Ranking Top 5 pitchers who could win 2024 MLB NL Cy Young Award ft. Chris Sale, Zack Wheeler and more 

We are almost at the halfway mark of the regular season, with the MLB All-Star game scheduled for July 16 at Globe Life Field. Many pitchers, who have never won the pitching award before, have put forward their names for the NL Cy Young Award.

Here's a closer look at the pitchers in contention to win the pitching award.

Top 5 pitchers in contention to win 2024 NL Cy Young

#5. Max Fried, Atlanta Braves

MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves. Credit: IMAGN

The Atlanta Braves southpaw felt short in the 2022 NL Cy Young voting, where he came second to Sandy Alcántara. Next year, he followed up with another good pitching year (2.55 ERA, 8-1) and that only continued in 2024.

This year, Fried can get his first Cy Young, as he is currently having a good season. He is 7-4 with an ERA of 3.18 (ninth in the NL), a 1.15 WHIP and 88 Ks. He has pitched 102.0 innings and started 17 games. He needs to have a better second half if he wants to jump the odds and get closer to contention.

#4. Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles Dodgers

MLB: Los Angeles Angels at Los Angeles Dodgers. Credit: IMAGN

The Los Angeles Dodgers have a new starter in the fray for this year's Cy Young and it is not Clayton Kershaw. While the three-time Cy Young winner has yet to throw a pitch this season, newly signed Tyler Glasnow has been leading the charts.

While Glasnow's numbers don't look good, particularly when it comes to ERA, the former Tampa Bay Rays player is leading the majors with 143 strikeouts and second to Garrett Crochet in SO/9 with an 11.81 mark. However, there's a downside to his contention with his ERA mark, which is 3.47 and he has gone 8-5.

#3. Ranger Suarez, Philadelphia Phillies

MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at Detroit Tigers. Credit: IMAGN

The Phillies (58-30) have been one of the National League's best teams this year and two of their main pitchers are in contention to win the Cy Young Award, and one of them is Ranger Suarez. It's perhaps disheartening for fans to see Suarez falling behind the odds of late after his last outing, where he gave up six earned runs and 10 hits to the Miami Marlins offense.

Despite that, his early season excellence has kept him in contention and a good second half could see him getting to the top. Currently, he holds a 2.27 ERA (best in the NL), 0.99 WHIP (third) and 99 Ks.

#2. Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies

MLB: Miami Marlins at Philadelphia Phillies. Credit: IMAGN

Another Philadelphia Phillies pitcher who is a favorite to win this year's Cy Young is Zack Wheeler. The righty has been baseball's best pitcher in the past few years but has fallen short or had bad numbers post-the-All-Star game, resulting in him still searching for his first Cy Young.

He faces an uphill battle with the No. 1 on our list but his stats are similar. Wheeler has started 18 games, going 9-4, holding an ERA of 2.74 (third in NL) and 119 strikeouts (sixth).

#1. Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves

MLB: Atlanta Braves at Chicago White Sox. Credit: IMAGN

LHP Chris Sale has finished in the top five of Cy Young voting six times but is still searching to win his first. The former Boston Red Sox ace is surging back to his best following a dismal year in 2023, which saw him go 6-5 with a career-worst 4.30 ERA.

However, this season, he seems to have turned back the clock and is arguably the best pitcher in the league at the moment. The most unhittable pitcher (MLB best 0.91 WHIP) in all of baseball has started 16 games, going 11-3, holding an ERA of 2.71 (second in NL) and has registered 127 strikeouts (third).