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This week, we focus on the pitchers that are in contention for the Cy Young Award. Our panel is put in their vote and we’re going to discuss three of those players, alongside their DraftKings Sportsbook odds to take down this prestigious title.

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Shane McClanahan
AL Cy Young Odds: +280 First Place Votes: 35

How can you not like McClanahan at this point? The numbers he’s putting up are absurd and he’s mowing down every single team he faces. As I write this, the Rays starter has made 15 starts and has a dazzling 1.77 ERA (2.34 xERA), a 12.1 K/9, a 1.5 BB/9 and has induced a 16.7% swing-and-miss rate. These numbers aren’t just some of the best in the American League but all of baseball. Amongst qualified starters, his 1.77 ERA is the lowest in the AL and second in the league, trailing only Tony Gonsolin (more on him soon). His 12.1 K/9 trails only Dylan Cease of the White Sox, but Cease is also walking a ton of batters with a 4.1 BB/9.

What’s most impressive about McClanahan has been the level of competition he’s endured during the first half. Of his 15 starts, he hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in any of them. Considering he’s faced the Yankees three times, the Red Sox, White Sox and Twins, this is quite the feat. Everyone talks about how good and impressive this Yankees team is and rightfully so. But can we take a moment to appreciate that McClanahan has logged 18 innings against them and has a 1.50 ERA, an 11.0 K/9, and a 1.5 BB/9? That seems unheard against a team that leads the entire league in runs scored with 383 and could potentially shatter the all-time regular season win record. So yes, McClanahan is absolutely my choice, and you still should be taking him at +280.

Sandy Alcantara
NL Cy Young Odds: +160 First Place Votes: 29

If Alcantara wasn’t your favorite before Wednesday’s performance, he should be now. Despite being at 115 pitches in the bottom of the ninth, Alcantara, who put two men on in a 4-3 game, convinced manager Don Mattingly to let him stay in the game. He then proceeded to induce a double play off the bat of Edmundo Sosa to complete the game, his second of the season. To put this in perspective, the Red Sox as a team have three complete games to their credit and that’s the most in the league. Alcantara now has two on his own while 28 teams in the Majors have either one or none.

The amazing part of all this is that Alcantara isn’t a big strikeout pitcher. He’s averaging less than a strikeout per inning and currently has a 7.5 K/9. Amongst qualified starters, that places him 27th in the league. Yet, his 1.95 ERA (2.61 xERA) is the second-best in the National League and third in all of baseball. The month of July will also help add to his resume, as he’s lined up for some favorable starts. I’m going to flat out say he’ll be starting the All-Star game, so with that in mind, he’s lined up to see the Nationals, Mets (twice) and Pirates (twice). The Mets have given him some trouble, but he’s gone 15 innings against them, allowing six runs on 12 hits with 12 strikeouts. Whereas the Nationals haven’t been able to touch him through 15 innings, scratching across just one run.

You’re not getting a ton of value with Alcantara at this number of +160 but if he continues to pitch this well, you may not get anything more favorable. He’s separated himself from the rest of the field, as Joe Musgrove (+550) and Corbin Burnes (+575) are the next in line. In this case, it makes it worth looking at a longer shot, in my opinion.

Tony Gonsolin
NL Cy Young Odds: +2000 First Place Votes: 6

I still cannot believe that Gonsolin is this far down the board. At 20-1, he feels like one of the biggest values on the board to take down this award. I mean, the man is leading all of baseball in ERA at 1.58 (2.87 xERA), and his nine wins to his credit. Granted, wins are quite fluky and I don’t take too much stock into them but he had a chance to be the first 10-game winner of the season a few days ago. For him to have the seventh-best odds on the board feels insane.

Like McClanahan, opposing hitters haven’t been able to touch him. He’s at the point where he’s allowing less than an earned run per start. Of his 14 games, he’s allowed a total of 13 earned runs and 14 in total. No team has tagged him for more than two in a game and he’s left without giving up any in five. Like Alcantara, he doesn’t have overpowering stuff but his K/9 is a bit higher at 8.3. Even with that in mind, he’s allowed no more than four hits in 12 of his 14 starts. Truly, it feels like he has so many stats you can rattle off but his 20-1 odds would fool anyone. At this point, with two favorites discussed, I think Gonsolin offers the best overall play you can make. At some point, if this continues, the odds must start shifting. Sitting at 20-1 for so long is begging people to take it and I’m absolutely going for it.

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