The Houston Astros acquired veteran right-hander and former AL Cy Young winner Zack Greinke from the Arizona Diamondbacks during last season, and the Astros really will be counting on Greinke in 2020 with Gerrit Cole now in a Yankees uniform and Justin Verlander already having had spring surgery. Here are two props available to wager at Mybookie on Greinke’s 2020 MLB season – assuming there is one – and an overview of the right-hander.
Zack Greinke MLB Awards Odds & Analysis For 2020 Season
- Most wins of any pitcher: Greinke is +2200
- AL Cy Young Award: Greinke is +2000 to win his second
Gerrit Cole signed a record $324 million free-agent contract this winter with the New York Yankees, and reigning AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander was set to miss the original Opening Day and about six weeks following groin surgery. Thus, Greinke’s value to Houston has grown exponentially since the 2019 season ended for the Astros in a loss to Washington in the World Series.
Zack Greinke was quite good in the World Series but didn’t get a decision. He had six strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings of one-run baseball in a no-decision against the Nationals in Game 3. Greinke scattered seven hits and walked three. He came within one out of earning a victory before being pulled. The only run against him came on a one-out RBI triple by Victor Robles in the fourth inning.
In Game 7 in Houston, Greinke allowed two runs on two hits over 6 1/3 innings with two walks and three strikeouts in the Astros’ loss. Greinke dominated over the first six innings, allowing just a hit and a walk and making several good defensive plays. He then allowed a one-out homer to Anthony Rendon in the seventh, and after a walk of Juan Soto, Greinke was pulled. Of course, Washington rallied to win.
Houston acquired Greinke from Arizona at the July 31 Trade Deadline and it was costly as Houston gave up three of its top five prospects: first baseman Seth Beer (No. 3) and right-handers J.B. Bukauskas (No. 4) and Corbin Martin (No. 5), in addition to infielder Josh Rojas (No. 22) and cash going to Arizona. Greinke was 10-4 with a 2.90 ERA in 23 starts with the D-backs. He also won a Gold Glove in the National League despite the midseason trade, his sixth consecutive Gold Glove.
Perhaps his most notable game with Arizona last year was on April 2 at the Padres in which Greinke hit two homers – he always has been a good hitter for a pitcher. It was Greinke’s first career multi-HR game. He also struck out a season-high 10 batters in 6.0 innings, becoming the fifth pitcher since 1908 to record a multi-homer game with double-digit strikeouts, and the first since Madison Bumgarner on April 2, 2017 at Arizona. It marked the second time in Diamondbacks history that a pitcher recorded a multi-HR game (Micah Owings on Aug. 18, 2007 at Atlanta).
With Houston, Greinke was 8-1 with a 3.02 ERA (21ER/62.2IP) in 10 regular season starts. Overall, he won 18 games (his most since 2015) while posting an ERA below 3.00 for the fifth time in his career (first year since 2015). Among all MLB pitchers, Greinke ranked third in walks per 9.0 innings (1.29), tied for fourth in wins, fifth in WHIP (0.98), sixth in strikeout to walk ratio (6.23), sixth in innings pitched (208.2) and ninth in ERA (2.93).
The 2009 AL Cy Young winner with Kansas City, Greinke also became the 115th pitcher in MLB history to reach 200 career victories, doing so on Aug. 18 at Oakland. Greinke became just the third active pitcher to reach that mark at the time, joining the Yankees’ CC Sabathia (251) and Houston’s Verlander (225). Sabathia has since retired.
