By Stuart Kirsch
NL Cy Young Odds Tracker: Jacob deGrom, Sonny Gray and Trevor Bauer
The young 2020 season has been one of contrasts for reigning two-time Cy Young award winner Jacob deGrom. He pitched well in his first two games, but came away with no decisions, surrendering just two earned runs on four hits in 11 innings total.
In the second pair of games, he again pitched a total of 11 innings, gave up four runs on 12 hits including two bombs, but came away with wins over Atlanta and Miami. His ERA is at 2.45 and he has fanned 28 versus five walks. DeGrom’s odds for the 2020 NL Cy Young award are +350.
NL Cy Young Odds Tracker: We’re on to Cincinnati
The Reds are under .500 but are surprisingly in the midst of a playoff hunt in the expanded postseason schedule. The top of the pitching rotation is clearly one of the reasons. Sonny Gray and Trevor Bauer each have three quality starts under their belts in the early going.
Bauer has won his last two starts to move to 2-0 with an ERA shrinking to 0.93. He two-hit the Tigers in a seven-inning complete game shutout as part of a double header, and then struck out a dozen Brewers on one run and three hits in his next outing.
Starting 3-0, Gray was touched up in a 9-3 loss to the team above them in the standings, the Milwaukee Brewers. Cruising with a 2-1 lead and seven strikeouts entering the bottom of the sixth, Gray was touched for a double, a single, a stolen base, and another run-scoring single before handing over the ball.
He was charged with four runs on six hits and three walks in 101 pitches, ballooning his ERA to 2.25. Gray and Bauer lead the senior circuit with 35 and 32 strikeouts respectively. Bauer’s odds for the Cy Young have dropped to +400, while Gray’s have dropped to +800.
NL Cy Young Tracker: Early Surprises
Atlanta southpaw Max Fried has seen his teammates’ bats come alive in his last starts, winning a 10-1 laugher over the Blue Jays then an 8-0 shutout of the Phillies. Fried has not given up more than four hits in any of his first four starts. He’s got a shiny 2-0 record with a 1.59 ERA. Fried’s odds for the Cy Young are +1800.
On the other coast, Dinelson Lamet continues to show his stuff for the Padres. He picked up his second victory of the season with no defeats in a 9-5 win over the Diamondbacks. His ERA is a tidy 1.61, ceding only a single run in each of his first four starts. He is tied with deGrom for fourth in the league with 28 strikeouts. Lamet has halved his Cy Young odds to +2200.
Only One Decision
On the other side of the ledger, Max Scherzer has seen his odds rise to +1000 to win the Cy Young for the fourth time in his career. The Nationals’ ace, who will take home almost $18 million in the short 2020 season, has been hampered by a tweaked hamstring, forcing him out of his recent start against the Mets after only one inning. Scherzer is 0-1 on the season with a 3.29 ERA, his loss a season-opening rain-shortened complete game against the Yankees.
St. Louis starter Jack Flaherty, meanwhile, has been sidelined not bacause of injury or weather, but due to postponed games as his team battles the Coronavirus. Flaherty started and won his only appearance on the year, a 5-4 win over the Pirates that saw him give up two runs on six singles in seven innings. Flaherty’s odds are also +1000 to win the NL Cy Young award.
