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Cleveland Indians' Trevor Bauer is already the 2019 American League Cy Young front-runner

One month into the 2019 season, Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Trevor Bauer has already emerged as the American League Cy Young favorite.

In a world where you can bet on anything from which character is going to die next on Game of Thrones to the No. 1 overall pick in next year's NFL Draft, it's not often that odds are hard to find.

But when it comes to the 2019 American League Cy Young race, the most recent odds were made nearly a month ago.

At that point -- April 8 -- Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Trevor Bauer was listed as a 3/1 favorite to win the award, according to betting site 5Dimes (via SportsBettingDime.com). So perhaps the biggest reason that there hasn't been an updated list of A.L. Cy Young odds since the second week of the season is that not much has changed.

While we're just a little more than one month into the 2019 season and therefore have limited information to work with, the little data we do have suggests that when it comes to the 2019 Cy Young race, Bauer should still be considered the American League front-runner.

Credit: AP
Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Trevor Bauer delivers in the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Thursday, April 4, 2019, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

That shouldn't come as too much of a surprise; after all, Bauer was right in the thick of last season's Cy Young race before a line drive off his right ankle cost him the better part of the final month of the season. But looking at the 28-year-old's numbers suggests he's not only back on track -- he might be even better than before.

Again, keep in mind we're dealing with a limited sample size, but take a look at this year's pitching stats and Bauer's name isn't hard to find. Laying claim to a 3-1 record, the right-hander ranks fourth in the American League in earned run average, second in hits per 9 innings and fifth in strikeouts.

Perhaps more impressively, Bauer is dominating the field when it comes to the advanced numbers, ranking first in the league in Wins Above Replacement, Adjusted Runs, Adjusted Wins, Win Probability Added and Base-Out Wins Saved. Although that hardly guarantees anything -- and again, it's early -- it's worth noting the emphasis Cy Young voters have placed on such categories in recent years, forgoing more traditional statistics such as a pitcher's win-loss record.

Credit: Tony Dejak

Last season's A.L Cy Young winner, Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays, fared similarly in advanced analytics, ranking first in the league in WAR, Adjusted ERA+, Adjusted Runs, Adjusted Wins, Base-Out Runs Saved and Base-Out Wins Saved. So while it may be early in Bauer's quest for his first career Cy Young, it's also not hard to see he's setting out on the right path.

Of course, plenty can change between now and the end of the season and as Bauer learned last year, all it takes is one pitch to derail your season. But for now, when it comes to handicapping the 2019 American Cy Young race, it's hard to view the Indians' starter as anything but the current favorite.

It's a status he's occupied for the better part of the past month now.

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