The New York Yankees won 103 games in the regular season last year and push the Houston Astros to six games in the ALCS. They had a pretty good team already. That’s why it’s no surprise that after they made the Gerrit Cole signing this week, they have opened as the 2020 World Series favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook.
DraftKings has also opened up some betting odds on Gerrit Cole specifically, so let’s take a quick look at the new World Series odds and the Gerrit Cole props that are on the board:
Yankees Open As World Series Favorites While Dodgers, Astros Right Behind
One of the most important aspects of the Yankees getting Gerrit Cole is that it kept their chief competitors away from him.
The Dodgers were in the running and would have had a scary rotation had they picked him up while the Astros were significantly weakened by the fact that they’ve lost an ace. That’s why this move has propelled the Yankees above the other two teams.
Taking a look at the board, the Yankees are now at +350 to win the 2020 World Series while the Dodgers are at +500 and the Astros are at +600. Of course, the Dodgers and Astros are still loaded and both will make some moves in the offseason.
For the Yankees, this was necessary as they trailed the other two contenders in pitching by quite a bit.
Taking a look at the year-end stats from 2019, the Dodgers led the league in ERA while the Astros were third. The Yankees were far off the pace at 14th. Only one team that qualified for the playoffs last season (Milwaukee Brewers) had a worse number in that category than the Yankees.
Keep in mind that the Yankees starting rotation was worse than the bullpen as the starters posted a 4.51 ERA and pitched just 778.1 innings, which was 26th in all of baseball.
The bullpen held up quite well, for the most part (ninth in ERA), but they were overworked. Adding a guy like Cole will help the relievers out quite a bit as they won’t have to work as much.
Taking a look at some of the other opening World Series odds…
- The Washington Nationals are down to +1400 after losing Anthony Rendon.
- Los Angeles Angels are still a distance +4000 even with the addition of Rendon.
- Meanwhile, the Arizona Diamondbacks are at +6000 after signing Madison Bumgarner.
Gerrit Cole Props At DraftKings
DraftKings has posted a slew of Gerrit Cole props, so let’s take a look at each and see if there some value with these betting lines.
Will Gerrit Cole Record More Than 15 Strikeouts In A Game In 2020?
Will Gerrit Cole Record 20 Or More Strikeouts In A Game In 2020?
Cole was a strikeout machine in 2019, registering double-digits strikeouts in a game 21 times. He actually finished the regular season by striking out 10 or more batters in nine straight games. However, reaching 16 strikeouts – or 20, for the second prop – seems like a tall order.
Cole struck out 15 batters in a game twice last season, once in the regular season and once in the playoffs. However, he never reached 16. It might be tough for him to get there in a new environment – especially if he couldn’t reach that mark during a career year.
- Total Strikeouts by Gerrit Cole In 2020 (Excluding Playoffs)
- Over 273.5 -113
- Under 273.5 -113
Taking a look at the total strikeouts prop, under might be the way to go here. Cole is coming off a career-year where he compiled 326 strikeouts. The year before, he had 276 with the Houston Astros. Prior to that, though, he had never thrown more than 202 strikeouts in a full season.
- Will Gerrit Cole Will The Cy Young Award In 2020?
- Yes +375
This puts Cole among the favorites as the Cy Young Award odds open up but this is a lot to ask. That’s partially because the Yankees don’t exactly play in the most pitcher-friendly of parks. Only five Yankees pitchers have ever won the Cy Young Award and no Yankees pitcher has claimed it since Roger Clemens in 2001.
- Total Wins By Gerrit Cole In 2020 (Excluding Playoffs)
- Over 16.5 -107
- Under 16.5 -120
Will Gerrit Cole Throw A No-Hitter In 2020?
Taking a look at the final two props, the no-hitter prop is merely a dart throw. If you think he can pull it off, you might want to pull the trigger. He did come close in 2019 as he threw two one-hitters.
As for the total wins, Colt will be backed up by a very strong team. He won 20 games last year with the Astros and 15 the year before. He hit double-digits on a couple of shaky Pittsburgh Pirates teams in each of the two years prior as well.
If Cole stays healthy, he should be able to do it. Domingo German won 18 games last year and James Paxton won 15, so there’s a good shot Cole hits 17.