Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto Wants to Win the Cy Young Award This Season

The Los Angeles Dodgers began the 2025 season with one of the most esteemed rotations in all of baseball, but Yoshinobu Yamamato quickly established himself as the team’s ace this year.

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The right-hander has made four starts for the Dodgers this season, all lasting five-plus innings. Yamamoto has a 1.23 ERA across 22 innings.

On Friday against the Chicago Cubs, Yamamoto pitched six scoreless innings in the Dodgers’ 3-0 victory. The right-hander’s latest performance only confirms he is on pace to be a candidate for the NL Cy Young Award.

“I’ve heard no Japanese pitcher has won it yet, so I’m awfully interested in it,” Yamamoto said, via Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times. “I think that concentrating on each and every game and performing at my best is what will lead to a wonderful award like that, so I’d like to do my best every day.”

The scary part for opponents this season is the 26-year-old is only going to improve in his second year with the Dodgers. Tommy Edman, who rewarded Yamamoto for his efforts on the mound with a three-run home run Friday night, heaped high praise for the right-hander.

“He’s unreal. He’s been dominant pretty much the whole season,” Edman said of Yamamoto. “I’m just kind of in awe for how well he executes. He’s just lights out and he’s been our best pitcher this year.”

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Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

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