The 40-year-old . During the playoffs, Posey became the Giants' career postseason hits leader, with 57, and he's also played the most postseason games in franchise history, with 58. He hit 35 home runs and drove in 97 runs in 154 games while batting .291/.364/.535. Chiefs Super Bowl odds on this betting app are set at +575. But in 2018, he batted .284 and slugged .382. Posey is now a two-time Comeback Player of the Year -- he also won the award in 2012 and is the only Giants player to win. One of these days, Jacob deGrom has to throw a no-hitter, right? He's five home runs behind Shohei Ohtani and four stolen bases behind Whit Merrifield, so he probably won't wind up leading the majors in both categories. The 25-year-old dominated the shortened 2020 season, taking home the MLB pitching Triple Crown by topping all other pitchers in wins (eight), strikeouts (122) and ERA (1.63). Not quite Cy Young numbers, but he's not far off from matching the current production of Shane Bieber,last year's AL Cy Young winner: 3.28 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 12.9 K/9. Soto also recorded the highest rates by a qualified hitter since Barry Bonds in 2004 in on-base percentage (.490), slugging percentage (.695), OPS (1.185) and wRC+ (201). Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (+1400) 8. However, Strasburg has also had 10 stints on the injury list during his 11-year career. He can hit .330 or .180 and hes the Comeback Player of the Year already. Royals fans saw that type of talent during the final month of the season. Comeback Player of the Year: Dak Prescott, QB Dallas Cowboys There is absolutely no doubt that Dak Prescott has had the best comeback performance of the year. From his leadership, accountability and unselfishness to his instinctive baseball IQ that shows itself mostly on the basepaths, which might be the greatest of all his skills. Both Darvish and Snell finished with ERAs above 4.20, so that ended up being a moot point. If the season ended today, though, many of the picks would be rather obvious. Sync your sportsbook(s) and analyze bet performance, view your top splits, betting trends, and compete against users on the leaderboards. He's averaging just under 11 K/9 and a little better than 3.5 K/BB. The awardees, in collaboration with the MLB Players Trust, will have an opportunity to donate $70,000 to their choice of charity. Below, we look at the odds to be named the 2021 Comeback Player of the Year, with NFL picks, predictions and best bets. ORIOLES: Trey Mancini, AL Comeback Player of the Year Fully recovered from Stage 3 colon cancer, Mancini aims to be back on the field by Opening Day 2021. Last year's winners were Royals catcher Salvador Perez and Rockies closer Daniel Bard. deGrom will turn 33 next June, still in the prime of his career without quite as much mileage on his arm as many pitchers his age. Is it possible we just got too excited about McKenzie just a year early? Still, he showed what a dominant force he could be with his one postseason start, when he allowed one run in six innings while striking out eight Padres in the Wild Card Series. He has the benefit of hitting in front of fellow superstar Anthony Rendon, who could also make a run at the AL MVP Award with a strong season. Major League Baseball on Monday night announced the two winners of the Comeback Player of the Year award for 2021: Buster Posey of the Giants in the National League and Trey Mancini of the Orioles . Trout is the best player in the game and is always in the conversation for AL MVP, winning the award three times and finishing in the top 5 in each of the past nine seasons. Kluber made just seven starts for the Cleveland Indians in 2019 as his season ended May 1 when he sustained a fractured right forearm when struck by a line drive off the bat of the Miami Marlins Brian Anderson. Then, Darvish flipped an incredible switch. Instead, Trevor Bauer won on the strength of 11 excellent starts. Over his first seven starts, the right-hander was 0-5 with a 4.10 ERA. If he does manage to pull it off, though, he would become just the second player to do so. The Orioles look for him to serve as the anchor in a young lineup in 2022. After he finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting in a stellar '19 season, Bieber climbed all the way to the top of the AL by winning the award in '20. As his 2020 season ended because of a left shoulder injury, Arenado fielded question after question about how the injury reduced his average to .253 -- with no extra-base hits after Sept. 9 and zero home runs after Sept. 8. That didnt happen in 2021, thanks largely to control issues (4.4 walks per nine), but the stuff is still there. With his growing comfort with the Cubs, a freedom to be himself on the mound and elite command of the strike zone and his 10-plus pitches, Darvish should once again be a Cy Young contender in 21. He hit five home runs in the span of six games in mid-June. He hit .255 with 21 home runs and 71 RBIs in 