MLB Awards: Which NL Ace will Win the 2023 NL Cy Young Award

The MLB season is now into June, and the NL Cy Young race is starting to take shape. US sportsbooks view this as a two-player race between two of the league’s best young arms. It would be the first time either has won the coveted award, but an all-time great lurks in the shadows behind them. Can the young arms hold their ground, or will we see a familiar face add another award to his collection?

Now that we have broken down the AL Cy Young race, we have turned out attention to the NL. While the odds have dropped for the two favorites, there is still a ton of value betting on the 2023 NL Cy Young winner. Below we are reviewing the favorites, discussing their season so far, and projections for the rest of the year.

If you are looking for help with you NL Cy Young bet, you have come to the right place!

MLB Betting sites love Braves’ ace Spencer Strider, who is currently favored to win this year’s Cy Young award. It’s no surprise given his numbers in 2023, as he owns a 6-2 record with a 2.97 ERA. On top of that, Strider already has 113 strikeouts and should easily surpass 200 for the second season in a row. The 24-year-old was fantastic in his rookie season in 2022, signaling that this incredible start is not a fluke.

While his numbers are impressive, we don’t recommend jumping on this bet. Strider had a 4.01 ERA in May and had just three quality starts across six outings. His strikeout totals have remained high, but he has also been walking more batters, walking at least three or more batters in seven of his starts. The rise in his ERA and the struggles with walks suggest Strider may not be able to keep this up all season, so picking him at +190 doesn’t provide much value.

27-year-old Zac Gallen followed up his breakout 2022 campaign with another fantastic campaign. He has a 7-2 record and a 2.75 ERA, which is more impressive considering he had a 7.59 ERA after his first two starts. Gallen’s strikeout totals are not as high as they have been in the past, but his ability to keep runs off the board is all that matters. He also will benefit from playing on a vastly improve Arizona team that is giving him plenty of run support. If they continue to play well, it should only improve Gallen’s case.

While Gallen has been sharp, we’ll be watching his WHIP carefully. He has been giving up more walks and hits over his last four starts, a sign that teams may be catching on to the Arizona ace. While that is troubling, Gallen did struggle in late May and June last season but was able to turn it around to finish with a 2.54 ERA. Strider has also struggled recently but given Gallen’s experience we think he’s more capable of turning things around sooner. While there isn’t a ton of value, we do see him as a solid bet.

While Strider and Gallen have odds far ahead of Kershaw, it is a mistake to count this former Cy Young winner out. Kershaw has been solid atop the LA rotation, with 7-4 record and a 3.25 ERA so far in 2023. The long time Dodgers ace was incredible in May but came back down to Earth in April by posting a 5.55 ERA. It was a bad month, but things went much better in his first start of June. Kershaw threw seven innings in a win against the Yankees, allowing two runs on two hits while striking out nine. While his strikeout totals aren’t what they used to be, the 35-year-old has shown he can still be elite, leading bookmakers to make him the third favorite.

Taking Kershaw with these odds is incredibly tempting. He benefits from years of experience, along with playing for one of the best (and most watched) teams in baseball. Plus, he will likely have a few chances to matchup with Gallen as the Dodgers and Diamondbacks continue to battle for the NL West. Considering Kershaw finished with a 2.28 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP last season, we see this as our favorite longshot bet to win the NL Cy Young.