Cole Widening Gap as AL Favorite

sportsbookreview.com

16 February 2023

The arms races are heating up across baseball, and our look at the 2023 MLB Cy Young odds offers a breakdown of the available MLB futures odds from our best sports betting apps.

Gerrit Cole is still cruising along as a shining bright spot amid a frustrating season for the New York Yankees. He's way out in front while leading the AL Cy Young race, and Cole is the only front-runner in either league getting minus odds as of Aug. 18.

Meanwhile, the NL is a little more muddled, though Zac Gallen still maintains a decent lead up top as we get further into August.

Here is our look at the best 2023 Cy Young odds in the American and National Leagues (odds via our best MLB betting sites).

American League Cy Young odds 2023

MLB 2023 American League Cy Young odds as of Friday, Aug. 18.

AL Cy Young odds analysis

Cole keeps growing his lead, but Astros ace Framber Valdez is still in a position to challenge. And there's a sizable gap between the offering from DraftKings and the rest of our best sports betting sites for Valdez. That shop is posting him at +950, and Valdez is as long as +1800 through FanDuel.

Elsewhere, our best live betting sites are scattered on Shohei Ohtani. There's never a bad time to sprinkle a little something on him as a long shot. But do that through DraftKings at +4000, rather than the +2200 at bet365.

AL Cy Young odds movement

The days of Cole getting plus odds in this market are likely over in 2023. He was listed at about +110 on Aug. 2, and now Cole has shifted significantly to as short as -420 through Caesars.

Gausman is the only real challenger at the moment, and even he's falling back after a mediocre start recently. The Blue Jays ace was listed as short as +300 on Aug. 10, and he now rests at +550 through two of our best sportsbooks.

Luis Castillo has also fallen from around +1500 to about +2000, and Nathan Eovaldi is out of the top 10 at several shops.

AL Cy Young odds 2023: Favorite

Gerrit Cole (-350 via bet365)

Cole ranks third in ERA (2.76), fifth in WHIP (1.05), and sixth in opponents' batting average (.214). He's well-positioned to finally earn his first career Cy Young Award.

AL Cy Young odds 2023: Contender

Kevin Gausman (+550 via FanDuel and BetMGM)

When he's bad, Gausman has been really bad. But those atrocious outings are mostly just tiny potholes on an otherwise smooth road to Cy Young consideration.

Gausman has given up 52 earned runs through his 24 starts and 144 1/3 innings in 2023, and 21 of those runs have come over just three appearances. He's posted 12 games with one earned run or fewer allowed, and seven with 10-plus strikeouts.

AL Cy Young odds 2023: Long shot

George Kirby (+6000 via FanDuel)

Similar to Gausman, Kirby has navigated through a handful of speed wobbles, but he's been impressive overall with a 3.23 ERA and .266 opponents' batting average as of Aug. 18. And his command remains nearly flawless. He's never walked many batters, but now his BB/9 is down to a league-best 0.8. He's issued an astounding 14 walks over 150 2/3 innings.

AL Cy Young odds 2023: Fade

Nathan Eovaldi (+15000 via FanDuel)

Eovaldi could very well finish with a quality season, just as he did in the not-so-distant past in 2021 before ending up fourth in Cy Young voting. But Eovaldi's FIP as of Aug. 18 is a tiny 3.23, which is on another continent compared to his 4.30 in 2022.

A trip to the IL also isn't encouraging, though he should return soon.

Recent AL Cy Young winners

National League Cy Young odds 2023

MLB 2023 National League Cy Young odds as of Friday Aug. 18.

NL Cy Young odds analysis

It's a little more uncertain at the top in the NL, though there's still a clear breakaway trio of Zac Gallen, Logan Webb, and Blake Snell. Nearly half of the top 10 is universally listed shorter than +1000, whereas only two hurlers have been given that status across the board in the AL.

There's a whole lot of consensus among our best sportsbooks too as a result in the NL, with few edges to be found. The one notable exception is tied to Justin Steele, with DraftKings down to +700 on him, while FanDuel sits at +1100.

NL Cy Young odds movement

Gallen continues to inch away at the top. He was listed at +200 across the board on Aug. 10, and on Aug. 18 the Diamondbacks ace is the only hurler below that mark in the NL. He's as short as +150 through bet365.

Logan Webb is the most significant mover, leaping up from around +700 on Aug. 10 to +350. Snell keeps challenging Gallen too, going from +300 to +240 at FanDuel.

Steele has stumbled while moving from about +500 to as long as +1100, and Corbin Burnes has taken a similar stumble, shifting from +1000 to roughly +3000.

Zack Wheeler has suffered the same fate, falling from +1500 to as long as +4000 as the top group pulls away.

NL Cy Young odds 2023: Favorite

Zac Gallen (+175 via DraftKings)

Gallen has been far from flawless, and that's allowing others to close the gap and keep the NL race close. In July and early August he allowed three-plus earned runs five times over seven starts. But he's consistently pitching deep into games while keeping his ERA down to a still impressive 3.17, which ranks eighth leaguewide.

NL Cy Young odds 2023: Contender

Blake Snell (+300 via FanDuel)

The Friars' lefty has been the best pitcher in baseball over the past two months, and it hasn’t been particularly close. He was especially lethal during July while posting an absurd 0.56 ERA over 32 innings.

NL Cy Young odds 2023: Long shot

Clayton Kershaw (+10000 via FanDuel)

There was always injury concern tied to Kershaw due to his age and recent lack of durability. But he's back now and has given up just two earned runs over 10 innings since his return.

His IL stint could result in a massive discount on a top-tier stud who was second on the NL oddsboard before suffering an injury. Kershaw has posted a 2.48 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in 2023.

NL Cy Young odds 2023: Fade

Corbin Burnes (+3000 via FanDuel)

Burnes is putting together another stellar season. However, he was always battling voter fatigue to some degree after getting Cy Young votes in three straight seasons and winning in 2021. Toss in an ERA that's significantly higher than his production in 2022 while going from 2.94 to 3.43, and it's tough to see him joining the contending mix down the stretch.

Recent NL Cy Young winners

MLB betting odds pages

MLB Cy Young FAQs

When will the Cy Young winners be announced?

While there's no set date right now, the Cy Young winners are usually announced in mid November, along with all the other award recipients. The 2022 Cy Young winners were named on Nov. 16.

How does the Cy Young voting work?

The Cy Young awards are given out based on the voting from members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Writers from NL cities vote for the NL Cy Young, and the same is true for AL writers. In total, there are 30 votes tied to each award, with one representative from each team.

Writers submit their ballots before the beginning of the posteason. They rank their top-five selections, and points are given in descending order (first place gets seven points, second place gets four, third place gets three, fourth place gets two, and fifth place gets one). The player with the most points wins. In the event of a tie, the award is shared.