Favorites to Take Home the NL Cy Young
Sandy Alcantara (+450)
Corbin Burnes (+550)
Justin Verlander (+600)
Max Scherzer (+800)
Spencer Strider (+950)
Last year’s winner, Sandy Alcantara, is the favorite to take home the NL Cy Young Award this season. The Marlins ace was sensational last year, orchestrating a microscopic 2.28 ERA in a league-high 228.2 innings pitched.
Corbin Burnes nearly won his second consecutive NL Cy Young Award last season before stumbling to a 4.81 ERA in six starts in August. However, he still finished 7th in voting, posting a 2.94 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 243 strikeouts in 202 innings pitched.
Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer are over 38, but neither played like it last season. Verlander won his third Cy Young after finishing the campaign with 18 wins and a 1.75 ERA and will now anchor a pitching staff in New York alongside Scherzer. Meanwhile, Mad Max was electric in 145 innings, accumulating 173 strikeouts on a 2.29 ERA.
Spencer Strider started his rookie season last year in the bullpen but quickly became one of the aces of the Atlanta Braves rotation. He went 10-4 with a 2.77 ERA as a starter over 20 games and will look to build on a stellar rookie season with a full workload in 2023.
Some Mid-tier Guys
Max Fried (+1000)
Zac Gallen (+1100)
Zach Wheeler (+1200)
Aaron Nola (+1200)
Brandon Woodruff (+1900)
Max Fried having higher odds than his teammate Spencer Strider is wild, considering the former finished second in the NL in Cy Young voting and posted a 164 ERA+ last season. In addition, Zac Gallen had a scoreless streak of 44.1 innings last season, and the former top prospect could make waves if the Dbacks continue to improve in the win column.
Zach Wheeler and Aaron Nola are the co-aces for the Philadelphia Phillies and posted Cy Young-caliber seasons last year as their team eventually made the World Series. Nola receiver Cy Young votes last season while Wheeler was in the running in 2021, and it wouldn’t be surprising if one of them is in the conversation for the award late in the season.
Brandon Woodruff has a career ERA of 3.18 and a 10.5 K/9 over six seasons with the Brewers and finished 5th in the Cy Young voting in 2021. He has every bit of Cy Young potential as every other pitcher on this list.
Longshots to Win
Julio Urias (+1200)
Blake Snell (+3500)
Kodai Senga (+5000)
Noah Syndergaard (+10000)
Julio Urias’ ERA decreased each of the last three seasons, including a 2.16 number in 2022. If he stays healthy and gets an uptick in strikeouts, he could easily win his first career Cy Young Award.
Blake Snell has had a rough go of it since winning the Cy Young in 2018, but he is healthy heading into the 2023 season, giving him hope that he can find his groove again for the Padres. Kodai Senga went 11-6 with a 1.94 ERA last year in the Japanese League and could take the MLB by storm in his inaugural season.
Noah Syndergaard has battled with injuries his whole career, but let’s not forget he still throws gas and can rack up strikeouts with the best of him. More importantly, the Dodgers turned Tyler Anderson into a Cy Young Award candidate so they could do the same with Syndergaard.
