After the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros have been battling it out in a tie for weeks now for the top spot in Las Vegas and World Series betting sites, we finally have a sole top-dog in the odds: the Houston Astros, the 2017 World Series Champions.
Just last week, all three teams were placed in a tie with +500 odds, and the Astros have finally shot up to the top. In other developments in this three-way warfare, the Dodgers have also shot over the Yankees — Los Angeles is placed at +400, while New York is currently at +550. Expect this battle to continue for the rest of the season though, all three are incredibly dominant and have been displaying beautiful baseball so far in 2019.
However, the Astros have the top spot for a few reasons:
A team that has had everybody confused this season has been the Boston Red Sox, a team who got off to a horrible start, even placing themselves at 6-13 at one point in the season. But the Red Sox have gotten things together, and they’ve finally eclipsed themselves over the .500 mark. It took until May to do it, but it finally happened. They place at 23-20 on the season, so far. Now that they’ve gotten that monkey off of their back, the question is: Can they repeat as World Series Champions?
Well, of course, they can. Boston has one of the best starting pitching rotations in Major League Baseball, and it includes both young talent and veteran leadership. (i.e. Chris Sale striking out 17 batters in seven innings against the Colorado Rockies) The Red Sox pitching will have them battling it out for the top of the American League East before you know it. As a matter of fact, they’ve already dug themselves out of an early season hole — they’re only 4.0 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the lead in the AL East, and just 3.5 behind their rival New York Yankees for second place in the division. Boston, obviously, dropped in the odds, but they’ve bumped themselves back up to +1000 in Vegas.
Though they’ve been on quite the slump as of late, a team that you may want to consider for a long shot pick is the 23-21 St. Louis Cardinals and their +1900 odds. The reason for this is because the Cardinals are a very talented team, and are really only a couple of good pitchers away from being a legitimate contender for the World Series. And remember, they can get those so-called ‘good pitchers’ at the trade deadline. If that happens and their play improves, St. Louis will shoot up in the odds and you’ll regret not taking them at +1900. Go ahead, take the chance and place a little cash on them — can’t hurt. Plus, it’s the St. Louis Cardinals, an organization that has proven itself capable to win World Series after World Series.
The San Diego Padres were absolutely horrific last season tallying a 66-96 record, and as a result, the Padres would come in with an insane +4500 number in the odds to begin 2019. In the offseason, however, San Diego would get to work. They would bring in a load of talent, including Manny Machado and his 10-year, $300 million contract. It looks like the heavy risks have paid off: They currently sit with a winning 22-21 record and have placed themselves at +4000, even hitting as high as +2200 in the odds. Let’s be honest here, the Padres aren’t winning the World Series, but it would be a fun bet to place — especially if they make a miracle run, which we’ve seen happen before in sports, particularly baseball.
What a beautiful and magical sport.
The Houston Astros have had a magnificent 2019 campaign, and have been on an absolute tear as of late — they’ve won nine out of their last 10 games. When you look at their record, it gets even better with a .659 winning percentage. That amounts to an elite 29-15, and that already places them 7.5 games over the AL West second place team Seattle Mariners. Just incredible. With a team pitching stat of 3.52 in the ERA department and a solid batting average of .285 collectively, there’s no reason why the Astros can’t win two World Series in three years.
Also on a tear at their home stadium, the legendary Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been destroying the opposition with a 19-6 record in Southern California. Here early on the season, they’ve created some distance for themselves as well for the lead of the NL West — they tally 4.5 games over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The main reason for the Dodgers’ success: Cody Bellinger and his MVP-caliber year. He’s been incredible this season tallying a stat line of a .401 batting average, 15 home runs, and a total of 41 RBI’s. That boy can play!
If it wasn’t for the amazing season that the Tampa Bay Rays are having in 2019, the New York Yankees would have a solid lead in the AL East. The Yankees have been hot this season at 26-16, and are only getting hotter winning eight out of their last 10. New York’s pitching has been very solid this year, tallying a 3.74 in the ERA department, and you have to place an individual spotlight on Domingo German: He has a total of eights wins (yes, eight, already) this season and an absolutely elite 2.50 earned run average. Can anybody say Cy Young? Wow!
During the offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies made MOVES! And major moves at that. The owner of the organization said they were going to spend money “stupidly,” and boy, they weren’t kidding. But it brought along five all-stars: Jean Segura, Andrew McCutchen, David Robertson, J.T. Realmuto, and Bryce Harper and his gigantic 13-year, $330 million contract. Well, it looks like all of that has worked out for the Phillies so far: They currently sit with a winning 24-19 record and placed first in the NL East, 1.5 games over the Atlanta Braves.
The 2016 World Series Champions have gotten off to a great start in the 2019 campaign, and it was certainly needed. In the NL Central, four out of the five teams have winning records, and fortunately for the Cubs, their 25-15 record is good enough to have them 1.0 game over the Milwaukee Brewers for the lead in the division. Their dominant record at home has helped them with this, they currently sit at 15-6 at Wrigley Field this season. Chicago can think their pitching for the winning success — collectively as a team, the Cubs have a 3.46 ERA.
The defending World Series Champions may have gotten off to a terrible start this season, but they’ve recovered quite well finally over the .500 mark. And boy, have they been hot! They’re currently on a streak that has seen them win eight out of their last 10. As you see, the Red Sox have gotten things together, and are ready to roll. The main reason for Boston’s struggles this season has been their pitching. Collectively, they’ve been horrible, posting up a 4.38 earned run average in the statistical department. But they’re getting better, and will only get better.
Oh, man! The Tampa Bay Rays have been quite the surprise this season! And they’ve been doing it in a surprising way. Sitting at 26-15 this season and on top of the AL East, it’s been courtesy of a dominant 14-5 away record — road warriors, indeed. But the main reason for Tampa’s success in 2019: Their elite pitching. The Rays, collectively, have been incredible sitting with a 2.82 earned run average, and their opponent’s batting average has been an insane .210. If they keep this up, the Rays could make a legitimate run for the 2019 World Series.
The Milwaukee Brewers were just four victories away from 100 regular season wins, and just one victory away from last year’s World Series. Well, it looks like the heartbreak has worked out massively for the 2019 Brewers, they currently sit at 27-19 on the season and just 1.0 game behind the Chicago Cubs for the lead in the NL Central. And they’ve been splendid at Miller Park sitting with a 16-8 record at home this season. Overall, they’ve been hot too, winning seven out of their last 10. Don’t be surprised to see the Brewers near a World Series again.
Like the Tampa Bay Rays, the Minnesota Twins have been one hell of a surprise this season, sitting at an elite 28-15 and 4.0 games on top of a weak AL Central. Needless to say, the Twins are sitting pretty to have a playoff season, but there’s still a long way to go. Minnesota has been productive both at home and on the road, with their tally being 15-8 at Target Field and 13-7 on the road. And they’ve been hot as of late as well, winning eight out of their last 10. Wow! Keep an eye on Minnesota for the rest of 2019! Another playoff appearance may come!
The St. Louis Cardinals have been dismal as of late losing seven out of their last 10, but I wouldn’t let that fool you — the Cardinals will get better. Sitting at +1900 odds right now, I would go ahead and take this bet if I were you. I don’t think it’ll get much more profitable than this. St. Louis are literally just a couple of arms away from being a serious World Series contender, and those moves could come at the trade deadline. With an improved pitching staff led by Adam Wainwright, the Cardinals could position themselves back into a World Series in 2019.
Even though they still sustain a winning record at the moment, 2019 hasn’t exactly gone as planned for the Cleveland Indians. But they’re lucky though, the AL Central is a weak division and the Indians still sit second in the division with a 23-19 record. However, they have a rival to worry about as far as the AL Central championship is concerned, and that’s with the Minnesota Twins. Minnesota has been explosive this season, and if the Indians hope to catch the division title at season’s end, they’ll have to start winning now. Luckily, they’re just 4.0 behind right now.
After an impressive 90-72 regular season and an NL East championship to go along with it, the Atlanta Braves were expected to do big things in 2019. Well, that hasn’t exactly happened, though the Braves still hold a winning 23-21 record at the moment and place just 1.5 games behind the Phillies for the lead in the division — a team who spent crazy money in the offseason to put them over the top. With that being said, I’d say the current state of the NL East has helped make the 2019 season a success for the Atlanta Braves. Plus, they’ll only get better.
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