2024 MLB mid-season award leaders: Paul Skenes' late start may cost him a shot at history

Paul Skenes is the talk of the baseball world right now, and anyone who watched the MLB All-Star Game Tuesday night understands why.

The Pittsburgh Pirates rookie is simply special. Not only did Skenes start the game for the National League, he saw AL MVP candidates Gunnar Henderson, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge in consecutive at-bats and made it out of the inning without giving up a single run. Like I said, special.

His performance wasn’t surprising to those who’ve paid attention to what he’s done for the Pirates since May, going 6-0 with 89 strikeouts and a 1.90 ERA through his first 11 starts. He’s a virtual lock for NL Rookie of the Year. And now the 22-year-old is getting buzz as a Cy Young candidate, with his odds skyrocketing up to +400 at BetMGM, which rank third-best in the NL.

The only player in MLB history to win Cy Young and Rookie of the Year in the same season is Fernando Valenzuela in 1981.

Now is when I break the news that Skenes probably won’t be the second. With just 66 1/3 innings pitched so far, Skenes won’t likely have the necessary workload to keep up with the rest of the field. Not to mention, he has some decent competition. Below is a look at the leaders for each award at the All-Star break, and a sleeper candidate for those who want to take swing on some longer odds.

Odds via BetMGM