While the San Diego Padres' playoff chances sit between slim and none with just over a month remaining in the 2023 MLB regular season, Blake Snell still has a solid shot to capture a second Cy Young Award.

Snell, who won the AL Cy Young in 2018 as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, made his 27th start of the season this past Monday night and dominated the St. Louis Cardinals as the Padres took a 4-1 victory at Busch Stadium.

While the 30-year-old didn't have complete control of the baseball, walking five batters in seven innings, he surrendered just two hits and struck out nine to earn his 11th victory. Snell also didn't allow a single run, dropping his MLB-leading ERA to 2.60.

The last time the Padres had a pitcher with this low of an ERA in a full 162-game season was in 2007, when Jake Peavy finished the year at 2.54. That was also the last year San Diego had a hurler take home the NL Cy Young. But Snell could certainly change that, and he's now actually the betting favorite for the coveted award.

Blake Snell is the new betting favorite in the NL Cy Young race

Per FanDuel, Blake Snell now leads the NL Cy Young betting odds at +110. Throughout the majority of the season, he's typically been in second or third, battling Spencer Strider of the Atlanta Braves and Zac Gallen of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

But despite owning just an 11-9 record, easily the worst of the three, Snell is now on top, undoubtedly thanks to his aforementioned 2.60 ERA and 193 strikeouts, which are good for second in the National League.

Strider leads the NL in strikeouts with 236 and is tied for the most wins with 15. But he also plays for a much better team. His ERA is considerably higher as well at 3.46. Strider sits in second in FanDuel's odds at +210.

As for Gallen, he was roughed up in his most recent outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers, giving up nine hits and six earned runs in just 5.1 innings during a 7-4 loss. The defeat dropped his record to 14-6 and bumped up his ERA to 3.32. Gallen's odds currently sit at +450.

The most significant stat that could keep Snell from winning the NL Cy Young is walks, as he leads all of Major League Baseball with 85. No pitcher in history has ever led the league in walks and ERA. So he'd be alone in the record books if that comes to pass.

But if he can somehow manage to capture the NL Cy Young, Blake Snell would become just the seventh pitcher to win it in both leagues. The previous six to do so were Gaylord Perry, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, Roy Halladay, and Max Scherzer.