The coronavirus pandemic has shut down Spring Training and will cause the delay of Opening Day. But according to a report from The Athletic, those involved in the sport’s highest level are increasingly confident that games will be played in 2020.
MLB’s futures odds have been up since February and the World Series odds have been shaken up by the Mookie Betts trade. When it comes to the pitchers though, Gerrit Cole and Jacob DeGrom are the AL and NL betting favorites, respectively to win the 2020 Cy Young awards.
Let’s take a look at current betting favorites to win the AL and NL Cy Young awards in 2020.
Gerrit Cole finished second in the 2019 AL Cy Young balloting, coming up with 13 first-place votes, four behind former teammate Justin Verlander. He had the best season of his seven-year MLB career with an ERA of 2.50 and a ridiculous 326 strikeouts in 212.1 innings pitched. Cole posted a record of 20-5 last season and with the Yankees having the highest projected win total this season, it’s easy to think that he’s going to have an encore performance this season with the preseason World Series betting favorites.
Justin Verlander is coming off his second AL Cy Young award. He won in 2011 when he was still with the Detroit Tigers and he won again last season, edging out then-teammate Gerrit Cole. The 2006 AL Rookie of the Year finished the 2019 season with a record of 21-6 with an ERA of 2.58 with 300 strikeouts in a total of 223 innings pitched. Verlander finished first in the Majors in innings pitched and games started, marking the 4th time in his career he’s done that.
Lucas Giolito looked much improved in his second season with the White sox in 2019. After starting the year with a 1-1 record, he won nine consecutive games and pitched his first career shutout on May 23, 2019. Giolito was AL Pitcher of the Month for May and he was among the starters for the AL team to the 2019 MLB All-Star Game. After suffering an injury to his pitching arm, he was shut down after completing 29 starts. He finished with a record of 14-9, an ERA of 3.41, and 228 strikeouts in 176 ⅔ innings pitched.
Shane Bieber was named an All-Star last season after a 7-3 start where he posted an ERA of 3.54 over 18 games played. He won the All-Star game MVP and finished the season with a record of 15-8 in 33 starts. He posted an ERA of 3.28 and struck out a total of 259 hitters in 214.1 innings pitched for the Cleveland Indians.
Mike Clevinger missed time last season with a bad back. But when he was healthy, he was among the Top 3 pitchers in the AL. After the Indians traded Trevor Bauer and Corey Kluber over the past seven months, he is now the ace of the team. He was one of the main reasons why Cleveland was able to stay in the Wild Card race despite their poor offense. He ranked third in the AL with an ERA of 2.71 and was second with a 0.71 HR/9 rate which was 2nd in the American League.
Gerrit Cole is my pick here as he is coming heading to a team that is primed for success. The allure of the Yankees is tough to ignore. They have a powerful pitching line-up that makes him attractive here. Unless the wheels fall off, I think adjusting to playing in the AL won’t be a factor and playing in Yankee Stadium won’t change him much.
Prediction: Gerrit Cole
Jacob DerGrom is the betting favorite in the NL and that doesn’t come as a surprise. DeGrom is the reigning back to back NL Cy Young winner who was a unanimous winner in 2019 with 29 out of a possible 30 first-place votes. DeGrom had an ERA of 1.70 in 2018 and 2.43 in 2019. He was also the NL strikeout leader in 2019 with a total of 255 in 204 innings pitched.
Max Scherzer is a three-time Cy Young winner and the back to back NL winner before DeGrom won in 2018. He is one of two pitchers to strike out 200 batters in eight consecutive seasons. Last season, Scherzer posted a record of 11-7 with an ERA of 2.92. He led all MLB pitchers in strikeouts/walks at 7.364.
Walker Buehler was the 24th overall pick in the 2015 MLB draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Buehler made his first All-Star game appearance last season and he became the third pitcher in MLB history with multiple games with 15 strikeouts and no walks in a single season. He recorded a 14-4 2019 season with an ERA of 3.26 in 30 starts. Buehler had two complete games and he struck out a total of 215 hitters.
Jack Flaherty posted an ERA of 4.64 heading to the All-Star break. He improved vastly with a 0.91 ERA during the second half of the season, the third-lowest in MLB history. He was named as NL Player of the Month for August after going 5-1 with an ERA of 0.71 and repeated in September after posting an ERA of 0.82 over 44 innings. Overall, he had an 11-8 record with an ERA of 2.75 across 33 starts with 231 strikeouts. Flaherty finished fourth in the NL Cy Young voting.
Luis Castillo is another player who made his first All-Star game appearance in 2019. The 27-year old from the Dominican Republic was Cincinnati’s Opening Day starter and he finished the 2019 season with a record of 15-8. Castillo struck out 226 hitters and had an ERA of 3.40
I will not blame you if you go with DeGrom but I think this one is his to lose. For me, Walker Buehler is the guy in the NL. Ryu is gone and Kershaw is a year older. I think that the opportunity is there for him this season in Los Angeles. The Dodgers are also favored to return to the Fall Classic with the addition of Mookie Betts and David Price. I like Buehler at +700 here.
Prediction: Walker Buehler
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