2020 MLB Futures | American League Cy Young

By Dave Schwab for Scores And Stats

Some of the best pitchers in baseball reside in the American League. Yet, only one will be named the ‘best of the best’ for the 2020 MLB season by winning the annual AL Cy Young award. This honor is voted on by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

The Houston Astros’ Justin Verlander won this award last season to become the second two-time winner (2011) over the past 10 years along with Corey Kluber, who is currently with the Texas Rangers. He won the Cy Young in 2014 and 2017.

AL Cy Young Favorites

There is basically a two-pitcher short list of favorites in the AL when it comes to MLB futures odds to win. Verlander is a +450 second-favorite behind his former Houston teammate Gerrit Cole at +400 betting odds.

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Cole was the talk of the offseason player moves after signing a huge contact with the New York Yankees. Behind a supporting cast that forms the clear favorite to win the AL Pennant as well, there is quite a bit of value in Cole’s odds to win the Cy Young.

The right hander started his MLB career with Pittsburgh before going to Houston in 2018. Over those last two seasons, he has posted 35 wins with an average ERA of 2.69. Staying healthy is always a concern for any starting pitcher, but Cole is in excellent position to impress the voters in the Yankees’ quest for another World Series title.

 

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Verlander should be able to stay close in Cole’s rear view mirror coming into his 15th season in the Majors.

Most of that career has been spent in Detroit before coming to Houston halfway through the 2017 season. Last year, the right hander made 34 starts and won 21 games on his way to winning the Cy Young. Back in 2011, he went 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA to take top honors.

The one steady thing about Verlander is his consistent ability to make his starts. Over the course of the last 14 seasons, he has started at least 30 games in 12 of those campaigns. That alone adds value to his Cy Young betting odds.

AL Cy Young Valued Contenders

Both Shane Bieber and Lucas Giolito have been listed next at +1000 odds. Rounding out the Top 5 is Mike Clevinger at +1400.

Of the three, Bieber is coming off the best season in the Cleveland Indians’ rotation. The right hander went 15-8 in 34 starts with a 3.28 ERA. He may also have the most upside in just his third season with the team. He posted 11 wins in 20 starts in 2018 while ending the season with an ERA of 4.55.

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Another big step forward in 2020 would put Bieber in the same company as the top two starters on this list.

 

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Giolito is coming off a solid effort in the Chicago White Sox starting rotation. Over the past two years, this right hander has made 61 starts while going a combined 24-22 with a sub-.500 team. The impressive stat from 2019 was a 3.41 ERA.

If Chicago can find a way to improve upon seven-straight losing campaigns, Giolito might be able to attract a bit more attention for his efforts on the mound.

Blake Snell won the 2018 AL Cy Young with Tampa Bay and his odds to win this season are +1600. Kluber is further down the list at +2500 odds to win a third Cy Young in his MLB career.

About the Author

Dave Schwab

A big part of the services that my marketing company, Blue Pointe Advisors, LLC offers is written content for sports betting websites.  I have been working as a full-time sports betting writer for the past nine years following a previous career in the field of sales and marketing.

I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to write about my true passion in life; the world of sports. I also enjoy concentrating the bulk of my pieces towards the betting angle in sports.

It is always a challenge to take past results and current form to try and correctly determine a future result. Sports brings out the unpredictability in what should be a fairly predictable outcome based on the stats, facts and recent trends in a particular matchup. The one thing that I have learned over the past decade or so is that when it comes to betting on sports there is no such thing as a lock.

The main objective with my writing style is to create insightful articles on a wide variety of sporting topics that can provide an edge to today's sophisticated online player. While there are times when my predictions fall well short of the actual outcome, I still enjoy trying to come up with a logical explanation to support my views on every pick I make.

My love of sports started a long time ago when I was just a kid growing up just outside Philadelphia. While I was a big Phillies, Flyers and 76ers fan, my number one team was always the Eagles. My dad was a season ticket holder from 1961 to 2002 and I would honestly say that he missed less than a handful of games than more than a few dismal seasons.

I was fortunate enough to go to a number of Eagles’ games back in the day including the 1980 NFC Championship when Wilbert Montgomery ran roughshod over the bitter rival Dallas Cowboys to lead Philly to their first appearance in a Super Bowl. Flash forward 40 years later and am I still celebrating the thrilling victory over New England in Super Bowl LVII. I know that my dad was smiling down on that one.