Remember when Seattle was +4000 in World Series futures? The team was an incredible value at the beginning of the season based on I what I assumed was a better Mariners team.
And so far, that’s proving to be true.
Seattle is one of the biggest movers in terms of odds to win the World Series this year. According to oddsmakers, Seattle is now +1800, the second-biggest mover in the first month and a half of the season.
The Mariners have shown a good combination of solid pitching to go with a resurgence in its offensive production to lead the American League West by 1.5 games. I don’t see the upward mobility stopping anytime soon for the Mariners, so they should still represent a solid bet, especially with the Astros’ major fall from owning +1600 odds to win the World Series before the season to +3300 now.
While the Mariners should keep the momentum going, I’m not as sold with the Chicago White Sox. The Sox have finally met expectations this season with great pitching and good enough offense to keep the winning alive. However, can we expect Mat Latos to continue his dominance? When will Carlos Rodon start improving? And when is the No. 5 pitching going to suit up for Chicago?
I expected the White Sox also to show some value in the early season for an AL Central title and so far oddsmakers have moved Chicago from +4000 to win the World Series to the third-best odds at +1100. The bullpen has shown some chinks in the armor this week, so if that trend continues, I’m completely backing off of the White Sox. The bullpen has gotten too much work in the early going, thanks to Latos not going deep into games, and issues with Rodon and former No. 5 John Danks.
The starters will have to start going deeper in games to make sure that bullpen stays dominant.
On the other side of Chicago, the Cubs represent by far the best odds to win the World Series. Oddsmakers are putting the Cubs at +375 to win the World Series, far outdistancing the second favorite Washington Nationals at +1000. That’s a major difference and although the Cubs are on pace to set the all-time record for wins in Major League Baseball, I’m not buying that value.
That’s way too big of a difference between the field for me to gamble on an organization that hasn’t won a World Series in more than a century.
With a little more than the season already complete, I’m keeping an eye on Baltimore at +2500, St. Louis at +2200 and Houston at the inflated +3300.
