MLB Cy Young Odds: McClanahan the New AL Favorite, While Two-Horse Race Continues In NL

The 2023 MLB season has arrived, which means that a new race to win the Cy Young award has started in both the American and National Leagues. Here, we will analyze the current MLB Cy Young odds at various MLB betting sites, with our MLB experts regularly making their predictions throughout the season. 

With our MLB Cy Young predictions, we will show you value betting opportunities in each league’s betting markets throughout the season. Instead of going with the conventional wisdom for this award, our analysis will maximize the chances of turning a profit betting on the awards for the best pitcher in each league.

AL Cy Young Odds

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook, correct as of 5/30/23

NL Cy Young Odds

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook, correct as of 5/30/23

Best MLB Betting Promotions

When betting on your MLB Cy Young predictions throughout the 2023 season, bettors will want to take advantage of the many MLB sportsbook promotions that are up for grabs. This includes the 20% deposit bonus worth up to $1,000 at DraftKings Sportsbook. Those bonus funds can be used to wager on this award at a nice plus price before having to risk any money of your own.

Also worth taking advantage of when betting on Cy Young futures is the $1,000 no-sweat first bet promotion from FanDuel Sportsbook. That offer lets bettors place their first wager on Cy Young futures, with the ability to receive $1,000 in site credit back if that first wager does not win. That peace of mind can really come in handy given the unpredictability of a full MLB season.

AL Cy Young Odds Analysis & Predictions

There is a new favorite at the top of the list of favorites to win the AL Cy Young award. Shane McClanahan of the Tampa Bay Rays has taken over the top spot, as his incredible pitching over the first couple of months of the season has finally put him ahead of Gerrit Cole and Shohei Ohtani. Now the question is whether or not McClanahan can remain at the top of the list of favorites to win this award for the rest of the season.

McClanahan has still not lost a game yet this season, as he enters this week’s action with a record of 8-0. His 1.97 ERA is nothing short of incredible, given that he pitches in the toughest division in baseball this season in the AL East. The Rays have lost just one game that he has started, and as long as he keeps putting his team in position to win games, he should remain one of the favorites for this award for the foreseeable future.

Behind McClanahan is Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees, whose numbers are excellent in their own right, even if they are not quite on the level of McClanahan. Cole is 6-0 on the season entering this week’s play, though his 2.93 ERA is almost a full run worse than that of the new favorite in the AL Cy Young race. But Cole should remain in the mix for this award as long as he keeps losses away from his record.

Falling behind in the AL Cy Young race is Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels. He was right there with Cole in terms of his early season Cy Young odds, but those numbers have slid backward a bit as McClanahan and Cole have continued to pitch brilliantly. The big question for Ohtani going forward is whether or not his duties as a hitter will get in the way of him contending for this award in a serious fashion.

At this point, McClanahan is our pick to win the AL Cy Young award, as he is showing no signs of slowing down as the spring wears on. With the Rays continuing to stack up wins at the rate they have, it looks likely that they will have one of the best records in the American League. McClanahan should be rewarded for that with this award.

NL Cy Young Odds Analysis & Predictions

The National League Cy Young award odds have completely shifted from where they were at the start of the 2023 MLB season. Last year’s unanimous Cy Young award winner, Sandy Alcantara, has had a rough start to this season and has fallen down the list of favorites as he deals with injury concerns and poor pitching performances. Meanwhile, Spencer Strider of the Atlanta Braves has jumped to the top of the odds list in what is becoming a two-horse race in the National League.

Strider is 5-2 so far this season, posting a 2.97 ERA on the season, and striking out a league-best 106 batters. He has struck out 10 or more batters in three of his last five starts, and has struck out nine batters in one of the two starts where he did not hit double figures during that stretch. If the Braves ace can keep mowing down batters, we could see another Braves pitcher carry on the Cy Young legacy that this franchise built in the 1990s.

Behind Strider is Zac Gallen, who has a 6-2 record with an ERA of 2.97. Gallen has cooled off a little bit of late, getting rocked by the Pittsburgh Pirates a couple of starts ago. But his numbers overall have been good enough to where a couple of rough outings like that will not end his candidacy, as he is expected to stick around in this race all summer long.

Interestingly enough, the rest of the National League is seriously lacking in Cy Young contenders. The early season front runners like Alcantara and Julio Urias have had their share of struggles early in the season, and the duo of New York Mets in Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander have been nowhere near the level that was expected of them coming into the 2023 season. This race could remain between Strider and Gallen for the duration of the season if they keep pitching the way they are pitching.

At this point in time, Spencer Strider seems like the best option to win the NL Cy Young award. His strikeout numbers are starting to separate themselves from the rest of the pack, and playing on a team like the Braves will allow him to rack up more wins than a pitcher in Gallen who has to really carry the Diamondbacks. At a plus price, grabbing Strider now looks like it will pay dividends in the long run.

How To Read MLB Cy Young Odds

To read MLB Cy Young odds is easy to get used to, even for new sports bettors. The first thing to remember is that Cy Young odds are broken up by league, meaning there are AL Cy Young odds and NL Cy Young odds kept separate from one another.

In terms of understanding what the numbers next to each pitcher’s name mean, the first thing a bettor should look for is whether those numbers start with a plus sign or a minus sign. With plus prices, the numbers next to the plus sign represent the amount a bettor will win if they wager $100 on that pitcher and they claim the Cy Young for their league. Conversely, odds that begin with a minus sign signify the amount a bettor needs to risk in order to win $100.

For example, odds of +1000 indicate that a $100 wager on that pitcher would yield a $1,000 payout if that pitcher won this award. Or, if a pitcher has odds of -200, they would need to wager $200 in order to win a profit of $100 if that pitcher got the job done. For an easy way to calculate potential payouts, bettors can use our odds calculator.

It is worth noting that MLB Cy Young odds change constantly throughout the season based on how each pitcher is performing. Bettors should keep an eye on these odds regularly to look for the best prices they can find on each option.

Previous MLB Cy Young Winners

Previous AL Cy Young Winners

Previous NL Cy Young Winners