147 games for the Orioles in 21, finished second in the Home Run Derby at Coors Field and inspired millions both inside the game and out with his story of resilience and perseverance. The potential is sky-high for Soto in his fourth Major League season. The Baltimore Orioles first baseman/designated hitter missed all of last season while undergoing chemotherapy for stage 3 colon cancer discovered in March 2020. Updated: Mar 4, 2023 / 02:59 PM EST. All-time MLB Comeback Player of the Year winners. Baker Mayfield +1200. The prognostications for Chapman made sense given the year he was coming off of in 2019, when he earned his first All-Star selection and appeared in his first Home Run Derby in a campaign that saw him slash .249/.342/.506 with a career-high 36 home runs and 91 RBIs while also capturing the Gold and Platinum Glove Awards for a second straight year. Hell be a Gold Glove Award candidate at the hot corner, and the surprising power he displayed at the plate during his debut makes him a much more interesting all-around player to watch. The Yankees are banking on Kluber to be a key part of their rebuilt rotation behind ace Gerrit Cole and fellow newcomer Jameson Taillon, who is making his own comeback after missing last season with the Pirates while recovering from Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery. With the 2021 MLB season over, our staff came together to share their picks for the annual end-of-year awards. None of them has more than eight. It shouldnt be overlooked that Betts sparked the Dodgers when he became the full-time leadoff hitter, a spot in the order that Los Angeles has struggled to fill for years. NFL COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS. Royals: Carlos Santana, DHThe decision to bring in the veteran Santana last season felt like a savvy move for the Royals, a way to raise their floor with a long-underappreciated hitter and on-base guy. In five September starts, Castillo went 4-1 with a 2.20 ERA, 37 strikeouts and nine walks. Martinez, AL Comeback Player of Year. Mancini even competed in the Home Run Derby -- and nearly won it, before falling to Pete Alonso in the finals. Angels: David Fletcher, 2BFletcher was one of the lovely surprise stories of 2020 -- do you realize he finished 17th in MVP voting? But that begs the question -- has he already returned, and can he still win? His OBP dropped more than 60 points from his 2020 season (and 50 from his 2019 season), and his walk rate plummeted while his strikeout rate skyrocketed. He has been a solid player for two years, but hardly anything resembling a superstar. He looks a lot different this spring, from all accounts, and he might be ready to unlock what got everybody so excited about him in the first place. It may feel a little early to bet on NFL Comeback Player of the Year. He's batting .328 and slugging .547, which are the highest marks of his career with the exception of his 2012 NL MVP year (.336 and .549, respectively). Mets: Dominic Smith, 1B/OF In 2019 and 2020, Smith finally turned into the player of Mets fans dreams, getting on base regularly and showing considerable pop. In what universe does Cody Bellinger hit .165? deGrom may have become the third pitcher in Major League history to three-peat had he had the luxury of a full, six-month season, given how brilliantly he pitched down the stretch in both 18 and 19. The 34-year-old played all 12 seasons of his career with the Giants and was a three-time World Series champion with the team. He wasn't just the Rookie of the Year in 2021; it wasn't even close. Nationals: Victor Robles, OFAt this point, weve all accepted that Robles is not, in fact, the next great Nationals prospect to turn into a superstar. Those gruesome numbers should be a distant memory by the time the 21 season ends. The White Sox (-115) have leapfrogged the Twins (+140) as pre-season Central favorites, and there are several key questions the Twinkies have heading into the 2021 campaign. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip). (AP Photo/David J. Phillip), Hickey looks on, before the team's spring training baseball game against the Houston Astros, Tuesday, March 9, 2021, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky), solo home run against the Houston Astros in the third inning of a baseball game in Seattle, in this Tuesday, June 4, 2019, file photo. Jayce Tingler finished second in NL Manager of the Year voting in '20. NFL Comeback Player of the Year Odds 1. