Pittsburgh Pirates New Ace Paul Skenes The turmoil sent betting markets into a tailspin, with odds shifting dramatically overnight and leading one sportsbook to halt all betting on the National League Rookie of the Year, believing the race was already decided.
Skenes was that good.
On Thursday, Skenes pitched seven hitless innings and struck out 11 batters in the Pirates’ 1-0 win. MilwaukeeBefore the game, ESPN BET had Skenes’ odds of winning the National League Cy Young Award at 30-1. After he was named the National League starter for the All-Star Game on Friday morning, Skenes’ odds of winning the Cy Young Award rose to 13-2, a remarkable one-day change rarely seen at sportsbooks.
Skenes, who started the year in the minor leagues, was favored to win the Cy Young Award after being promoted in May, at 200-1 odds. He currently has the third-shortest Cy Young odds in the National League. Zack Wheeler (+160) Philadelphia Phillies and Chris Sale (+165) Atlanta Bravestwo consensus favorites.
Patrick Jay, senior vice president and head of sportsbook at ESPN BET, said Skenes’ strong performance, combined with betting interest and his selection as the starter for Tuesday’s All-Star Game, have caused the odds to move wildly. As of Friday, ESPN BET had more bets on Skenes winning the National League Cy Young Award than any other pitcher.
Randy Blum, a baseball oddsmaker at the Las Vegas Superbook, had Skenes’ odds of being named the National League Rookie of the Year at -500 before Opening Day Thursday and was willing to raise it to -1,000, but instead opted to take a more extreme step.
“We closed the betting on yesterday’s game,” Blum said of the National League Rookie of the Year betting market. “Barring injury, I’m pretty sure he’s going to win it. That’s how good he’s been so far.”
Skenes’ popularity has also grown among bettors. On DraftKings, Skenes has attracted twice as much bets as any other pitcher since his MLB debut in May. He is the third-most bet-placed player overall on DraftKings since May, and Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.
ESPN staff writer Doug Greenberg contributed to this report.
