AL Cy Young Odds Set Cole, Bieber, Giolito Well Ahead of the Pack
- New York Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole is the +350 favorite to win the 2021 AL Cy Young Award
- Shane Bieber, the 2020 winner, is the second betting choice at +400
- The last Yankees hurler to win the AL Cy Young was Roger Clemens in 2001
If he’s to win the American League Cy Young Award in the upcoming season, Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees will need to end a couple of slumps.
Despite finishing among the top five in balloting three years in a row, Cole has never won the AL Cy Young Award. As a matter of fact, no Yankees pitcher has since Roger Clemens in 2001.
Oddsmakers are of the opinion that Cole’s time is now. He’s listed as the +350 favorite in the 2021 AL Cy Young odds. Shane Bieber of Cleveland, the 2020 AL Cy Young winner, is second in the betting line at +400. Next is Lucas Giolito of the Chicago White Sox at +450.
2021 AL Cy Young Odds
| Player (Team) | Odds |
|---|---|
| Gerrit Cole (Yankees) | +200 |
| Shane Bieber (Cleveland) | +400 |
| Lucas Giolito (White Sox) | +450 |
| Tyler Glasnow (Rays) | +950 |
| Hyun-Jin Ryu (Blue Jays) | +1300 |
| Jose Berrios (Twins) | +1700 |
| Lance Lynn (White Sox) | +1700 |
| Corey Kluber (Yankees) | +1800 |
| Kenta Maeda (Twins) | +2000 |
| Dallas Keuchel (White Sox) | +2200 |
| Chris Sale (Red Sox) | +2200 |
| Marco Gonzales (Mariners) | +2500 |
| Jesus Luzardo (Athletics) | +2500 |
| Framber Valdez (Astros) | +2500 |
| Luis Severino (Yankees) | +3000 |
| Zack Greinke (Astros) | +3300 |
| Andrew Heaney (Angels) | +3300 |
| Nate Pearson (Blue Jays) | +3300 |
| Frankie Montas (Athletics) | +3500 |
| Eduardo Rodriguez (Red Sox) | +3500 |
| Dylan Bundy (Angels) | +4000 |
| Dylan Cease (White Sox) | +4000 |
| Nathan Eovaldi (Red Sox) | +4000 |
| Mike Minor (Royals) | +4000 |
| Shohei Ohtani (Angels) | +4000 |
| Alex Cobb (Angels) | +5000 |
| Triston McKenzie (Cleveland) | +5000 |
| Casey Mize (Tigers) | +5000 |
| Randy Dobnak (Twins) | +5000 |
| Cristian Javier (Astros) | +6000 |
| Jose Urquidy (Astros) | +6000 |
| Justin Dunn (Mariners) | +6600 |
Odds as of Feb. 18th at DraftKings.
The 2021 MLB regular season is slated to get underway on April 1st.
Another Lump For Cole
In the close-but-no-cigar category, Cole is a Cy Young champion: perennially a contender, never a winner.
Posting a 7-3 record with a 2.84 ERA last season, Cole finished fourth in balloting behind Cleveland’s Bieber. Despite a stellar 20-5 record, 2.50 ERA and a MLB-leading 326 strikeouts, Cole ended up second in 2019 voting to then Houston Astros teammate Justin Verlander.
Gerrit Cole finishes fourth in the AL Cy Young vote. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/8SCFad51Jl
— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) November 12, 2020
He was fifth in AL Cy Young voting in 2018 and fourth in NL Cy Young balloting in 2015. So why should 2021 turn out any different for this forever runner-up?
Well, for starters, he’s going to be required to carry the Yankees’ starting rotation. Beyond Cole, there’s reclamation project Corey Kluber, oft-injured Luis Severino and then, who knows?
Tough To Turn Two
After going 8-1 with a 1.63 ERA, what can Bieber do for an encore? Well, if he won the Cy Young again, that would be really something.
SP in 2020 whose K-BB% was 27% or higher (min 25 IP):
Shane Bieber – 34%
Jacob deGrom – 32%
Trevor Bauer – 30%
Tyler Glasnow – 29%
Kenta Maeda – 28%
Elieser Hernandez – 27% 🧐
Dinelson Lamet – 27%— Jason Collette (@jasoncollette) February 15, 2021
It’s been over two decades since a pitcher repeated as AL Cy Young Award winner. Pedro Martinez of the Boston Red Sox won in 1999-2000, right on the heels of wins by Clemens in 1997-98.
Bieber was the AL leader in wins, ERA, winning percentage (.889), strikeouts (122), as well as hits (5.4) and strikeouts (14.2) per nine innings.
Gio Positioning Himself Well
Oddsmakers see this as a three-pitcher race, slotting Giolito in at +450. No other hurler registers shorter than +950 in the opening odds.
Lucas Giolito, one of the friendliest players I’ve ever encountered, said the 2021 White Sox "need to try to kill other teams"
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) February 16, 2021
Giolito was sixth in Cy Young voting in 2019 and seventh last year. If the ChiSox are contenders and he’s closer to the 14-9 of 2019 than the 4-3 of 2020, he could be a factor.
Ryu Worth A Look
Bieber was +1600 in the 2020 AL Cy Young opening odds, so it’s always wise to consider someone from off the pace. And that someone should be Toronto’s Hyun-Jin Ryu (+1300).
#Bluejays ace starter Hyun-Jin Ryu on his way to Florida to prepare for spring training. https://t.co/xbqPNlBFEH
— Rob Longley (@longleysunsport) February 3, 2021
Third in 2020 AL Cy Young voting, he was 5-2 with a 2.69 ERA. In 2019 with the LA Dodgers, Ryu was 14-5 and led the NL with a 2.32 ERA.
Pick: Gerrit Cole (+200)
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
