AL Cy Young race: Updated odds, predictions, picks, favorites on June 26

Hard as it is to believe, we're nearly halfway through the 2023 MLB season. The sample size isn't so small now, meaning we can say with a bit more confidence which breakouts are for real and which slow starts may not be much of a fluke after all. The landscape has shifted quite a bit over the past few weeks – – and the awards race markets have responded accordingly.

So, just like we did at the beginning of June, let's celebrate the start of June with a look at how the past month has impacted the AL MVP odds over at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Updated AL Cy Young odds as of June 26

Shane McClanahan +250 Framber Valdez +300 Gerrit Cole +550
Kevin Gausman +550 Shohei Ohtani +1200 Luis Castillo +1300
Joe Ryan +1900 Nathan Eovaldi +2000 George Kirby +4000
Sonny Gray +4000 Cristian Javier +7500 Pablo Lopez +10000

AL Cy Young race: Takeaways and best bets

It's hard to know what to make of this race at this point. McClanahan is the AL's ERA leader on the AL's best team, but he's also on pace to shatter his previous high in innings pitched, and his recent back trouble could be a sign that his lengthy injury history is rearing its head again. Cole's trend lines – fastball velocity, K rate, hard-hit rate, and on and on – are all pointing in the wrong direction, while Eovaldi and Gray have fallen off after hot starts and Castillo and Ohtani have stumbled a bit recently. Pitchers always come with a bit more variance, but there's a significant downside case to be made for just about all of these guys, even the favorites.

I know, I know, Ohtani's fallen off a little bit on the mound recently, with a 3.93 ERA since the start of May. And I know that the rumors have begun to swirl about his workload, and whether the team will ease off him on the mound a bit as the year continues. But that 3.93 ERA has come with a whopping 71 strikeouts in 55 innings, and his most recent outing – 12 Ks over seven innings of one-run ball against the Los Angeles Dodgers – underline that Ohtani still has more upside than anyone when he's clicking. At +1200 – and given McClanahan's injury issues, Valdez's whip concerns and lack of strikeouts and Cole's recent shakiness – it's more than worth the gamble.

If you want even more of a long shot, try Ryan, who very quietly is putting up a convincing statistical case to win the award. The righy is seventh in the AL in ERA and second in WHIP, and where Ohtani's season has been marked by peaks and valleys, Ryan has been the picture of consistency – he's allowed more than two runs just five times in 15 outings for a Twins team whose struggling offense has needed all the help it can get. The AL Central will ensure Minnesota remains relevant all summer, and amid a risk-laden field, Ryan could wind up winning by default.

  
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