In the MLB, teams must have at least one ace starting pitcher.
MLB teams that make it far in the postseason are due to pitchers getting hot.
Last year, the Arizona Diamondbacks made it to the World Series thanks to great pitching from Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, and Brandon Pfaadt in the playoffs.
This year, Corbin Burnes is the favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award and Spencer Strider is favored to win the NL Cy Young Award.
Here are the top five favorites to win the AL Cy Young Award.
| AL Pitchers | Cy Young Odds |
|---|---|
| Corbin Burnes | +400 |
| Kevin Gausman | +750 |
| Luis Castillo | +750 |
| Framber Valdez | +950 |
| Pablo Lopez | +1000 |
Below are the top five favorites to win the NL Cy Young Award.
| NL Pitchers | Cy Young Odds |
|---|---|
| Spencer Strider | +400 |
| Zack Wheeler | +800 |
| Yoshinobu Yoshinobu | +800 |
| Logan Webb | +1000 |
| Max Fried | +1200 |
Scroll down to see what to expect from the top five favorites to win the AL & NL Cy Young Award and the best bet to win the AL & NL Cy Young Award.
Top Five Favorites To Win The AL & NL Cy Young Award
Below, we will discuss the top five favorites to win the AL Cy Young Award and give the best bet to win the award.
Top Five Favorites To Win AL Cy Young Award
Corbin Burnes (+400)
The Milwaukee Brewers traded Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles in the offseason.
Burnes is the favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award.
He is coming off an impressive 2023 season and is one of the best pitchers in the league.
However, a new home might take Burnes some time to get used to.
He will also face much tougher offenses in the AL East.
In his favor is a very good Orioles team and Burnes should have more than the 10 wins he recorded last year with the Brewers.
Burnes may start the year a little slow but throughout the season, he will look like his usual self.
Kevin Gausman (+750)
Kevin Gausman is the second favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award.
Gausman will not begin the season fully healthy and it may take some time to get back in form.
He may face a slightly delayed start to the season and it could take him a little bit of time to knock off the rust from missing a lot of Grapefruit League.
Gausman has been stellar the last two years for the Blue Jays.
He is in a similar boat as Burnes.
It may take some time for Gausman to look like his normal self but if he can stay healthy, he will have his dominate stuff in no time.
Luis Castillo (+750)
Tied with Gusman, Luis Castillo has an odd of +750 to win the AL Cy Young Award.
Castillo has enjoyed the pitcher-friendly T-Mobile Park.
He has been very good with the Mariners and consistently is one of the top pitchers in the league.
His ERA has been under 3.35 in each of the last two seasons with Seattle.
Castillo will once again have another sharp season and remain one of the top pitchers in the AL.
Framber Valdez (+950)
Framber Valdez is the fourth favorite at +900 odd to win the AL Cy Young Award.
While he had a 3.45 ERA last year, if it was not for a 7.29 ERA in July last year, his ERA would have been even better.
Valdez is one of the best groundball pitchers in the league and he is one of the best at not allowing home runs.
In 2022, he had 201.1 innings pitched and last year had 198.0 innings pitched.
Valdez is a workhorse on one of the best teams in the MLB.
Valdez will once again have a stellar season and be one of the best pitchers in the AL.
Pablo Lopez (+1000)
Pablo Lopez is the fifth favorite at +1000 odd to win the AL Cy Young Award.
He had a 3.66 ERA and 1.15 WHIP.
Lopez had 234 strikeouts in 194.0 innings pitched last season.
He was one of the more underrated pitchers last year.
His underlying numbers suggest he was a bit unlucky last year and his ERA should have been better.
Lopez may have his best season yet in 2024 and is a strong contender to win the 2024 AL Cy Young Award.
Best Bet To Win AL Cy Young Award
Corbin Burnes was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in the offseason and is the favorite.
Burnes might take some time to get accustomed to playing in Camden Yards on a new team.
Kevin Gausman will not begin the season healthy and it may take some time to get back in form.
The best bet to win the AL Cy Young Award is not a top-five favorite.
George Kirby (+1100)
George Kirby is the best bet to win the AL Cy Young Award.
Kirby is entering just his third year in the league and has improved from year 1 to year 2.
His third year will be his best yet.
