MLB Future Odds and Predictions
Once again, The betting community is wide-eyed with the possibilities of all the odds being revealed and fluctuated. There might not be a better time to get insane value for some of these predictions if you have conviction about a certain team’s success. My predictions will be different from yours but use this simply as a guide to help you see what I am targeting and get some insider rationale. All lines come from the Hard Rock Sportsbook. Let’s see who is hopefully going to win their divisions, pennants, and individual awards.
American League
Central: Minnesota Twins (+120), East: Baltimore Orioles (+220), West: Texas Rangers (+195)
Pennant: Baltimore Orioles (+650)
Am I bought in on the Orioles? You take your guess. There is not a more exciting team in the American League right now than the O’s. The influx of talent that this team has infused into their big-league roster is nothing short of staggering considering none of these youngsters were on the roster five years ago. Combine this with the flurry of moves they have made this winter and you’ve got all the makings of a magical season.
The reigning champ Texas Rangers are 2nd in odds to win the AL West which just goes to show you what a powerhouse the Houston Astros have been. However, I think we are seeing a changing of the guard. Texas is building their team for sustained success, and we should continue to see this as the years go by. As for the AL Central, this division remains open every year. It seems that there is a contest that the world doesn’t know about between the teams on who can lose more. Regardless, the Kansas City Royals are a trendy pick to win this year, but I’m going with the most complete team to take this division crown. At the end of the day, this doesn’t really matter as the Baltimore Orioles are taking home the pennant this year.
National League
Central: Cincinnati Reds (+375), East: Atlanta Braves (-275), West: Los Angeles Dodgers (-500)
Pennant: Atlanta Braves (+260)
The only favored bets that I am taking for this season are the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves winning their divisions. Sure, they are boring picks and aren’t going to make anyone millions anytime soon, but can you blame me? These two teams have the two best rosters in the sport. Granted they’ve gone about it different ways, but who cares at the end of the day. You do what you must to win and that is exactly what these clubs are doing.
I could copy and paste what I said about the American League Central here for the National League Central. As I said for the Orioles, there is not a more exciting team in the National League right now than the Cincinnati Reds. This team has some of the most dynamic playmakers on their squad and just play the game with a youthful exuberance that we don’t often get to see. While I am not predicting the Reds to win the pennant (but dang that would be electric), they should get over the playoff hump and win a game for the first time since 2012. Oh, and Atlanta is going to win the pennant because why not?
Individual Awards
Homeruns: Pete Alonso (+700), Stolen Bases: Elly De La Cruz (+700), Strikeouts: Kevin Gausman (+900), NLROY: Jackson Chourio (+650), ALROY: Jackson Holliday (+300), ALMVP: Bobby Witt Jr. (+2000), NLMVP: Fernando Tatis Jr. (+1000), NLCY: Zac Gallen (+1200), and ALCY: Corbin Burnes (+1000)
There is a lot of content in this section so please make sure to take full advantage of what the analysis and thought processes are for each of these. Let’s start with the Rookie of the Year awards. I’ve got two Jacksons winning it which makes for a fun little play on words. But in all seriousness, these guys are studs. Chourio just signed the largest contract for a teenager ever and Holliday comes from MLB bloodlines. Holliday is slashing .268/.310/.607 while Chourio is slashing .314/.351/.400 in spring training. Oh, and they are both only 20 years old. Enjoy the fireworks during the 2024 season.
Bobby Witt Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr. (both juniors, notice a trend?) are my favorites to win MVP. Both guys have MLB ties and have had elite production in past years. Witt Jr. broke out last year slashing .276/.319/.495 while posting a 30/40 season (nearly 30/50 but was one stolen base short). Tatis Jr. has been a perennial superstar since making his debut in 2019 at 20 years old. We all know Tatis Jr. missed the 2022 season due to PED use and injury, but he is past the PEDs and is playing outfield exclusively which should reduce injury risk. Any time we have guys posting seasons like these two, they should always be considered MVP candidates. Witt Jr. is going to continue his assent upwards and Tatis Jr. is going to recapture his pre-injury/suspension form to obtain some hardware.
Zac Gallen and Corbin Burnes look to be Cy Young candidates and are my picks to take home the award. Gallen posted 12 and 17 wins in the last two years with a league leading .913 WHIP in 2022 and a 1.119 WHIP in 2023. Because of this, he finished 5th and 3rd in Cy Young voting in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Corbin Burnes is a name we’ve come all used to hearing for this award, especially after he won in 2021. 2022 and 2023 gave us 12 and 10 wins, respectively and a .965 WHIP and league leading 1.069 WHIP as well. Both guys stats are among the best in baseball and there is a legitimate shot at them taking home this award. Especially due in part to the fact that they are the aces on their current playoff contending teams.
I’ll be combining the stat category leaders into one with Pete Alonso, Elly De La Cruz, and Kevin Gausman leading the league in homeruns, stolen bases, and strikeouts. We all know Alonso has elite power. He’s never had below 37 homeruns in a season (aside from the shortened COID-19 season) in a year and led the league with 53 as a rookie. The sky is the limit, especially in a contract year. De La Cruz is fast. Like fast, fast. He has the 2nd most steals in spring training and finished 9th last year. That obviously doesn’t sound that high, but the eight guys ahead of him averaged 151 games played last year; De La Cruz played 98. Gausman finished 2nd last year in strikeouts. He was unfortunately a product of having an amazing season, but not amazing enough (Spencer Strider had 281). Gausman has the stuff to lead the league in this category and this could be his year. After all, he almost did it last year.
