National League Cy Young Early Season Update and Odds
Read National League Cy Young pitcher analysis from Sportsmemo MLB handicapper JM Sports as he provides updates on all the pitchers considered favorites to walk away with the NL Cy Young at the end of the season. This includes players like Max Scherzer, Corbin Burnes and Carlos Rondon. Stay up-to-date with the current odds from DraftKings!
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National League Pitchers | NL Cy Young Odds Updated on Friday, April 29 |
---|---|
Max Scherzer | +550 |
Corbin Burnes | +600 |
Carlos Rondon | +600 |
Walker Buehler | +1000 |
Brandon Woodruff | +1200 |
Clayton Kershaw | +1500 |
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National League Cy Young Analysis
It should come as no surprise that the top 6 candidates currently in the NL all come from teams that are in the top two in the standings in their division and the top 4 teams, record wise in the National League. The Brewers and the Dodgers both have two of their 5 starters sitting towards the top of the potential Cy Young candidates, disregarding the fact that it is so early in the 2022 MLB season.
Max Scherzer
Max Scherzer, yet again, finds himself at the top of the list early in this season. Even though he has found himself on another new team this year, he looks like the same old Scherzer that we are accustomed to.
Scherzer, Kershaw and Verlander are the only two pitchers (in the top 6 odds currently of either conference) that have already won the Cy Young award more than once in their career. Scherzer is also in select company joining, Gaylord Perry, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Roy Halladay as the only pitchers to win a Cy Young award in both the AL and the NL.
Although now, Scherzer is on the hunt to be just the 2nd pitcher to win a Cy Young for 3 different teams. He is tied with the 2nd most wins in the MLB, taking the win in all 3 of his decisions, even though the Mets have won all 4 of his starts.
He has already solidified himself as the ace of this team and has helped them secure the best record in the MLB currently. Scherzer started off the season allowing 3 ER in 6 innings in his first start of the season, but in the 3 starts since, he has allowed just 2 ER in 19 innings.
He has kept his ERA to just 1.80 thus far, and he ranks 5th in both strikeouts/9 innings (11.9) and WHIP (0.76). He has tallied up 3 quality starts already and opponents are hitting just .131 against him this season.
Corbin Burnes
Next on the current list is last year’s NL winner, Corbin Burnes. Just like Scherzer, he finds himself on a team that is leading their division and for good reason, especially when you think about the fact that we will see his teammate on this list shortly.
Even though Milwaukee is just 2-2 in his 4 starts thus far, Burnes sits in the top 10 of basically every major category this season. He has held opponents to a .151 batting average and he started the season off hot with double digit strikeouts in his first two starts.
Burnes ranks 8th in ERA, posting a 1.75, striking out an average of 11.6 batters per 9 innings (7th in the league) and possessing an unbelievable WHIP of 0.74 (4th in the league). He has had 3 quality starts, even though the team has won just 2 of his 3 starts, and with Woodruff next to him in the rotation, they have arguably the best 1-2 bunch in the league.
Carlos Rondon
Carlos Rodon is new to the National League, but he has proven that he belongs with the best of the best, regardless of the league. The Giants have welcomed him with open arms, especially after the production that he has put up in just his first 4 starts.
San Francisco has walked away with a win in 3 of his 4 starts, and they find themselves with an early lead over the Dodgers in the NL West. Rodon already has 3 wins thus far, allowing just 3 ER and he hasn’t allowed more than 3 hits in a single start this season.
That puts him in a position to have the 3rd best ERA in the MLB currently at just 1.17, he leads the entire league averaging 14.9 strikeouts per 9 innings, and he also has the 8th best WHIP in the league, 0.83. He has been an impressive fit to replace Gausman, and it has been a valuable addition to this team.
Walker Buehler
While I mentioned before that Milwaukee has a 1-2 punch that have both made their way onto this list, they aren’t the only team that possesses a dynamic top of the rotation.
The Dodgers are among the favorites to win the World Series for a reason, and part of that is their starting pitching rotation. While Kershaw is usually the first name people think about, in the current odds, Walker Buehler finds himself ahead of his teammate.
There could be a debate on who the true ace of the Dodgers rotation is, but Buehler has seemingly gotten better as the year has progressed. He started the season with 3 consecutive starts allowing 2 or more runs, but he followed that up with an impressive complete game shutout on the Diamondback’s field.
That start propelled him higher on this list, but he still ranks among the best this season with an ERA of just 2.55 and striking out nearly 8 batters per 9 innings. If Buehler can continue the domination he showed against Arizona then he deserves to find himself towards the top of this list.
Brandon Woodruff
Holding the next position in the odds in Burnes’ teammate, Brandon Woodruff, the 2nd piece to the dynamic combo that has propelled Milwaukee to a 12-7 record and put them atop the standings in the NL Central.
Woodruff technically doesn’t qualify for the rankings statistically among pitchers in the league since he hasn’t averaged 1 inning per game played by the team, but that doesn’t mean that his numbers aren’t impressive.
Even though Woodruff has posted a 5.30 ERA, we have seen two sides of Woodruff, the Cy Young caliber Woodruff, that has gone two starts without allowing an earned run, and the struggling Woodruff that has allowed 11 earned runs in just 7 2/3 innings pitched.
Milwaukee has still walked away with a win in 3 of his 4 starts, and he is allowing under 1 hit per inning, yet he is going to have to show less of the struggling Woodruff side if he is going to be in contention for the Cy Young at the end of the season.
Clayton Kershaw
Closing out this list is the 2nd half of the Dodgers duo and the other pitcher that has won 3 Cy Young awards in his career, Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw, like Woodruff, hasn’t technically pitched enough innings to qualify for the statistical rankings, but he has one of the most impressive starts by any pitcher this season.
He is tied for the most wins in the league by a starting pitcher, winning all 3 of his starts this season (behind just Adam Cimber). After a small stint with injury concerns to start the year, Kershaw came out and pitched a gem, throwing 7 perfect innings, striking out 13 batters, before getting pulled due to concerns about his longevity.
There is also something to be said about the support that Kershaw receives from his team, for whatever reason, he has gotten 8 runs of support per game from his offense in his 3 starts, when you include that aspect to his 12.2 strikeouts per 9 innings and a WHIP of 0.59, Kershaw looks to be in the hunt for this award for the long haul.
Pablo Lopez
While he hasn’t made his way to the top of the odds yet, I do find it hard to have this conversation without mentioning Pablo Lopez from Miami.
While the Marlins may be one of the biggest surprise teams to start the season, sitting over .500 and currently 2nd in the NL East behind the MLB leading Mets. Miami has won all 4 starts with Lopez on the mound, in his 1st start of the season, Lopez allowed just 1 ER, but since that 1st start, Lopez has yet to allow a single run all season.
In his last 3 starts he has been on the mound for 18 1/3 innings, without allowing a single run, which puts him among top caliber company statistically. He has the best ERA in the MLB among qualifying pitchers, with a mind-boggling ERA of 0.39 in over 23 innings of work.
He has the 3rd best WHIP in the league at 0.73, and he holds the highest wins above replacement number out of all qualifying pitchers at 1.5! If these trends continue, we will hear Pablo Lopez’s name added to the top of these lists sooner rather than later.
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