MLB futures: Nestor Cortes for AL Cy Young is a solid bet

The New York Yankees are the talk of Major League Baseball right now. They have the best record in the MLB, are the front runners to win the American League East and AL Pennant, Aaron Judge leads all of baseball in home runs and Gerrit Cole took a no-hitter into the eighth inning in Monday's win vs. Tampa Bay. I could go on.

Instead, I'm going to focus on Nestor Cortes. Now prior to this season the casual baseball fan might not even have known who Cortes was. The Cuban southpaw has never eclipsed 100 innings in a season, has made no more than 14 starts in a season and isn't even making seven figures this season. None of that matters.

Cortes is slicing and dicing opposing hitters this season and most of it is due to his unhittable cutter. See it for yourself. It's quite clear Cortes has a legitimate shot at the American League Cy Young award, which is why you need to put money on him for AL Cy Young now.

The best odds I could find on Cortes for AL Cy Young is 9.5/1 (+950) via FanDuel, and that line is only going to get worse moving forward. Don't believe me? Check the other sportsbooks for yourself: BetMGM, 9/1 (+900); Barstool, 7/1 (+700); Bet Rivers, 7/1 (+700); Caesars, 4.5/1 (+450). Other sportsbooks are recognizing Cortes' torrid start and starting to lower his odds.

The numbers back up his play too. He's 6-2 with an ERA under two (1.94) in 12 starts this season, has a WHIP under one (0.94), has allowed three or less runs in 11 of his starts and has the best Expected Weighted On-Base Average (xwOBA) among qualifying pitchers (.256). You're welcome sabermetric fans.  

Now will he finish the season with an ERA under two? Probably not. But there's a pretty good chance he gets 20+ wins, especially with the way the Yankees are playing, throws over 200 innings, strikes out over 200 hitters and makes more than 30 starts. These are all good signs he could win AL Cy Young. 

The Play: Bet Nelson Cortes for AL Cy Young (+950 via FanDuel)