Kirby will work on striking out more batters as he had 172 strikeouts in 190.2 innings pitched last year.
In 2022, he had a 3.39 ERA and 1.22 WHIP and in 2023 he had a 3.35 ERA and 1.04 WHIP.
He ranked first in the league in BB/9 last year.
Kirby also pitches in a very pitcher-friendly stadium, which reduces home runs.
He is entering his third season in the MLB and is just 26 years old.
George Kirby at +1100 odd is an excellent bet to win the 2024 AL Cy Young award.
Top Five Favorites To Win NL Cy Young Award
Below, we will discuss the top five favorites to win the NL Cy Young Award and give the best bet to win the award.
Top Five Favorites To Win NL Cy Young Award
Spencer Strider (+400)
Spencer Strider had a massive 2023 season and is considered one of, if not the best pitcher in the MLB.
He had a whopping 281 strikeouts in 186.2 innings pitched.
Strider led the MLB in punchouts last year.
To go along with 281 strikeouts, he had a 3.86 ERA and 1.09 WHIP.
His 3.86 ERA was a bit bloated as he had an xERA of 3.09.
Strider ranked first in K/9 and xFIP and second in xERA in 2023.
His underlying numbers suggest he should have had an even better 2023 season than he had.
Strider will remain elite in 2024 and is the favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award.
Zack Wheeler (+800)
Zack Wheeler is another pitcher who had a very good 2023 season and his underlying numbers suggest it should have been an even better year.
He ranked 12th in K/9 and HR/9, sixth in BB/9, fourth in xERA, and 11th in xFIP.
Wheeler had 212 strikeouts in 192.0 innings pitched.
In 2021 and 2022, Wheeler had an ERA under 2.85.
His 3.61 ERA last year will drop this year to around 3.25 or better.
Wheeler got a new contract in the offseason and is the Phillies’ ace.
At +800 odd, Wheeler is the second favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (+800)
Yoshinobu Yamamoto enters his first big league season in 2024.
He already made his debut and it did not go well.
However, it was just his first start of the season against a very good Padres offense in South Korea.
Yamamoto was sensational in Japan and he will bounce back and show why the Dodgers gave him the big contract they did.
He plays on one of the best teams in the league and he will get a ton of run support and wins.
Yamamoto at +800 odd is the third favorite to win the 2024 NL Cy Young Award.
Logan Webb (+1000)
Over the last three seasons, it has been hard to find a more consistent pitcher than Logan Webb.
He has had a 3.25 ERA or better in each of the last three years.
Webb ranked third in BB/9, sixth in HR/9, first in GB%, ninth in xERA, and second in xFIP last season.
The only thing Webb lacks is strikeouts.
He had 194 strikeouts in 216 innings pitched last year.
If Webb can miss more bats and punch more batters out, he will be even better.
At +1000 odd, Webb is the fourth favorite to win the 2024 NL Cy Young Award and he has been very consistent.
Max Fried (+1200)
When Max Fried is healthy, he is one of the best pitchers in the league.
Last year, he only had 77.2 innings pitched and posted a 2.55 ERA and 1.13 WHIP.
In 2022, Fried had 30 starts and 185.1 innings pitched and he recorded a 2.48 ERA and 1.01 WHIP.
Similar to Webb, Fried does not get a ton of strikeouts but he does not allow runs.
Fried enters 2024 healthy and he should have an excellent season, potentially leading the league in ERA.
At +1200 odd, Fried is the fifth favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award and is a strong contender to do so.
Best Bet To Win NL Cy Young Award
For the NL Cy Young Award, it is best to not get cute.
Spencer Strider is the best pitcher in the NL.
Spencer Strider (+400)
Spencer Strider is the most dominant pitcher in the league.
He had a whopping 281 strikeouts in 186.2 innings pitched.
Strider led the MLB in punchouts last year.
To go along with 281 strikeouts, he had a 3.86 ERA and 1.09 WHIP.
His 3.86 ERA was a bit inflated as he had an xERA of 3.09.
Strider ranked first in K/9 and xFIP and second in xERA in 2023.
His underlying numbers suggest he should have had an even better 2023 season than he had.
Strider is poised to have an even better 2024 year given his underlying numbers suggest he was unlucky last year.
At +400 odd, Strider is the best bet to win the NL Cy Young Award.
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