Gerrit Cole has all but locked up the 2023 American League Cy Young award. 

After a strong start to September, the Yankees right-hander is now the clear-cut favorite to win his first Cy Young after getting bet down to -2200 at FanDuel Sportsbook this week. 

Cole has twice finished just short of taking home the award, finishing second in 2019 and 2021. 

But now, in a season in which he leads the Junior Circuit in ERA (2.81) and innings (192) and is top-five in WHIP (1.05), strikeouts (207) and BB/9 (2.25), the 33-year-old appears to be on the cusp of winning the award for the first time.

Cole’s advanced stats support his Cy Young case as well, as his 3.30 fielding independent pitching and .293 expected wOBA both rank among the best in the majors. 

As recently as July, Cole trailed Framber Valdez and Shane McClanahan in the betting odds. 

In mid-August, Cole nudged ahead of the pair on FanDuel’s odds board following McClanahan’s forearm injury and a tough stretch for Valdez. 

It wasn’t until this month, though, that Cole ended any real shot of losing out on the award. 

Cole has posted a 1.50 ERA in 18 innings across three starts in September heading into his start against the Blue Jays on Thursday to pull away from the pack. 

Today, the only AL pitchers with odds better than +15000 are the Mariners’ Luis Castillo (+1000) and the Twins’ Sonny Gray (+2500). 

A Cy Young in his trophy case would bolster what has become a near-Hall-of-Fame-worthy resume for the six-time All-Star and two-time strikeout leader.