As this is being written, the reigning Cy Young winner in the National League, Blake Snell, is without a team. Now odds are that the Yankees will sign him meaning that a back-to-back win for the prestigious pitching champion is unlikely. Corbin Burnes won the award a couple of years ago and he is in the AL with Baltimore now too so a repeat winner in the NL is very unlikely.
The only genuine prospect for a repeat NL Cy Young winner this season is Clayton Kershaw, as Sandy Alcantara (2022 winner) is gone for the year. It is difficult to imagine, but the National League has lost a great deal of pitching quality recently. Just last year, Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander, and Max Scherzer all went.
But surely there’s nothing better than a wide-open race? These are the pitchers around whom one should base their portfolio.
NL Cy Young Best Bets Spencer Strider, SP, Atlanta Braves +550 (Best Bet)
Given that Strider led the league in both wins and strikeouts during his rookie season, it would have been easy to argue that he should have taken home the trophy last year. If the Braves allow him to pitch a little bit longer, he has a very good chance of reaching the 300 K milestone in his 25th season. Obtaining another 20 victories is also a highly likely result, since Atlanta is also a contender. Strider is at the top of the odds table.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers +1300
Over the summer, the Dodgers added a lot of talent to their roster. Given his salary in Los Angeles, Yamamoto is anticipated to continue his dominance from his time in Japan. Pitchers who come from a distance often find success right away, and it only helps to be a part of a winning team. Even if he is only average, he may still win 16 games. How much does he pitch and how does he react when he gets hit are the questions. That was a rare occurrence in Japan.
Kodai Senga, SP, New York Mets +1500 (Sleeperish)
Senga was not at blame for the disastrous season the Mets had last year. With more than 200 strikeouts and a sub-3 ERA, he rapidly proved he was MLB ready. Although Senga enjoyed great success in Japan, he did not have the same level of dominance as Yamamoto (which is partly why people are so fond of YY). He is accustomed to throwing in the major leagues, though, and that is an advantage. If the Mets improve (and how could they not?), he can put up some impressive stats
Eduardo Rodriguez, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks +3000
I think Rodriguez is a winner, and the relocation to Arizona is good. He managed to win 13 games with Detroit last season, and he is a strong contender to win the most games in the league (he just won 19 with Boston). The K statistics won’t be there as they are for other candidates, therefore he will need to stack the victories to be in the discussion. This pricing range means that the applicants won’t have “everything.”
Chris Sale, SP, Atlanta Braves +7500
It was Sale’s first season pitching 100 innings since 2019. I think he made the right decision in moving to Atlanta because they are a much better team and he will have an advantage in the NL due to his lack of familiarity. He will have a strong win-loss record as long as he consistently gets the ball because Atlanta is deep as well. He can record more than one strikeout per inning even if he may not be as dominant as he once was. He might very well have a season similar to Snell’s previous year.