After a gnawing 162-game MLB regular season odds, the MLB playoff odds are finally set. Here are the three teams favored to win the 2019 World Series:
Before making our free World Series pick, let's preview the respective pennant races and offer our league winner predictions!
The Athletics and Rays will meet in the AL Wildcard game. The winner awaits a playoff series with the Astros, who online sportsbooks are pegging with the best MLB playoff odds 2019. Here are the complete lines to win the AL:
Houston is the team to beat. Period.
After the season they just put together, there's no reason to believe otherwise. The Astros won a franchise-record and league-high 107 games — the third consecutive season they've crossed the 100-win threshold, which had only been done five times before in history.
Finding a weakness on this team is like finding a needle in the haystack. Pitching, which is typically the key to success in October, certainly isn't one of them.
During the year, the staff accumulated the third-best ERA in the majors at 3.65. Its starting rotation will be Cy Young co-favorites, Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander, and former Cy Young in his own right, Zack Grienke. Good luck to opposing batters!
There's no falloff with its offense, either. Four different players on the lineup went for over 30 home runs in 2019 — Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Yuli Gurriel, and George Springer.
Bregman, with a team-high 41 dingers, has a strong case for AL MVP, too.
That's not to say a 103-win Yankees team (most team wins since 2009) won't give them everything they can handle. However, we're just not as confident in New York's pitching, both in the starting rotation and bullpen.
Luis Severino, James Paxton, and Mashiro Tanaka just don't hold a candle to the Astros three-headed monster (then again, who does?).
Pick: Houston: (-120)
The Dodgers have won a whopping four straight NL titles and its MLB odds to make playoffs finale again is heavy. Here are the latest NL pennant prices:
Akin to the Astros, the Dodgers have an airtight team. However, its path to the Fall Classic is certainly easier than Houston's. That's not to discredit the other four NL postseason clubs, but they're just not in Los Angeles' league.
LA won more games this season (106) than they've ever done dating back to its 1890 Brooklyn days. Re-read that because that's an astonishing feat considering this franchise's rich history. Winners of seven straight, they're also peaking at the right time.
We mentioned the individual hardware Astros players might rack up this year, the Dodgers are right there with them. Cody Bellinger practically has the MVP award locked up, while Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu are Cy Young hopefuls.
Of course, anything can and will happen in the MLB playoffs. However, picking LA here is the safest bet you can make. The Dodgers have been there, done that for five years now. What's one more?
Pick: Los Angeles (+100)
The Fall Classic will start on October 22. These six teams currently have the best odds to win it all:
It really feels like there are four options for this bet: Houston, Los Angeles, New York, or the field. There's a considerable gap between the "big three" and the remaining seven playoff teams.
Betting the latter is certainly more lucrative, but we urge you not to take the bait.
As you've read, we have Houston-Los Angeles meeting in the end. If so, it would be a rematch of the 2017 World Series, which Houston won in a seven-game thriller.
A 2019 grudge match might somehow outdo that series considering the depth of both clubs.
When analyzing this matchup, we can't overlook Los Angeles' recent World Series woes. You'd think they'd be overdue for a championship, right? But when you lose four in a row, that says something about you — a lack of killer instinct if you will.
Plus, we said it earlier, but it bears repeating, pitching wins in October. Advantage goes to Houston there (even though it's small).
Having home-field advantage is another small edge to the Astros. In October, when every pitch matters, those small advantages make all the difference. With that said, pick Houston to be crowned world champions.
Pick: Houston (+225)
Now that you're up to speed on the MLB playoffs, all that remains is to place a futures bet.
You can do that, while also taking advantage of better-friendly bonus offers, at one of the online sportsbooks below. They'll have updated MLB playoff odds Vegas from now until the Fall Classic officially begins.
Category : News
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