It's a quiet Monday just before March Madness. There, we take a short break before the onslaught of sports attack fans.
As the first four games begin on Tuesday, March Madness will take us to the baseball season and the basketball and hockey postseason.
Looking at the baseball futures market, there are lines that are widely available to play in the awards category.
Here we look at the AL and NL Cy Young races in 2025, where some of the league's more interesting weapons can take a big step.
Spencer Strider Alsi Young Winner (30/1, Fundaer)
The Atlanta Braves are stubborn when developing strong young arms. I'm not looking for a clear favorite face to win last year's awards.
Spencer Strider opened last year as an insane +425 leader and can be won at Fanduel for a delicious price of +3,000 after a season-ending injury.
At its best in 2023, Strider dominated the league, attacking 281 batters. It's far the best number in MLB, and the best number MLB has seen in any year since 2019.
In comparison, Taric Scopal hit just 226 batters last year to lead the league last year.
The high total wasn't a factor that Striders pitched many innings either.
Strider had a strikeout of 13.55 per 9 rate. This is the highest number pitchers have had since 2019, and seems like an extraordinary year for strikeouts.
Striders had a very high strikeout rate, which is better than the 2001 Randy Johnson (13.41 k/9), third-best in recorded history.
NL Cy Young Odds
| pitcher | Odds |
|---|---|
| Paul Skens | +200 |
| Zack Wheeler | +600 |
| Blake Snell | 10/1 |
| Corbin Burns | 15/1 |
| Chris Sale | 17/1 |
| Yoshinobu Yamamoto | 20/1 |
| Sandy Alcantara | 20/1 |
| Dylan is quitting | 21/1 |
| Michael King | 21/1 |
| Tyler Glasnow | 25-1/ |
Frankly, even if Tommy John's surgery crushed his season in early April last year, 30/1 is too many here.
This bet seems to come down to my acceptance that these injuries are becoming more common and recovery times are shorter.
The Strider has already been thrown into training camp and is set to begin Monday's spring game for the Braves.
He could miss a month, but honestly, he already looks really strong. Monday's outstanding performance will likely compete with those odds.
Strider looks historically like a good pitcher when he picks up where he left off.
Gavin Williams Al-Si Young Winner (80/1, Caesar)
Perhaps another shot is supporting Gavin Williams in the American League to win CY Young.
The Cleveland Guardians ace looked dominant in spring training and was the pitcher I've seen as a maker star since his minor league days.
Williams has had 16 strikeouts in the eight innings pitched in this camp so far, with 47% being called the strike + whiffs percentage.
Alci Young Odds
| pitcher | Odds |
|---|---|
| Talic Skeuvar | +300 |
| Garrett Crochet | +450 |
| Cole Lagans | 10/1 |
| Logan Gilbert | 11/1 |
| Jacob DeGrom | 12/1 |
| Framer Valdez | 14/1 |
| Max Fly | 16/1 |
| Pablo Lopez | 18/1 |
| Hunter Brown | 20/1 |
| George Kirby | 20/1 |
He has the highest K/9% of all spring training pitchers (minimum 8 innings).
Don't forget that Guardians are excellent at pitcher development and previously transformed Shane Baber into a star and developed a sir-young winner with Shane Baber.
Learn everything you need to know about MLB betting
Williams is my favorite breakout candidate in the American League and I hope he will take a big step this year with Cy Young's victory with 80/1 odds at Caesar this year.
Also, considering that I predicted Chris Sale to win last season with a 70/1 odds during spring 2024 training, I feel like I have a strong read in this market.
Why trust New York Post Beds?
Erich Richter is a blue belt from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but he has a black belt for his MMA betting. During the football season, he has shown off massive profits in Player Prop Market posts over the past two seasons. While always betting on long shots, his return on investment is 30.15% since 2022.
