The San Diego Padres pitching rotation is stacked this season. You have Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, Dinelson Lamet and Joe Musgrove. Darvish and Lamet finished second and fourth in NL Cy Young voting last year, respectively. Snell has won the damn thing. It’s easy to see why this trio are among the favorites to win the 2021 award.
Musgrove is a solid pitcher, but hardly screams potential Cy Young winner. Even at +5000, this bet is easy to pass on. Then there is the other guy in the Padres rotation. Chris Paddack to win the Cy Young at +6000 is an unbelievable value play. Sure, there is a ton of risk, but that is why it is called gambling.
Darvish has the lowest odds to win the award at +1000 and comes to San Diego with a chip on his shoulder after being sent packing from Chicago. It is a nice bet, although the upside here isn’t great. Snell has odd of +1200. However, he hasn’t done much of anything apart from his Cy Young winning campaign in 2018. Hell, that’s the only season he tallied double-digit wins.
Lamet is currently available for +2500 and the wager is interesting. That being said, he dealt with a mystery arm injury last season that caused him to miss the playoffs. He recently returned, but San Diego appears to be bringing him along slowly. Lamet won’t start the season in the rotation and the team seems hellbent on limiting his workload in 2021.
All of which brings us back to Paddack, the fifth man up in the Padres rotation. (All odds via William Hill)
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Why bet on Chris Paddack to win the Cy Young at +6000
Betting on Chris Paddack to win the Cy Young at +6000 is not for everyone. It is one of those wagers you throw 10 bucks down on. If you win, awesome. And in the likely chance you lose, who cares because it is only $10?
Here’s the deal with Paddack. He was bad in 2020. Of course, the pitcher was really good in 2019, winning nine games and posting a 3.33 ERA. It is easy to forget Paddack was San Diego’s opening day starter last season and the team thinks highly of him.
Perhaps the biggest thing standing in his way is himself. And that is something Paddack worked on during the offseason. That should help. So too should the fact he enters 2021 with far less pressure. All eyes will be on Snell and Darvish. The 25-year-old can quietly slide into the back half of the rotation and do his thing.
A bounce back season is well within the range of outcomes for Paddack in 2021. A Cy Young winning season is faintly possible. At +6000, there really is nothing to lose here. Especially considering how many starts he’s likely to get against the Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks.
