AL Cy Young odds: Cole enters 2022 as favorite over Ray, Bieber
Baseball is back, and with it comes renewed excitement around the preseason futures market. On Wednesday, we broke down the early odds for the NL Cy Young race, and there's just as much intrigue on the AL side.
The front-runner to win this year's AL Cy Young at Barstool Sportsbook isn't the reigning award winner. Instead, Gerrit Cole (+500) tops the oddsboard for the second straight season after finishing as the runner-up in 2021. Robbie Ray (+800) is close behind and tied with 2020 winner Shane Bieber (+800) as the only pitchers priced shorter than 10-1.
| PLAYER | ODDS |
|---|---|
| Gerrit Cole | +500 |
| Shane Bieber | +800 |
| Robbie Ray | +800 |
| Lucas Giolito | +1000 |
| Sean Manaea | +1000 |
| Dylan Cease | +1000 |
| Lance McCullers Jr. | +1300 |
| Frankie Montas | +1300 |
| Chris Sale | +1400 |
| Justin Verlander | +1400 |
| Carlos Rodon | +1600 |
| Kevin Gausman | +1600 |
| Shane McClanahan | +1600 |
| Chris Bassitt | +1800 |
| Lance Lynn | +2000 |
| Jose Berrios | +2500 |
| Nathan Eovaldi | +2500 |
| Shohei Ohtani | +2800 |
| Eduardo Rodriguez | +3300 |
| Hyun-Jin Ryu | +4000 |
| Luis Garcia | +4000 |
| Yusei Kikuchi | +5000 |
| Corey Kluber | +5000 |
| Jake Odorizzi | +5000 |
| Jose Urquidy | +5000 |
| John Means | +5000 |
| Casey Mize | +5000 |
| Noah Syndergaard | +5000 |
In many ways, last season was a bumpy ride for Cole, who became the poster child for MLB's crackdown on illegal substances and suffered a midseason slump shortly after the rule changes. The Yankees ace returned to form and posted a 3.66 ERA (2.74 FIP) and 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings over his final 13 starts.
It wasn't enough to outlast Ray, who led the AL in ERA (2.84), WHIP (1.045), innings pitched (193.1), and total strikeouts (248) in a breakout year for the Blue Jays. Now the reigning Cy Young winner will attempt to defend his crown with the Mariners in the pitcher-friendly confines of T-Mobile Park.
He'll have to fend off Bieber, whose subpar 2021 showing came in stark contrast to his dazzling display the year before, when he spun a 1.63 ERA (2.07 FIP) and MLB-record 14.2 strikeouts per nine in a COVID-shortened campaign. The Guardians star is still among the league's elite strike-throwers and should be in the mix after a top-five finish in 2019 and award-winning 2020.
After Lance Lynn was a top-three finisher a year ago, the White Sox are well represented on this year's oddsboard, with Lucas Giolito (+1000) and Dylan Cease (+1000) trailing the top three and pending free agent Carlos Rodon (+1600) close behind. Don't forget about Lynn (+2000), who is still a threat even at 34 years old.
Speaking of veteran threats, Chris Sale (+1400) and Justin Verlander (+1400) are among the top options on the board despite making a combined 10 starts across the last two seasons. Sale finished in the top six in Cy Young voting for seven straight years before an injury-plagued 2019, while Verlander finished second in 2018 and won the award in 2019 before his own injuries.
C Jackson Cowart is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on Twitter (@CJacksonCowart) or email him at [email protected].