This article was generated by artificial intelligence and is automatically updated as news breaks. All credit belongs to the original reporters and their publications.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is forcing his way into what’s shaping up to be a crowded NL Cy Young race, per Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register. After his near-perfect outing against the White Sox — where he lost a perfect game in the eighth inning and a no-hitter in the ninth — Yamamoto’s case for the award is getting harder to ignore. This isn’t just one good start. This is a body of work that demands attention.

Yamamoto came to the Dodgers before the 2024 season on a massive 12-year, $325 million deal, and the early returns were strong before a shoulder injury cut his first MLB season short. His 2025 campaign showed flashes but was still a year of adjustment. Now, in 2026, we’re seeing the pitcher who dominated NPB for years — the one who won consecutive Sawamura Awards and posted an absurd 1.82 ERA across his final three seasons with the Orix Buffaloes. The stuff has always been elite: a fastball that plays up with movement, a splitter that falls off the table, and a curveball that buckles knees. What’s different now is the command and confidence. He’s pitching like a guy who knows he belongs at the top of any rotation in baseball, because he does.

The NL Cy Young field is legitimately stacked right now, which makes Yamamoto’s push all the more impressive. He’s not sneaking in through a weak year — he’s earning his place against real competition. For a pitcher still in the relatively early stages of his MLB career, that’s a statement. The near-perfect game against Chicago was the headline, but the consistency start after start is the real story. He’s not just having a moment. He’s having a season.

For the Dodgers, this is exactly what the front office envisioned when they committed that kind of money. A true ace who anchors the rotation and gives you a chance to win every fifth day — or in this case, a chance to win the Cy Young. Our rotation depth has been tested this year with various injuries across the pitching staff, and Yamamoto has been the constant. He’s the guy you circle on the calendar, the start where you feel good about the pitching matchup no matter who’s on the other side.

I’ll say this plainly: Yamamoto deserves to be in the Cy Young conversation right now, not as a courtesy mention but as a legitimate contender. The stuff, the results, the big-moment performances — it’s all there. If he keeps this up through the second half, we could be watching the first Dodgers Cy Young winner since Clayton Kershaw was collecting them regularly. And honestly, given what Yamamoto has shown, I wouldn’t bet against him.

Source(s): Bill Plunkett (Orange County Register) | First reported: June 15, 2026 12:17 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers