The Cy Young Award race has been heating up in both the National and American leagues. Several pitchers have put themselves in the running for the honor handed out at the end of the season.
Those that began the season as favorites have slipped down the board. New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole was the +350 favorite before the season. Now he is at +1800.
Current Odds to Win CY Young
American League
- Justin Verlander +150
- Shane McClanahan +220
- Dylan Cease +550
- Shohei Ohtani +1000
- Gerrit Cole +1800
- Alek Manoah +1800
National League
- Sandy Alcantara +175
- Corbin Burnes +600
- Max Fried +1000
- Joe Musgrove +1600
- Carolos Rodon +2000
- Zack Wheeler +3000
Odds courtesy of BetMGM
In the National League New York Mets righty Jacob deGrom was at +500. But after an injury before the season, he has slipped all the way to +25000.
The experts at BetQL take a look at contenders for the Cy Young Award in both leagues and offer their picks.
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Lucy Burdge Picks
Tony Gonsolin, Los Angeles Dodgers +3500
Yes, Miami Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara is the pitcher to beat here, but more people should be talking about Los Angeles Dodger ace Tony Gonsolin. He is 12-1 this season with a 2.41 ERA and 96 strikeouts through 20 starts. And he has a 0.90 WHIP. He has 27 strikeouts in his last six starts and he is, of course, an All-Star. So, absolutely count me in as a passenger on the “Gonsolin for NL Cy Young” train.
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels +1000
There’s a ton of value in Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani here to win the AL Cy Young. He’s better than Babe Ruth and he can do it all with his domination on the mound. He has a 9-6 record, 2.81 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 145 strikeouts in 99.1 innings.
He’s had 10-plus strikeouts in his last four starts and there seems to be no stopping him now. He also earned an historic win with a 1-2-3 first inning at the All-Star Game in July. So, I’m all-in on Ohtani to win the AL Cy Young, especially at this great price.
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Brad Pinkerton Picks
Max Scherzer, New York Mets +4000
Alcantara (-175) is the clear front-runner for the NL Cy Young award, and Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes (+600) is probably the easy answer here, but I’m looking for big value. If there’s anyone who can seemingly come out of nowhere (i.e. off the IL), make a late-season run to cut through the clutter after Alcantara and Burnes challenge him for the Cy Young, it’s New York Mets’ Max Scherzer.
Mad Max missed part of May and all of June with an oblique strain, but has been lights-out in his two starts since returning. Though he isn’t “qualified” right now after missing so much time, Scherzer’s rate stats look pretty favorable when stacked up against Alcantara’s:
Scherzer: 13 GS, 88.2 IP, 6-2, 2.13 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 109 strikeouts
Alcantara: 22 GS, 149.1 IP, 8-3, 1.99 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 138 strikeouts.
Will Alcantara regress during the second half of the season? Can Scherzer log enough innings to enter voters’ minds? It’s worth a sprinkle at +3000 to find out.
Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees +1800
First of all, Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan absolutely deserves to be the front-runner for AL Cy Young, and it will be tough (but not impossible) for anyone to outpitch him in the second half.
Second, Ohtani is probably the most likely candidate to catch Sugar Shane. All that said, I think Gerrit Cole is also a great value pick here at +1800.
Cole’s midseason stats (9-3, 3.30 ERA, 1.03 WHIP) aren’t that far off from McClanhan’s (10-4, 2.07 ERA, 0.83 WHIP), and McClanahan’s 2.28 xERA, 2.40 FIP and 87.3% left-on-base rate, highest among qualified AL starters, suggest he could regress at least a little in the second half.
With the Yankees threatening the MLB wins record, thanks in part to their ace, that could be enough to help Cole close the gap on McClanahan down the stretch.
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