2023 AL Cy Young odds: Sportsbook most exposed on Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman

Could the Toronto Blue Jays have their second American League Cy Young Award winner in three seasons? Southpaw Robbie Ray won it in 2021 but then left for Seattle. BetMGM is most exposed on the 2023 AL Cy Young prop with Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman. At +1600, he has taken the most tickets of any AL pitcher.

Early in free agency last winter, the Blue Jays handed Gausman a five-year, $110 million contract to essentially replace the departed Ray. Gausman had his best season in 2021 with the San Francisco Giants, going 14-6 with 2.81 ERA and 227 strikeouts in a career-high 192 innings to earn an All-Star nod and a sixth-place finish in the NL Cy Young Award race.

Some thought the Jays overpaid for Gausman, who might have overachieved in a contract year, but he was very good last year with Toronto, finishing 12-10 with a 3.35 ERA and 205 strikeouts with just 28 walks in 174.2 innings. Gausman struck out 45 batters over his first 35 1/3 innings last season before issuing his first walk on May 7.

He was the victim of some bad luck, as opposing batters recorded a league-high .364 batting average of balls in play (BABIP), the second-worst mark since 1920. Toronto did upgrade its outfield defense this offseason in acquiring Kevin Kiermaier and Daulton Varsho.

Gausman led all AL pitchers with a 2.32 Fielding Independent Pitching mark, which is like ERA but takes plays that would involve the defense trying to field the ball out of the equation (the league average for BABIP is around .300) and reached the 200-strikeout mark for the second time in his career. He joined Roger Clemens (292 in 1997) as the only pitchers to record 200 strikeouts in their first season as a Blue Jay.

At DraftKings, Gausman is +3500 to lead the majors in strikeouts and +1900 in wins. He's set at over/under 12.5 victories and 194.5 strikeouts. Gausman will sport a new delivery this year, as his old toe-tap delivery is now considered by MLB to be a balk. In the past, Gausman said, his delivery consisted of "kind of a constant tap, and then a small, brief hold."

"You know, for me, the tap has always just kind of been like, I'm just trying to get comfortable, right? And then I go. … It's a timing thing," he said. "I'd never even thought of it or used it as a way to mess with the runner."

Teammate Alek Manoah has much better +900 odds to win the Cy Young and was chosen for the Opening Day start on Thursday in St. Louis. Gausman is scheduled to pitch Saturday against the Cardinals.

New Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom is the +600 Cy Young favorite followed by the Yankees' Gerrit Cole at +700.

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