With a third of MLB’s 162-game regular season already played, sports bettors have a pretty good idea of the top contenders and pretenders out there when it comes to having what it takes to win the 2016 World Series title. BetOnline has updated its futures odds to win and my job is to find the best value in the numbers.
Finding the Best Value in the Top Favorites
It would be hard to bet against the Chicago Cubs right now as clear +350 favorites given their MLB-best 39-16 record through the first weekend in June. Unfortunately, I cannot help but feel that come October the Curse of the Billy Goat might rear its ugly head. The last time the Cubs even made into the World Series was 1945 and they have not won a title since 1908.
Superstitions aside, Chicago has clearly been the best team across every phase of the game through the first two months of the season and all indications point towards this success continuing right into the postseason given its 9.5-game lead in the NL Central standings right now.
Next on the list are the San Francisco Giants and the Boston Red Sox at +900 betting odds. The Giants (35-24) are out in front of the Los Angeles Dodgers (+1600) by 3.5 games in the NL West Division Race while the Red Sox (33-24) are tied with Baltimore (+1800) at the top of the AL East with Toronto (+1400) just 2.5 games off the pace.
Both of these division races should remain tight all season long, but if you ask me where the to find the best value in these betting odds it would have to be with San Francisco simply because the Giants are due. They won it all in 2010 after going 92-70 that year. They were right back on top in 2012 after going 94-68. Staying true to this on and off pattern, the Giants won their third MLB World Series in the past six seasons in 2014 with a record of 88-74.
Finding the Best Value in the Top Contenders
The team at the top of my list in this category would be the Washington Nationals at +1000 betting odds to win the 2016 World Series. They are five games off the pace in the NL at 34-23, which is also good enough for a two-game lead in the NL East. The New York Mets (+1200) are next in the standings followed by the surprising Miami Marlins (+6600) and Philadelphia Phillies (+12500).
Washington’s team ERA is third in the NL at 3.18 just slightly off the pace of the Mets (3.14) and the Cubs (2.57), but I believe that this staff is built for the long haul. With Stephen Strasburg back in form along with Max Scherzer and Gio Gonzalez, the Nationals have the best chance to challenge Chicago for the NL Pennant.
Finding the Best Value in the Longshots
The entire American League pennant race is up in the air through the early part of the season with no real dominant team taking charge. Texas (+1400) has the best record at 34-22, but Seattle (+1400) is just three games off the pace in the AL West. We already know that the AL East is pretty wide open and there are four teams within three and a half games of one another in the AL Central.
If the Cubs are going to hold-up their end of the bargain in the NL, how great would it be to see them face the other Chicago team in the Fall Classic? The Chicago White Sox are a mild +2200 longshot to stay on track and win the World Series this season following a respectable 29-28 start. The White Sox are 11th in the AL in runs scored, but they move all the way up to second on the list in team ERA at 3.61. Chris Sale has posted nine wins in his first 12 starts and Jose Quintana has been credited with nine quality starts despite a 5-6 record through his first 12 outings.