Jimmy Boyd in 
The start of the 2019 MLB regular season is just around the corner. Now is the time to get in your future bets for the upcoming year.
The focus for this article will be on the Cy Young award, but there’s other betting options out there. One that goes right along with this one, is the MVP betting odds.
Another popular future bet is regular season win totals. Each team has a set number of wins and you bet over or under based on how many you think they will get.
Of course, the biggest future wager of them all is the World Series odds.
For now, let’s turn our attention to the aces of this season and their odds to win the coveted Cy Young title.
Updated Odds to win the 2019 National League Cy Young Award
Before we dig into this year’s candidates, let’s take a second to look back to last season. New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom took home the hardware in a landslide. Despite a mediocre 10-9 record, deGrom posted a sensational 1.70 ERA, which is the sixth best mark since lowering the mound way back in 1969. He received 29 of a possible 30 first-place votes and his 207 points were quite a bit more than runner-up Max Scherzer, who had 123.
| Player (Team)Ch | Odds |
|---|---|
| Max Scherzer (WAS) | +250 |
| Jacob deGrom (NYM) | +400 |
| Aaron Nola (PHI) | +700 |
| Clayton Kershaw (LAD) | +1200 |
| Walker Buehler (LAD) | +1400 |
| Noah Syndergaard (NYM) | +1500 |
| Kyle Freeland (COL) | +2000 |
| Jack Flaherty (STL) | +2000 |
| Madison Bumgarner (SF) | +2500 |
| Patrick Corbin (WAS) | +2500 |
| Miles Mikolas (STL) | +3000 |
| Stephen Strasburg (WAS) | +3000 |
| Zach Greinke (ARZ) | +3000 |
| Chris Archer (PIT) | +4000 |
| Zach Wheeler (NYM) | +4000 |
| Jameson Taillon (PIT) | +4000 |
| Jon Lester (CHC) | +4500 |
| Kyle Hendricks (CHC) | +4500 |
| German Marquez (COL) | +5000 |
| Robbie Ray (ARZ) | +5000 |
| Mike Foltynewicz (ATL) | +5000 |
| Rich Hill (LAD) | +6000 |
| Cole Hamels (CHC) | +6000 |
| Jose Quintana (CHC) | +6600 |
While deGrom is the reigning winner, it should come as no surprise that he’s not the favorite going into the 2019 season. Washington’s Max Scherzer is the odds on favorite at +250, with deGrom next in line at +400.
Scherzer, who finished second to deGrom last year, had won this award in 2017, 2016 and 2014. What’s crazy is Scherzer posted a 2.53 ERA and 0.91 WHIP with a 8.8 WAR in 33 starts, which was almost identical to his 2017 Cy Young season when he posted a 2.51 ERA and 0.90 WHIP with a 7.3 WAR. That’s now 4 straight seasons in which he’s posted an ERA under 3.00 and WHIP under 1.00.
Phillies ace Aaron Nola, who is coming off a breakout season has the third best odds at +700. You then have Clayton Kershaw at +1200, Walker Buehler at +1400 and Noah Syndergaard at +1500.
The only other pitchers with odds better than 30 to 1 are Colorado’s Kyle Freeland (+2000), St Louis’ Jack Flaherty (+2000) and San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner (+2500).
Current American League Cy Young Betting Odds & Favorites to Win
In 2017 we finally had one of the favorites win the AL Cy Young award, as Cleveland’s Corey Kluber was at +300 prior to the season starting. In 2018, the unpredictablity of the American League’s best pitcher returned to form, as Tampa Bay’s Blake Snell came out of nowhere to win the hardware.
Coming off a very pedestrian 2017 campaign, where he posted a 4.04 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 24 starts, Snell exploded onto the scene in 2018. He ended the year with a 1.89 ERA and 0.97 WHIP. For those wondering, Snell was listed at 300 to 1 prior to the season starting.
Here’s just how hard it had been to predict the winner in the AL prior of late. In 2016 the winner was 200 to 1 long-shot Rick Porcello of the Red Sox. The year before that it was 150 to 1 long shot Dallas Kuechel. Prior to Kuechel, it was Kluber in 2014, who didn’t even have odds listed when the books first released them.
| Player (Team) | Odds |
|---|---|
| Corey Kluber (CLE) | +375 |
| Chris Sale (BOS) | +450 |
| Luis Severino (NYY) | +800 |
| Gerrit Cole (HOU) | +1100 |
| Blake Snell (TB) | +1200 |
| Trevor Bauer (CLE) | +1200 |
| Justin Verlander (HOU) | +1400 |
| Carlos Carrasco (CLE) | +1400 |
| David Price (BOS) | +1800 |
| James Paxton (NYY) | +1800 |
| Masahiro Tanaka (NYY) | +2500 |
| Jose Berrios (MIN) | +2500 |
| Rick Porcello (BOS) | +3000 |
| Nathan Eovaldi (BOS) | +4000 |
| J.A. Happ (NYY) | +4000 |
| Andrew Heaney (LAA) | +5000 |
| Kyle Gibson (MIN) | +5000 |
| Mike Clevinger (CLE) | +5000 |
| Charlie Morton (TB) | +5000 |
| Marcus Stroman (TOR) | +5000 |
| Marco Gonzalez (SEA) | +5000 |
| Eduardo Rodriguez (BOS) | +5000 |
| Michael Fulmer (DET) | +6000 |
| Danny Duffy (KC) | +6000 |
No real surprise with who the books have listed at the top. Kluber comes in as the odds on favorite at +375 with Boston’s Chris Sale right on his heels at +450. Not too far back of the top two you have Yankees’ ace Luis Severino.
After that you got a whole bunch of guys priced anywhere from 10 to 1 to 25 to 1. Maybe the most surprising thing is that Snell is sitting back at +1200. While winning this award in back-to-back seasons is a tall task, if he puts up anything close to last year’s numbers it’s going to be hard for someone to top him.
Another guy in this price range that I think might be worth a look is new Yankees starter James Paxton. He’s definitely got the stuff. It’s just a matter if he can stay healthy enough to make 30 starts.