2023 NL Cy Young Sleeper Pick: Trust Spencer Strider's Rookie Year

2023 NL Cy Young Value Pick

The 2023 MLB season will be here before you know it, and with futures markets starting to open up at most sportsbooks for player awards next season, BetQL has you covered on the favorites and long shots to take a stab at for the upcoming season. There is always value to be found on the board, so take a look at our articles each day to find where that value may be, and then cash in when the year comes to a close.

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Spencer Strider To Win NL Cy Young +1300 at DraftKings

There are so many people that have a real chance to win the NL Cy Young award, but we are trying to find the best value here. As a rookie, Strider was unbelievable. He ended up with a 2.67 ERA and 202 strikeouts over just 131.2 innings. That's better than Randy Johnson's rate in his 2001 campaign, which is not only impressive but should put him automatically as one of the favorites to win the award. The only reasons he isn't higher on the board? Teammate Max Fried has shorter odds and there are some injury concerns. Anytime you have a guy that has this type of arm, the durability is what comes into question most. Can he stay healthy all season throwing as hard as he does and pitching with that same insane strikeout ability that makes him so special?

If he is able to pitch a full season at that clip, he would pitch 200 innings and have 300 strikeouts, which would make it extremely difficult not to hand him the Cy Young award with those types of numbers. Not only that, but the new rules with a pitch clock could actually give him a competitive advantage over other pitchers who are not used to pitching quickly. With the new 15-second time limit that pitchers will have to make their next pitch, that could really mess up some veterans of the game that aren't used to having to get into their windup that fast. Strider will not be impacted by this for the most part, because he already is one of the fastest workers in baseball with how he goes about his game. He took an average of 10.9 seconds between pitches with the bases empty in 2022 according to Baseball Savant, placing him well below the new 15-second limit.

Not having to adjust to the new rules will give him an advantage from the get-go. At +1300, I feel like we are getting a really great price for a young pitcher that is primed to break out in a big way in 2023. The Braves also have one of the best teams in the National League, so he will have support all around him and one of the better bullpens to help him secure wins. If he can keep the ERA below 3.00 and still have his strikeout numbers, I think he has a really good shot to win the NL Cy Young award this season.

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