It’ll be baseball time sooner than you realize. As we inch closer and closer to the new 2023 regular season, we wanted to share our early predictions on which club wins the World Series title. Keep reading for expert betting advice!
But before we get to that, we need to start with current World Series odds. Most of the off-season moves have been made by now, and as it stands, these teams are favored to win the World Series most:
| Team |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Houston Astros | +600 | +600 |
| New York Yankees | +700 | +700 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | +750 | +750 |
| New York Mets | +900 | +900 |
| San Diego Padres | +1000 | +1000 |
| Atlanta Braves | +1000 | +1000 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | +1400 | +1400 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | +1400 | +1400 |
| Seattle Mariners | +1600 | +1600 |
Betting Advice For 2023 World Series
You saw the odds listed at top baseball betting sites above, they’re long across the board. Therefore, you have the luxury of making multiple betting picks right now. That’s exactly how we’re approaching our 2023 World Series betting. We’ve hand-picked three teams worth wagering on right now, based not only on their roster, but betting value too:
Favorite Betting Pick
Let’s be completely honest, the two teams most of the betting money is going to go on here are the Astros and Dodgers. The two franchises have proven to be consistent World Series contenders for almost a decade straight now. You could bet both and we wouldn’t dispute it, however, we’ll be choosing only one. That’s because we see betting value available elsewhere (more on that later). So who’s it going to be — LA or Houston?
The Dodgers have had an uncharacteristically quiet offseason. Outside of re-signing Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles hasn’t made a trade or signing splash that we’ve gotten so used to. This time around, they've lost more talent than added — Tyler Anderson, Cody Bellinger, Trea Turner, and many more are goners. Addition by subtraction? Eh, probably not.
Astros, meanwhile, will return most of its 2022 World Series-winning team minus Justin Verlander. Losing the 2022 AL Cy Yung hurts, but Houston did at least add one major name to the mix: Jose Abreu. The 35-year-old almost surely ups Houston’s middle-of-the-order lineup. Last year, Abreu hit .304 with a .824 OPS, drawing a personal-best 62 walks and posting a .378 on-base percentage.
For us, Houston is the clear better pick than LA. We mean, who can trust the Dodgers anymore? After multiple years of record regular-season success, the team has delivered only one world title (and it came in the pandemic-affected playoffs).
Value Betting Picks
For our last two bets, we wanted to throw money on “mid-value” teams — pretty much any contender that’s not named the Astros, Dodgers, and Yankees. These teams might lack the hype of those three, but not the betting value.
The first of the two teams is the Mets. Yes, the Mets despite their penchant for choking in big moments (the latest example is winning 101 games only to be knocked out in the wildcard round of the postseason). What makes this New York side any different?
How about adding the aforementioned Verlander? And Kodai Senga. And Jose Quintana. And David Robertson. Carlos Correa was the one that got away, but getting the others is not a bad haul.
Verlander in particular might be the missing piece in New York. Sure, the Mets lost Jacob deGrom, but given his extensive injury history, Verlander — even at 40 years old — might be more reliable for a championship-or-bust season. Verlander and Max Scherzer will likely form the best pitching duo in the league. Between the two, they have six Cy Youngs and rank first and third on the active wins leaderboard.
For our second value choice, we’re going back to the AL, specifically to the East division, and going with the Blue Jays (not the Yankees). Look, there hasn’t been a better offense in the past two years than Toronto. Most of that lineup remains fully intact, only with another year of improvement. And even a marginal leap in production from a few players could be lethal for the entire offense.
Moreover, the Blue Jays spent the offseason addressing its big bugaboo from 2022: not enough left-handed pitching. The likes of added Daulton Varsho, Kevin Kiermaier, and Brandon Belt were all added to solve that issue.
But here’s why we’re really confident that Toronto can take the leap to title status. This will be the first full year with manager John Schneider at the helm. Once he took over the team mid-season, the Blue Kays promptly went 46-28. Schneider is the right guy to get Toronto over the jump.
How To Bet On 2023 MLB World Series Futures
The best place to bet on World Series futures is one of the sportsbooks listed underneath. These sites will update the title odds you see year-round. Expect big swings in the lines after roster transactions, injuries, and game-by-game results. But by betting on these sites, you’re almost guaranteed to be getting industry-leading prices.
Look at the underneath table closely. We’ve linked to our latest sportsbook reviews so you can get a better glimpse at what each bookmaker offers. Plus, we’ve also detailed the best sportsbook bonuses currently available at the sites. Leverage one of these bonuses now and your World Series bet could be free of cost!
