We’re a little over a month into the 2023 MLB season. Yes, it’s early, but not too early to make up-to-date picks on who wins several different MLB division championships. In this article, we’ll lay out three futures bets right now that we’re confident will cash come October.
- What: MLB division championships
- When: 2023 MLB Season
2023 AL East Winner Bet
The AL East is routinely one of the most competitive divisions in baseball, and that’s no different this season. All five teams are above .500 at the moment. As it stands, the best betting sites for MLB have set the following odds on who wins the AL East:
| Team |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay | -190 | -190 | -190 |
| Toronto | +350 | +350 | +350 |
| NY Yankees | +550 | +550 | +550 |
| Baltimore | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Boston | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
The Rays are the league’s most surprising team. They started the season an incredible 13-0. But even after that, they’ve put together a 16-7 mark. They’re certainly the “easy” bet to make here, but we’re not in love with Tampa's -190 moneyline either. Sooner or later, they’re due for a regression to the mean. We mean, during their win streak, they beat up on meager teams — Tigers, Nationals, A’s, and Red Sox — so it really feels overdue.
To us, both the Blue Jays and Orioles are worth a look here. Admittedly, Toronto is the team we’re most confident in. They certainly have the offensive talent to catch up, particularly with Matt Chapman. Amazingly, the third baseman is hitting .349 (second-best in the majors) with an OPS of 1.038 (fourth) this year. If the other Toronto bats can pick up their pace, expect the Blue Jays to make a run.
But honestly, we’d also say Baltimore is worth a prayer bet too — especially at +1400. Now there’s a team most believe is fluky and will come back down to Earth, but we’re less sure. They’re 23-13 so far and have played the Rays neck-to-neck in a recent series. We think it’s worth throwing a bit of money the O’s way. Even a few bucks could pay big at these steep odds.
NL West Winner Bet
We go from one of the most competitive divisions in baseball to the most disappointing. Most teams in the division, sans Arizona, have underachieved after almost 40 games. But to no one’s surprise, bookies are sticking to the usual suspect — the Dodgers — to take the NL West. Here’s the latest odds:
| Team | | | |
|---|---|---|---|
| LA Dodgers | -155 | -155 | -155 |
| San Diego | +160 | +160 | +160 |
| San Francisco | +1600 | +1600 | +1600 |
| Arizona | +1600 | +1600 | +1600 |
| Colorado | +25000 | +25000 | +25000 |
Honestly, Los Angeles' slow start is perfect for futures bettors. That’s because the odds of them winning the division have shortened. Sure, we’d love to get them at plus-money, but no need to get greedy either. Getting the most talented team in the majors at -155 is a steal. Plus, it looks like they’re back on an uptrend, having won eight of their past 10 games. We’d jump on this line before it loses any more betting value.
On that note, for anyone thinking of taking San Diego here, we urge you not to. This team had World Series hype before the season but has done little to live up to it so far, particularly on offense. Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth, and Ha-Seong Kim have all been ice-cold and we’re beginning to wonder about the Padres. It’s best to avoid them in this category as far as we're concerned.
AL West Winner Bet
A lot of what we said about the AL West also applies to the NL West. Everyone expected the reigning World Series champs, the Astros, to roll to another AL West division title. Well, not so fast. Houston is currently one game under .500 and 4.5 games behind division-leading Texas. For this reason, the odds are scattered on who wins the AL West, as seen underneath:
| Team | | | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | -190 | -190 | -190 |
| Texas | +275 | +275 | +275 |
| LA Angels | +425 | +425 | +425 |
| Seattle | +550 | +550 | +550 |
| Oakland | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
Unless the Astors make some acquisitions — which they’re known to do — this team is worrisome. The usual backbone of the franchise, pitching, has been a crutch so far. Justin Verlander’s loss to New York has left a gaping hole in the rotation. A season-ending injury to Luis Garcia has widened the gap too. Overall, there’s just not much pitching depth to speak of in Houston, and because of that, we’re not blindly betting on them here.
Instead, our money is going on the Mariners. In many ways, they’re the antithesis of the Astros as they’re loaded with arm talent. Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, and Bryce Miller are all reliable pitchers Seattle can fall back on. Yes, we know, Seattle hasn’t won this division in over 20 years but with Houston in the dumps, the M’s have an opening that we think they’ll capitalize on.
How To Bet On 2023 MLB Season?
If you’re going to be an elite better at any one sports league, then it literally pays for it to be MLB thanks to its massive playing schedule. From now until October, you’ll have a chance to bet on MLB almost daily. The best places to do so are linked below.
In the table underneath, we’ve left two valuable pieces of information for you — up-to-date sportsbook reviews and current sign-up bonuses. Weigh both on deciding where’s the best site to gamble on MLB. Any one of these sites could be your one-stop shop for the remainder of the season.