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar). against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton, Fla., Monday, March 22, 2021. Until he takes a step back -- and hes shown no indications of doing so to date -- he will remain a perennial Cy Young favorite. Mancini is among many players poised to make a run at Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2021. Dak Prescott (DAL) +170. A star slugger from 2014-19, Martinez fell into a pothole he never could get out of in 20. Nick Bosa (+1000) 7. Each part of his triple-slash line is a bit below his previous career levels, but he's, like, two good games away from matching those averages. Mets: Dominic Smith, 1B/OFIn 2019 and 2020, Smith finally turned into the player of Mets fans dreams, getting on base regularly and showing considerable pop. Thats MVP stuff. As a hitter, Ohtani is easily one of the best in the majors, if not definitively the best. Alcantaras four-seam fastball averaged 96.8 mph this year and his sinker sat at 96.2 mph. The Braves would very much welcome his 2020 form. As long as they don't drop off a cliff in the next 73 games, though, he's a shoe-in for NL Manager of the Year. On Opening Day, Mancini knocked a single down the third-base line at Fenway Park for his first hit since returning to baseball. In just 87 games, he had 27 homers and 78 RBIs while hitting .313/.412/.655. Now he's back as arguably the best hitter on the Houston Astrosarguably the best team in the American League. He has a $3.01-million salary. He spent the winter reconfiguring his deep arsenal and returned in '20 with a lethal cut fastball, producing a 2.11 ERA and 13.3 strikeouts per nine innings. Bieber showed just how lethal his repertoire can be after adding a cutter to create more separation between his fastball and breaking pitches. 2023 MLB Cy Young Award Odds. We were in unanimous agreement on five of the 10 awards, and there was a three-fourths agreement on four of the other five. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. And Manny Machado finished third in NL MVP voting in '20. MLB's Comeback Player of Year candidates to watch in 2023 Last season Justin Verlander won AL Comeback Player of the Year and Albert Pujols won NL Comeback Player of the Year.. He's nearly three years removed from being an All-Star, but the Mariners believe that with Haniger now full healthy he can once again be that caliber of player. The right-hander struck out 97 over 72 1/3 innings in 20 -- ranking second in the AL behind only Cy Young winner Shane Bieber -- after fanning 228 in 19. Gallen doesnt get the attention of some pitchers in larger markets, but if he continues to pitch as he has in his first year-plus in the big leagues, that could change in a hurry. Lets take a look: Blue Jays: Hyun Jin Ryu, LHPRyu has said in the past that his personal goal is to make more than 30 starts every year and have a 3.00 ERA. Betting on those odds with the Caesars Sportsbook Kansas Promo Code ROTOFULL will give new users a $1,250 first bet on Caesars to use on any open sports betting market with no restrictions on odds or . Saquon Barkley has moved to second, as his odds dropped from -155 to +140 while his Giants were on bye. Returning from a. In the abbreviated 20 season, Martinez slashed .213/.291/.389 and was one of the least productive position players in the game. Hes finished second and third in Cy Young voting the past two seasons (2019 came with the Dodgers in the NL), so this shouldnt be far from his reach if hes healthy and making at least 30 starts. Martinez was too consistent and too elite for too long to simply lose it overnight. When in doubt for a Manager of the Year pick, it never hurts to compare a team's actual record to its Pythagorean record. The Ravens won 14 games with a second-year quarterback under center. But there are plenty of opportunities to change that in 2021. What else does Cole have in the tank? How can a guy hit 38 homers in 144 games in 2019 and then just hit nine in 127 two years later? But one of the unique benefits of being a human, after things havent gone well, after youve been knocked down, is that you can pick yourself back up and get back after it again. It could be an award-worthy sort of combination. Red Sox: Jackie Bradley Jr., OFThere was a time, I swear, when it looked like Jackie Bradley Jr. was going to be a superstar in this league. The defense will always be there, but he was certainly thought, at the plate, to be more than this. PIRATES: KeBryan Hayes, NL Rookie of the Year. Since the start of 2018, Cole leads all AL starters in fWAR, innings, wins and strikeouts and ranks second in ERA and FIP. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. Christian McCaffrey (+700) 3. Flaherty was one of the best pitchers in baseball in 2019, thanks to his historic second half of the season that saw him finish fifth in NL Cy Young voting. Look beyond Skubals 5.63 ERA in eight games, and his 7.9 hits per nine innings, 10.4 strikeouts per nine and 3.36 strikeout-to-walk ratio suggest better times ahead for the lanky lefty -- probably sooner than later. The award was created for a player who was once a star, but had to come back from either injury or ineffectiveness to reclaim his status. GIANTS: Buster Posey, NL Comeback Player of the Year. Or that the Blue Jays' Robbie Ray would be the AL Cy Young winner. Athletics: Eric Thames, 1BThere are roster spots to be had in Oakland this spring, particularly at first base. Mancini, who has a $4.75-million salary this year, has hit at least 24 homers in each of his three full major league seasons. Dinelson Lamet is expected to be healthy and could pose a Cy Young threat. He wont be relied on as much in 2022 -- he might not even be starting -- but even a few glimmers of what he was before would go a long way. Can he finally hit both goals? Garcia was designated for assignment by the St. Louis Cardinals in December 2019, and again by the Rangers this past February. It's clear the 2010 first-round pick still has plenty left in the tank following his showing in 2022. Reds: Mike Moustakas, INFThe Reds were moving all sorts of pieces this offseason, but one of the reasons Moustakas is still there was just how bad he was in 2021. Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott was arguably the best player to be sidelined, with New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley, Carolina . Tigers: Matt Manning, RHPYou can never expect too much from a rookie, even one who came with as much hype as Manning did, but the larger concern with Mannings first season, which ended with a 5.80 ERA in 18 frustrating starts, was that his stuff wasnt particularly overwhelming. Whit Merrifield often describes Mondesi as having MVP-type talent. Maybe in 2021, fully healthy and playing a whole season, that evaluation comes to fruition. Could that be an offseason adjustment that assures he retains his title? He has been around forever but is not, actually, that old (he turned 33 last September); a bounce-back season is far from unreasonable. The 2023 MLB regular season will begin on Thursday March 30, 2023 and bettors can start placing wagers on the futures odds for Cy Young winners. But you certainly expect at least an above-average offensive season from him. American League Manager was the only one without a clear consensus, so let's start there. Simply put, Giolito has top-of-the-rotation stuff and he has figured out how to make the most effective usage of his repertoire. He and the Yankees both believe a lot. FILE - Seattle Mariners' Mitch Haniger is congratulated and showered with sunflower seeds after his [+] solo home run against the Houston Astros in the third inning of a baseball game in Seattle, in this Tuesday, June 4, 2019, file photo. Adalberto Mondesi, Royals. Theres still a ton of power left, youd think, and the Rangers can lengthen their lineup considerably if he can tap into it. Both had a good share of struggles, but Skubal showed flashes of potential, including six innings of two-hit, one-run ball with six strikeouts against the Twins in a Sept. 5 no-decision at Target Field. Joe Burrow (+700) 4. It sure would be nice to see a vintage Bumgarner season, wouldnt it? The defense is still there, but the Twins would love 2019 Urshela at the plate. Soto edged out MVP winner Freddie Freeman by 10 points for the batting title, and he tallied 54 hits, 13 home runs, 14 doubles, 37 RBIs and 39 runs scored in 47 games. Bregman finished a very close second to Trout in the 2019 AL MVP race after hitting .296 with 41 homers, 112 RBIs and 119 walks, all while leading the AL in bWAR (8.4). Burnes managed to finish sixth in 2020 NL Cy Young Award balloting after his candidacy took a painful hit in his final regular-season start, when an oblique injury not only spoiled his bid to be the first Brewers pitcher to win an ERA title, but left him one-third of an inning -- thats right, one measly out -- shy of qualifying for the honor. But, really, how could we not pick Trey Mancini here? Through 89 team games, he's on pace to finish the year with 60. Dak Prescott (+200) 2. The Washington right-hander is one of the best pitchers in the game when he is healthy as he showed in 2019 in lifting the Nationals to the first World Series title in franchise history with his October heroics. He wouldnt spend 20 on the field. Mitch Haniger never saw the field in 2020 for the Seattle Mariners. Haniger appeared in just 63 games in 2019 then missed the entire 2020 season. Theres no telling what the 21-year-old shortstops ceiling is. Heading into spring training, the fifth starting job appeared to be a toss up between Rodon, Reynaldo Lopez and highly touted prospects Michael Kopech and Garrett Crochet. If he can be that star we all think he is, he could usher in the next era of Mariners baseball. For three-quarters of the season this year, Tatis was the obvious MVP frontrunner before a late-season slump. He tore a shoulder muscle in his Rangers debut. There have been a handful of mediocre outings along the way that boosted his first-half ERA to 2.31, but with a K/9 rate of 13.05 and a K/BB rate of 5.0, he's still the relatively easy choice for AL Cy Young at this point. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. Suffice it to say, not many folks thought San Francisco would be sitting at the All-Star break with the best record in baseball (57-32), yet here they are. The American League features a trio of new managers in 2021, although none are first-time skippers.