judge has Raleigh beat in a major way in the triple slash stats, but Raleigh has Judge nearly everywhere else and in some places — like defense — significantly. He’s even stolen more bases. As for Cy Young, I think Crochet and Skubal are very close and when that’s the case, generally, I’m still old fashioned in reverting back to the run prevention for the winner. Skubal has Crochet by enough of a gap in ERA that I won’t have to dive any deeper.
National League
Anderson: It wouldn’t stun me if voters start to develop some Shohei Ohtani fatigue, maybe as soon as this year. Trea Turner, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Juan Soto are all compelling candidates, I just don’t think any of them actually scale over what Ohtani has accomplished (especially when you factor in his pitching). Cristopher Sánchez should’ve been recognized as an All-Star and has developed into a great pitcher. I can’t bring myself to deny Paul Skenes, who somehow found a way to match or beat his dominant rookie season in the most meaningful categories. Unlike in the American League, the National League Rookie of the Year Award race is wide open. If you look at the various WAR models, there’s an argument to be made for Cade Horton, Caleb Durbin, Drake Baldwin, and a few others. I went with Isaac Collins because he has a nice story in addition to being a well-rounded contributor. That’s probably the pick I feel least strongly about given the closeness of the field.
Axisa: The guy who’s hit 50 home runs and has pitched like an ace when he’s been on the mound is the best and most valuable player in the league. We needn’t overthink that one. Once Zack Wheeler went down, the door was wide open for Skenes to run away with the Cy Young, and he’s done that. Shoutout to Cristopher Sánchez for his excellent season. A Cy Young-worthy one in a league without Skenes. The Rookie of the Year race is really wide open. I’m so impressed with what Baldwin has done. It’s so difficult and demanding to be a rookie catcher these days. They throw so much at you. The Brewers have a few guys in the race (Collins, Durbin, etc.). Ultimately, I’m going with Horton, who’s been on a brilliant run the last few weeks and has been terrific overall. Any of about four players could win Rookie of the Year, and none would surprise me (or deserve much second guessing).
Feldman: Ohtani did have some competition, mainly in the form of Kyle Schwarber and Soto, but it wasn’t as close as I’d like. He’s the guy. He’s going to be the guy until he retires or the voters just get bored, and even then he might still be the guy. Skenes found a way to improve upon his rookie year, which I honestly did not think was possible, so credit and a nice trophy for his troubles. The NL Rookie of the Year race is just about the only mystery here, but Horton gets my nod here for helping the Cubs actually get to the playoffs.
McWilliams: This is where I’m a hypocrite. I wish I had someone else to pick, but Ohtani remains unavoidable. He’s such a dynamic figure, and his production — even in spurts — is otherworldly. Skenes has lived up to every ounce of hype. Establishing yourself as arguably the best pitcher in the game in your second year while becoming the face of the Pirates says everything. The Cubs endured heavy rotation injuries, but Horton has answered at every turn. Twenty-one starts, 22 appearances, a 2.66 ERA, and a 1.096 WHIP. That plays.
Perry: I’d love to get unconventional here, but I’m not going to talk myself out of casting an MVP vote for the guy who’s put up a 50-homer/100-walk season while also giving the Dodgers quality innings on the mound. The obvious answer is the correct answer in this instance. A nod of recognition goes out to Geraldo Perdomo, Soto, Schwarber, and even a pitcher or two. Skenes’ season of dominance earns him the Cy in just his second big-league season, and it’s very much deserved. Right now, he leads all MLB pitchers in WAR and ERA+, and he’s also topped 200 strikeouts for the year. The Rookie of the Year is a much tougher call between Horton and Baldwin. I’ll narrowly lean Baldwin thanks to his strong offensive performance and more than 700 defensive innings behind the plate for Atlanta.