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2024 National League Cy Young Odds: It's Time to Bet on Shota Imanaga

Breaking down the latest list of odds to win the NL Cy Young award including the betting favorites and best value bets to place.

By Iain MacMillan

May 13, 2024; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga (18) throws a pitch against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
May 13, 2024; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga (18) throws a pitch against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
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We are approach the end of the first third of the 2024 MLB season so it's time to dive into the futures market and see where things sit.

We have seen plenty of movement on the list of odds, especially for the contenders for this year's National League Cy Young. Before the season began, it was Spencer Strider of the Atlanta Braves who has set as the betting favorite to win the award +550.

Unfortunately, Strider suffered an injury just two games into the season and is now no longer on the odds list to win the award.

That has opened up the race in a big way for other contenders. Let's dive into the latest odds.

National League Cy Young Odds

The odds listed below are via FanDuel Sportsbook

  • Zack Wheeler +350
  • Shota Imanaga +480
  • Ranger Suarez +500
  • Tyler Glasnow +900
  • Chris Sale +900
  • Dylan Cease +1600
  • Zac Gallen +2000
  • Freddy Peralta +2000
  • Yoshinobu Yamamoto +2200
  • Logan Webb +3000
  • Aaron Nola +3000
  • Sonny Gray +3200
  • Yu Darvish +4000
  • Max Fried +4000

With Strider sideliend for the rest of the season, Zack Wheeler now takes over the top spot at +350. At the beginning of the season, he was second on the odds list at +850.

The pitcher that has had the most fascinating season to date is Cubs' MLB newcomer, Shota Imanaga. He was listed at +4200 at the beginning of the year but has skyrocketed up the odds list and now sits at +480, meaning he has an implied probability of 17.24% of winning the award. Currently, a $100 bet on him to win the Cy Young would profit a bettor $480 if he's able to pull it off.

Imanaga leads all starting pitchers in Major League Baseball in ERA at 0.84. He has allowed just five earned runs in nine starts, spanning 53.2 innings, so far this season. Keeping up that level of play is a tall order, but if he can even play close to that level for the entire season, he'll be a shoo-in to win the award.

Yu Darvish Presents Intriguing Value to Win NL Cy Young

If you want to bet on someone with some longer odds yielding a bigger payout, consider Yu Darvish of the San Diego Padres. His odds remain at what they were before the season, +4000, meaning a $100 wager would win a bettor a profit of $4,000 if he's able to win the NL Cy Young.

As of writing this article, Darvish has a sparkling ERA of 2.08 across nine starts this season. He has also not allowed an earned run across four-straight starts spanning 24.0 innings. During that stretch he had scoreless starts against the like of the Cubs, Dodgers, and Braves.

You won't find a better bet at this point in the season than Darvish at +4000. It would be his first Cy Young award of his career. He finished second in AL Cy Young voting with the Rangers in 2013 and second in NL Cy Young voting with the Cubs in 2020.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

You can check out all of Iain's bets here!

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