The field for the 2023 CY Young Award is again full of strong candidates. The American League won’t have a repeat winner as Justin Verlander left the Houston Astros following last season for the New York Mets. This year’s field features more than one young pitcher that has never won the award before.
What that means for people making MLB picks is that there are more than a few viable candidates to keep an eye on. Here are a few to watch out for in the American League.
AL 2023 Cy Young Award Odds
| Candidate | Odds |
| Gerrit Cole | +450 |
| Shane MsClanahan | +325 |
| Shohei Ohtani | +900 |
| Luis Castillo | +1200 |
| Kevin Gausman | +900 |
| Joe Ryan | +1200 |
| George Kirby | +2800 |
| Sonny Gray | +2000 |
| Framber Valdez | +600 |
Shane McClanahan, Tampa Bay Rays (+325)
The 26-year-old Southpaw has taken 2023 Cy Young award odds by storm during his third year in the season. McClanahan finished sixth in Cy Young voting last season. One thing McClanahan has going for him this year is that he is the best pitcher on a team likely to finish near the top, if not the top spot, in the American League.
MLB player stats show McClanahan is having another excellent season. McClanahan’s 2023 Cy Young Award odds campaign has compiled a 10-1 record with a 2.18 ERA through 14 starts to start the season. He struck out 92 batters in 82.2 innings of work this season.
Sitting at +250, McClanahan is a sizeable favorite over the rest of the field but may be worth grabbing at plus money. While McClanahan will be a likely winner, there are a lot of different things that could happen between now and the end of the season. If McClanahan stays off the MLB injury report, he should have a good chance of winning his first VY Young.
Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees (+450)
The Yankees’ ace sitting at +500 is a good price considering how well Cole has pitched in his career. By helping New York to the top of the MLB standings, Cole has been in the top five in the AL Cy Young Award voting for the past five seasons. Cole finished second in the Cy Young voting in 2021.
One thing that could hurt Cole’s candidacy is the MLB standings. The Yankees have a brutal fistfight ahead of them to try and make it out of the American League East Division. Cole has been New York’s best pitcher, compiling a 7-1 record with a 2.84 ERA.
Framber Valdez, Houston Astros (+600)
Anyone making MLB picks will see that Houston’s slow start may have impacted Valdez’s candidacy in a big way. On the surface, things will appear as though Valdez has been having a strong season. Valdez, who is +600, may find it difficult to climb up in the 2023 Cy Young Award odds due to the slow start.
Houston is one of the MLB teams that will continue to improve to help out Valdez. Valdez is 6-5 in MLB games this season, compiling a 6-5 record with a 2.36 ERA in 84 innings pitched.
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels (+900)
Anyone who knows anything about MLB odds will know that Ohtani will always be in the conversation to win awards. The Angels star, who is +1100 to win the Cy Young, is the only modern player to successfully play as both a position player and pitch regularly in games.
While Ohtani makes games on the MLB schedule exciting, his pitching numbers aren’t up to snuff for modern Cy Young winners. Ohtani is 5-2 with a 3.32 ERA and 102 strikeouts. With the Angels struggling in the standings again, and Ohtani a favorite to win MVP, writers likely aren’t going to give a pitching award to multi-faceted players.
Who will win?
- McClanahan is the clear leader among people making MLB picks.
He is on a strong team that will be difficult for anyone to beat on the MLB schedule. With the Rays surging to the top of a difficult division, McClanahan should grab some individual hardware as well for his excellent performance.
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