Major League Baseball crowns the king of each league’s pitching with the Cy Young award.
This article analysis favors heirs to the ultimate throne of throwers in the National League, ensuring you have a better chance of earning a king’s ransom in profitable wagering.
Corbin Burnes reached the pitching pinnacle last year by earning his first Cy Young. He’s on pace to have a similar season that could defend his premium position.
Burnes slices through bats with arguably the best cut fastball since Mariano Rivera. Most pitchers who throw one dread upward movement, since it loses its east-to-west movement that is supposed to break out to left-handed batters and inside to jam righties.
Burnes’ version levitates and oftentimes floats away to the opposite side of the batter for a virtually unhittable pitch. This baseball unicorn frequently duplicates itself, as evidenced by obtaining the highest fastball movement mark measurable.
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Good pitchers hurling great pitches generate the best results. Burnes punches out the most batters in the NL by an admirable margin. Power doesn’t sacrifice control in this case. Burnes ranks second in his league in the strikeouts/walks ratio. His WHIP stands in the same place.
The bottom of the NL Central shields those numbers from prolonged slumps. The Pirates and Cubs rank in the top 10 for the most strikeouts and least runs scored. The Reds fare marginally better, but still rank in the bottom half of major offensive categories.
The only tiny blemish on Burnes’ vibrant Cy Young picture is his 5-4 record. It fails to ruin the beauty of his season so far though. Modern voters transitioned to seeing wins as primarily a circumstantial statistic that isn’t very indicative of an individual’s ability to impact games and ultimately get outs.
Joe Musgrove is no average Joe on the mound! His stellar season yields the best ERA in MLB and a tie for the most wins thus far.
Petco Park reduces the adulation successful Padres pitchers receive relative to peers. The stadium barricades baseballs with tall walls and spacious dimensions. Coastal breezes knocking down fly balls escalate the difficulty of hitting home runs.
The hindrances combine to create conditions for the lowest park factor in baseball at .75. That number means Petco Park produced 75 runs for every 100 runs produced in the average MLB park and 75 HRs for every 100 homers.
Throwers accurately locating pitches in the strike zone and making batters take poor swings remains the name of the ol’ ballgame regardless of where it’s played.
His chase rate — a metric outlining how often batters swing at pitches outside of the strike zone, which is a generally safe area for contact — is spectacular. Exit velocity joins that crowd, given that Musgrove is in the top 8% of the league.
Style disassociates with a slow, honest approach predicated on location and soft contact aided by a pitcher’s paradise for home games. However, Musgrove’s current Cy Young contendership is backed by solid substance. Consider him a noteworthy darkhorse.
Aaron Nola flirted with Cy Young ownership in 2016, finishing third on the year. Leading MLB in strikeous/walks ratio while simultaneously pacing the NL in WHIP, despite throwing the second-most innings, builds a solid relationship with voters six seasons later.
Nola is the only pitcher in the top five for WAR and strikeouts.
Leading the league in complete games during the shortened 2020 season and throwing over 180 innings in each of the last three seasons certifies Nola’s rare status as a dependable innings guzzler.
Steadfast stamina allows great pitchers to achieve the volume in counting numbers needed to present a compelling Cy Young case at the end of the season.
In today’s age of load management and pitchers throwing too hard too soon en route to season-ending surgery, it’s difficult to find many pitchers bettors can count on to stack traditional statistics. Nola provides peace of mind and potentially a nice piece of profit at these attractive odds.
Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw hangs around the outskirts of the top betting favorites at 11th place. Oddsmakers surmise that impulsive bettors saw Kershaw returning to action and will place a bet according to who Kershaw was instead of who he is now.
Kershaw’s injury report uncovers the harsh reality of a generational talent who has paid a steep price for hurling countless gems. The Dodgers already placed Kershaw on the injury list because of an injury related to the sacroiliac joint, located in the pelvis. Kershaw’s literally and figuratively bigger injury problems for years have been with his back.
Furthermore, manager Dave Roberts tightens the leash on his starters in perfect circumstances ie: Kershaw getting pulled after seven perfect innings earlier this season. Restrictions intensify when it comes to the wounded lead dog of the pitching pack.
Roberts knows he needs Kershaw to flash his teeth in October and acts accordingly.
2022 National League Cy Young Prediction: CorbinBurnes | +550 at FanDuel
Consider Burnes the best bet to turn your crystal ball into balling out with crystals. He packages the skill, situation, pedigree and intangibles to give you the safest option to win this challenging wager!
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Editor’s Note: Player statistics are accurate as of end of June 21