The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in the MLB with one award given to the winner for both conferences. The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honour of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young who died in 1955.
Now that we’re more than a third of the way through the baseball season, we’ll take a look at the leading contenders for the prestigious National League Award…
National League Contenders
Sandy Alcantara 11/4
Marlins star Sandy Alcantara is a player in the form of his life. The 26-year-old has tossed at least seven innings while allowing two or fewer earned runs in eight straight starts. Over the season, he’s first in innings pitched and batting average against, and is second in the league with a 1.72 ERA. Alcantara is establishing himself as one of Major League Baseball’s top pitchers this season with a record of seven wins from his nine starts. Get all the latest odds for the Cy Young Award with Bet365.
Joe Musgrove 7/2
Joe Musgrove leads the league with a 1.59 ERA over his first 12 starts and is the only player with a perfect record of eight wins and no losses this MLB season. His San Diego Padres team are vying with the Dodgers for the best team in the NL West and boast an impressive 41-27 record. An integral part of this success is down to the phenomenal starting pitching of Musgrove.
Corbin Burnes 5/1
The reigning Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes has endured a mixed start to the season and has some work to do to catch the rest of the National League contenders. He’s currently sitting with a 2.52 ERA and a record of four wins and four defeats. This is, however, in line with what we saw from him last year and he leads the NL with 100 strikeouts. If Burnes can stem the flow of runs against him, and put his Brewers in a position to win the NL Central, he’ll be in the running to defend his title. Join SportNation now and enjoy a free £5 bet every week!
Zack Wheeler 10/1
Zack Wheeler has limited opponents to one or zero runs in six of his last twelve starts as he continues to recover impressively from a poor start to the season. The right-hander has trimmed his ERA to 2.69 and has moved to six wins and three defeats. Wheeler’s fastball and slider are yielding a lower batting average and slugging percentage than they did last year, and there’s every reason to expect the Phillies star to continue to get better the longer the season goes. Back Wheeler for the award with great odds at Bet Dukes.
National League Outsiders
Max Fried 16/1
Leading the Braves’ stellar pitching staff, starter Max Fried is in the National League Cy Young conversation due to his 7-2 record and 2.90 ERA. The left-hander has not lost since April 13, and he’s held his opponent scoreless in the opening frame in 10 of his last 11 starts. Fried was one of the key reasons that Atlanta won the World Series last year, and it could easily be another successful season for his side and him personally.
Aaron Nola 22/1
Aaron Nola is quietly having a successful season that should have him in the Cy Young mix. The longtime Philadelphia Phillies pitcher looks nothing like his 2021-self last season, where only three of his 32 starts were eight innings or deeper. In recent times, he’s gone eight or more innings three times in his last five starts. A number of stellar performances have lowered his ERA to 3.11, and he has one of the best batting averages against in the league. At 89.2, he has pitched the second most innings in all of MLB and he continues to be a crucial member of the Phillies roster. Bet £10 and get a £10 free bet with BetStorm.
Pablo Lopez 25/1
Pablo Lopez was looking dominant through his first seven starts this season but has regressed significantly in his last six, posting a disappointing 5.23 ERA in his recent slump. This deterioration was highlighted in his last start against the Metz when he went for seven runs, with eight hits and a walk over just 5 innings. The Venezuelan star is still able to boast the ninth best ERA rate in the league at 2.85, and if he can rediscover his early season performances, he could well earn his first career All-Star nod and further individual awards.
Julio Urías 28/1
Julio Urías has not quite been matching his stellar numbers from last year, but he has still been pitching well in most of his outings, in particular during June. He snapped a four-start winless stretch last time out by restricting the Guardians to one run over six innings. In doing so, he lowered his ERA to 2.56 overall, the fourth-best in the National League. He’s allowed two earned runs or fewer in 10 of 13 starts this season, including all three outings this month, but needs to start racking up more wins if he is to move into contention. Back outsider Julio Urias now with BetDuel.
Clayton Kershaw 45/1
Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw has missed a large chunk of the season so far with inflammation in his lower back, but thankfully he has now returned to action. The 34-year-old Kershaw is 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his limited starts this season, and he has struck out 32 and walked just three. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner became the Dodgers’ all-time leader in strikeouts earlier this season, and if he can have a strong second half of the season, he could well contend for a fourth.
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