Cy Young Betting – Who To Watch On Your AL Cy Young Lists
Online betting players are getting ready for the upcoming MLB season as players are heading to spring training, and here is a look at who you should consider for the Cy Young award in the American League. The list features two former winners, three big-game pitchers who have the talent to win it, and a 22-year-old on the West Coast looking to crash the party.
Justin Verlander, Detroit
Outside of a shaky 2008, Verlander has been one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball over the last five years. He could have sat back and relaxed after signing a big-money extension prior to last season, but the 28-year-old righthander was 18-9 with a 3.37 ERA, ranking third in innings, fourth in strikeouts and eighth in WHIP. He has already been named the Opening Day starter for the Tigers, his fourth straight year doing so, and only injury can stop Verlander from having another big season.
C.C. Sabathia, New York Yankees
Sabathia has come into camp 30 pounds lighter, which means the 2007 Cy Young winner may be even better because he’s not just a power picture anymore. Sabathia went 21-7 with a 3.18 ERA, coming in second in innings and sixth in strikeouts, and there is no reason for MLB betting players to believe he’ll take a step back in 2011. Sabathia finished third last year after leading the league in wins, and another 20-win season isn’t out of the question.
David Price, Tampa Bay
Price finished second in last year’s Cy Young voting as the 25-year-old blossomed with a 19-6 record, posting a 2.72 ERA and he was second in ERA. Two major concerns will jump out at MLB betting players for Price, and one is that he has a propensity to walk a lot of batters still (he was sixth in the league in BBs). More importantly, last year he became the ace of the Tampa Bay staff, but he also had Matt Garza riding shotgun. Garza is now in Chicago with the Cubs, and Price has to show he can shoulder the load as Sabathia and Verlander do for their teams.
Trevor Cahill, Oakland
Who? Don’t worry, you should hear more about Cahill, who turns 23 on March 1st, this season. Cahill went 18-8 with a 2.97 ERA in Oakland last season, ranking fourth in wins, ERA and WHIP, but he was overshadowed by the Cy Young winner out in Seattle. He is a ground-ball pitcher who uses that weapon to counter a lack of strikeout power, and while he did make the All-Star game last year, he wasn’t appreciated as he should have been by MLB betting players. Now, the question is, teams have had the offseason to really study his stuff, can Cahill make the necessary adjustments?
Felix Hernandez, Seattle
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the reigning Cy Young winner, and even with a 13-12 record, “King Felix” put up incredible numbers that would have gotten him 20 wins on a team that could, you know, hit the ball. He led the league in ERA and innings, second in strikeouts and WHIP, and the scary part is he’ll turn 25 on April 8th. Like Verlander, Hernandez could have sat back after receiving a huge extension, but he stepped up and had a tremendous season. However, he’ll need some help from his offense because he won’t win the Cy Young with a 13-12 record again.
Jon Lester, Boston
This list was supposed to have five pitchers, but Lester is too good to be ignored, and he would have been higher in the Cy Young voting if he didn’t stumble in the second half of the 2010 season. Lester started out 11-3, but finished 19-9 with a 3.25 ERA, and he was third in the league in strikeouts. Like many other pitchers, Lester has problems with walks, ranking third in the American League in that category, but he was also shouldering a large part of the rotation, with all due respect to Clay Buchholz, as Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka had injury and performance problems in 2010.
MLB Betting Pick
We’re going with Justin Verlander to come away with the award this year, providing the Tigers can win the Central (and Miguel Cabrera can manage to stay out of trouble). Outside of Sabathia, no one has been more consistent, and like the Yankees’ hurler, Verlander has learned to add control pitches to his repertoire so he doesn’t have to overpower batters as much, although he is still one of the premier power pitchers in all of baseball. We also learned last year that team success doesn’t matter as much as it used to, but Verlander has to put up some insane numbers, and we think he can. We also think he’ll offer better value than the likes of Sabathia, Hernandez and Price, so take Justin Verlander in your sports betting picks for the Cy Young award.
