Diamondbacks Have Three of Top-20 N.L. Cy Young Candidates After Jordan Montgomery Addition

Even though the Diamondbacks made it to the World Series a season ago, the starting rotation was often a point of concern.

Now it may be the team’s biggest strength.

Arizona added standout left-hander Jordan Montgomery on Tuesday, which gives it a third starter on the short-list to win the National League Cy Young award.

Ace Zac Gallen has opened with the fifth-best odds to capture that hardware, followed by Montgomery in a tie for 13th and Merrill Kelly tied for 20th.

Brandon Pfaadt and Eduardo Rodriguez are also on the list of candidates to win the N.L. Cy Young, though at longshot odds, according to DraftKings.

Diamondbacks Odds to Win the National League Cy Young Award

• Zac Gallen +1200
• Jordan Montgomery +3000
• Merrill Kelly +4000
• Brandon Pfaadt +7500
• Eduardo Rodriguez +10000

FanGraphs does a great job of projections this time of year, and it’s easy to see why the rotation could help the Diamondbacks make a push toward the playoffs once again in 2024.

Arizona is a slight underdog to make the playoffs at +105, per DraftKings, with an over/under regular season win total of 84.5.

Here is a look at the projected stats for each member of the rotation, per ZiPS.

Zac Gallen: 13-9, 3.57 ERA, 2.8 WAR
Jordan Montgomery: 10-8, 3.84 ERA, 2.9 WAR
Merrill Kelly: 9-9, 3.97 ERA, 1.9 WAR
Brandon Pfaadt: 9-9, 3.97 ERA, 2.6 WAR
Eduardo Rodriguez: 11-8, 3.65 ERA, 2.5 WAR

Braves star Spencer Strider is the preseason favorite to win the National League Cy Young Award, followed by the Phillies’ Zack Wheeler.

Here are the top-15 candidates to win the National League Cy Young award as the regular season approaches. This futures bet can be made at DraftKings.

• Spencer Strider +450
• Zack Wheeler +800
• Logan Webb +950
• Yoshinobu Yamamoto +1000
• Zac Gallen +1200
• Max Fried +1300
• Tyler Glasnow +1400
• Freddy Peralta +1500
• Blake Snell +1800
• Aaron Nola +2000
• Justin Steele +2000
• Dylan Cease +2500
• Jordan Montgomery +3000
• Jesus Lazardo +3000
• Chris Sale +3000