NL Cy Young Odds Update: Zac Gallen Holding Onto Lead
With a month and a half to go in the MLB season, award season takes center stage as teams make their push for the playoffs.
The National League Cy Young race has been a true race all season long, and while the same favorite from a month ago remains, there's no sure bet yet as to who walks away with the award.
Let's see how things stand now by taking a look at current odds for the NL Cy Young, per FanDuel Sportsbook.
NL Cy Young Odds
1. Zac Gallen, Arizona Diamondbacks
FanDuel Sportsbook Odds: +180
Zac Gallen carries on as the favorite with a month and a half to go.
The Arizona Diamondbacks ace has had a consistent season of dominance on the mound with minimal change in terms of his efforts. He currently is 12-5 with a 3.24 ERA and 165 strikeouts.
Going deeper into what has made Gallen so good, his 3.07 FIP ranks 5th in the Majors (3rd in the NL) while his 3.57 SIERA is good for 11th (4th in the NL). He's been able to put together what can only be considered a great overall season, which gives him the best odds at +180 -- but that also signals that this race is still open for anyone to take over.
Arizona is in the playoff race and some great performances from Gallen could push them back into a postseason spot and earn him a Cy Young. He will need to finish the season strong.
2. Blake Snell, San Diego Padres
FanDuel Sportsbook Odds: +250
The San Diego Padres have underwhelmed all season, but one San Diego player who has not is Blake Snell.
Snell made his way into the conversation in June and hasn't let up. He's right behind Gallen and has a real shot at winning the second Cy Young of his career.
The left-hander has the best ERA among starters at 2.63. He also has the fourth-best strikeout rate at 31.3%. But after those two marks, there are definitely some notable stats for Snell that leaves him in an interesting spot.
Snell has a 4.14 SIERA and 3.74 FIP, both of which are outside the top 15 among qualified starters. These are stats to be wary of and give good reasons as to why you may want to second-guess picking Snell.
Still, he's a great option, and if the ERA ends up leading the Majors, he very well could take over Gallen by the time October rolls around. There are concerns, but Snell has been great overall.
3. Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants
FanDuel Sportsbook Odds: +300
Logan Webb has been a wizard this season and should be receiving votes, especially if the San Francisco Giants get into the playoffs.
Taking on that ace role is exactly what Webb has done -- and doing it his own way. The right-hander leads the league with a 60.8% ground ball rate, which has led to the majority of his success. That success comes to the tune of a 3.26 ERA, 3.15 SIERA, and 3.25 FIP.
All three of those are top-15 marks.
If Webb can keep that up in his last few starts, his +300 odds are worth taking.
4. Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves
FanDuel Sportsbook Odds: +700
Spencer Strider has been fantastic all season long, but the surface-level stats are going to be the ones that hurt him the most.
The Atlanta Braves have done nothing but dominate this year, and the same can be said for Strider, even if he's not the favorite for the NL Cy Young.
Strider is striking out batters at the highest rate in baseball (37.9%) and has the best SIERA in the sport at 2.77. Unfortunately for Strider, the 3.75 ERA is what will hurt him in voting at the end of the season.
He's easily got the highest ERA among the top four in the odds, and if he had it under 3.50, he'd probably be the favorite because he's crushing it in just about all other metrics.
The NL Cy Young hardware may not end up being his this year, but there's no doubt that you'll want to favor him come next year more than anything else. He's the definition of dominant.
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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.