The 2017 MLB regular season is only in the second month of an extended 162-game campaign, but the early results have already shed some light onto which two teams will eventually move on in the postseason to meet in this year’s best-of-seven World Series Championship series.
MyBookie has gone as far as to release its futures odds for some of the top MLB teams in both the National League and the American League as far as their chances to play one another for a World Series title.MyBookie has gone as far as to release its futures odds for some of the top MLB teams in both the National League and the American League as far as their chances to play one another for a World Series title.
The best betting odds on the board at +1000 gives you a trio of options starting with the Chicago Cubs in the NL playing either the Boston Red Sox out of the AL East, the AL Central’s Cleveland Indians or the Houston Astros in the AL West in the 2017 World Series.
The Cubs are the defending champs so it stands to reason why they are included in the matchup with the best odds, but their slower than expected start at just 17-16 through their first 33 games has to be somewhat of a concern. Anything can still happen over the course of such a long season and on paper Chicago probably remains the best balanced team in every phase of the game. However, I still think some of the value has been drained out of the Cubs’ odds as a +130 favorite to win the NL Pennant in light of their early record.
As far as the three AL teams in this potential World Series matchup, Cleveland probably has the best chance to make it back to the World Series this season to create a rematch of last year’s Fall Classic. The Indians’ current odds to win a second-straight AL Pennant have been set at +250 and while they are holding onto just a one-game lead in the AL Central at 18-14 through 32 games, I do not see any other team in this division keeping things all that interesting as we move into the dog days of summer.
Boston finds itself in a tougher than expected battle in the AL East with both Baltimore and the New York Yankees off to strong starts. Both of those teams appear to be talented enough to keep the pressure on the Red Sox all season long.
Houston has been able to open up an early six-game lead in the AL West with a solid 22-11 mark through its first 33 games and the Astros now have the best odds on the board to win the AL Pennant at +230. While I do not see any other team getting past Houston in the division title race, I would still lean towards the Indians in a possible head-to-head matchup in the playoffs.
After going through all the possible scenarios on MyBookie’s MLB futures board for a World Series matchup, the best value at +1600 would be the Washington Nationals against Cleveland. The odds that Washington faces either the Red Sox or the Astros in the Fall Classic are also set at +1600.
The Nationals are starting to create some distance in the NL East at 21-12 on the year and when you start breaking down the stats for both hitting and pitching there is some solid balance throughout this team. Washington is clearly the best hitting team in the NL right now with an overall slugging percentage of .485 and it has been converting that production into runs with an average of 6.1 a game, which is ranked first in the Majors.
The Nationals’ overall pitching staff falls a bit further down the list with a team ERA of 4.22 given some current issues with their bullpen, but there is still plenty of time to work things out by the time the postseason rolls around. With a starting rotation that still boasts Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark all getting a ton of run support, I really like this team’s chances to win the NL Pennant in 2017.
You can bet on these World Series matchups now by visiting MyBookie.