The Houston Astros have placed Justin Verlander on the 15-day injured list due to a calf injury. As a result of this announcement, we take a look at the AL Cy Young Award and why Shohei Ohtani is a favorable bet. 

Verlander was pulled from Sunday's game against the Baltimore Orioles after pitching only three innings due to a calf injury. All season, I have strongly advocated fading Verlander for the AL Cy Young, and this news opened up new opportunities for futures tickets. 

The following are my reasons for investing in Shohei Ohtani for the AL Cy Young Award.

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Shocked Ohtani is Still +3500

When Verlander was removed from the game on Sunday, I knew exactly who I was going to target, and that was Ohtani. Prior to the odds being removed or adjusted, I invested in him at several of our top-rated sportsbooks at +5000. It is never in my intentions to wish injury upon any athlete, but I bought these prices with the expectation that Verlander could be placed on the injured list and that Ohtani's odds would be shortened as a result. 

In response to Tuesday's announcement that Verlander will be placed on the 15-day IL, the sportsbooks reacted immediately. The odds were all pulled, and many of them remain off the board since Verlander had been a heavy favorite to win the AL Cy Young prior to the injury. 

What I did not expect is what we have seen from FanDuel Sportsbook, which is the first sportsbook to re-post the odds, and that is a +3500 price point on Ohtani following the news of Verlander's injury. The race is much closer between these two even before the injury, so I expected the price for Ohtani to be much lower.