2022 AL Cy Young Futures – August 17

The American League is loaded with talented pitchers, and there’s no shortage at the top of the current AL Cy Young odds on the BetMGM Sportsbook. Veteran arms like Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole are in the race again, while new faces like Kevin Gausman and Shane McClanahan have inserted their names into the conversation.

Here are the leaders in 2022 AL Cy Young odds (as of August 17):

Last week: The current front runner for the AL Cy Young received a no-decision during his start on August 10 against the Texas Rangers. The righthander pitched six innings and allowed three earned runs while striking out seven batters. 

This week: Justin Verlander has a 15-3 record this year, along with a sparkling 1.85 ERA and 134 strikeouts. One of his biggest tests of the season in whether or not he’ll win the award came last night when he battled against Dylan Cease and the Chicago White Sox, which saw Verlander pitch seven solid innings while allowing three earned runs. 

Dylan Cease – White Sox (+165)

Last week: It’s not like Dylan Cease pitched poorly his last time out, but he still did suffer his first loss since July 7 when the team fell to the lowly Kansas City Royals. Cease pitched six innings and allowed one earned run but was on the hook for the loss as the team’s offense couldn’t muster up any runs. 

This week: Cease and the White Sox went toe to toe with the AL West-leading Houston Astros in a battle of the top two contenders for the AL Cy Young. The meeting saw Cease pitch five innings while allowing three earned runs, which was the first time he’s allowed more than one earned run since May 24. 

Last week: Things haven’t been going swimmingly for Shane McClanahan post-All-Star break. The former front runner for the award put together a quality start his last time out, pitching six innings while allowing two earned runs and picking up the victory against the Baltimore Orioles. 

This week: McClanahan will look to string together a pair of good starts when the Tampa Bay Rays open up their four-game weekend series with the Kansas City Royals on Thursday. The lefty currently has an 11-5 record, paired with a 2.28 ERA and 165 strikeouts. 

Shohei Ohtani – Angels (+3500)

Last week: Even though the Los Angeles Angels didn’t offer their top pitcher much run support, Shohei Ohtani still had another quality outing against the Seattle Mariners, pitching six innings while allowing two earned runs and striking out eight batters. 

This week: It’s hard to see the righthander making a late charge for the award, but he’ll have an opportunity to bolster his stats later this week when the Angels visit the Detroit Tigers on Sunday afternoon to conclude their series. 

Last week: Alek Manoah hasn’t been as consistent for the Toronto Blue Jays as he was in the first half of the year, but he’s still racking up quality starts, including one against the Baltimore Orioles. Manoah pitched five innings while allowing three earned runs and was billed a no-decision. 

This week: For the second consecutive outing, Manoah faced off with the Orioles last night, which saw him pitch five and 2/3 innings while allowing four earned runs. Manoah now has a 12-6 record this year, along with a 2.71 ERA and 131 strikeouts. 

Justin Verlander has continued to see the sharp money head in his direction, owning 25% of the handle, compared to just 15.7% of tickets. This means some big money has gone towards him for this award, which isn’t a surprise with his current odds of -128. With that, Verlander is the current biggest liability for the book. 

Other noteworthy trends here include Shane McClanahan of the Tampa Bay Rays holding 12% of the handle and 9.9% of tickets, while Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels has 11.7% of the handle and 8.8% of tickets. 

And here are the Top Ten 2022 AL Cy Young odds: