Three teams will mix it up for the National League West crown. And if history repeats itself, the San Francisco Giants will be the team to beat.
With this season being 2016, the Giants are likely the favorites not only to win the NL West in the minds of superstitious bettors, but the World Series. The Giants have won the World Series in every even-numbered year this decade, 2010, 2012 and 2014.
However, if you’re not superstitious, you may still just like the Giants, especially with a rotation that includes Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija. That pitching prowess is the reason why the Giants are the favorites to win the NL West at +125.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks aren’t far behind at +150 and +300 respectively. The Dodgers have been failures despite a monstrous payroll in past years, so I’m balking at their chances this season. Zack Greinke is gone from the rotation and I’m not sold on that team chemistry.
The Diamondbacks offer an interesting proposition, with fantasy baseball stud Paul Goldschmidt, and with the addition of Greinke to the pitching lineup. However, I’ve been duped before by the Diamondbacks and I still don’t see much offense. That won’t get them very far in a 162-game season.
No, I’m going to fall in the trap of the favorite, despite my desire to avoid the favorite at all costs. The Giants offer the best bet, especially with San Diego and Colorado basically not having a chance at +1200 and +5000 respectively. The Rockies have the worst chance to win a division in the entire Major Leagues.
It’s the Giants division to lose. And I doubt that will happen.
