By the close of this week, most of Major League Baseball will have completed at least 40 games. Many of the unknowns about how new players on new teams would do, and how this crop of rookies would adjust to life in the Big Leagues, are coming into focus.
World Series Favorites
When the season began in South Korea back in March, the Los Angeles Dodgers were the favorites to win the World Series, paying +350. They have done nothing over the last seven weeks to make us think they were a bad pick to be the favorite, and in fact, those odds have shortened. A bet on the Dodgers to win it all is now paying +310.
To win the National League, L.A. opened at +180. Today, they are paying +165.
Right behind them in the National League hunt is the Atlanta Braves, paying +225. The Braves are also the second betting favorite to win the World Series at +400.That is down from +450 when the season began.
The top contender in the American League is the New York Yankees, sitting this moment at +700 to win the World Series. They are nip and tuck in the American League East with the Baltimore Orioles, who are paying +900. The Yankees are +320 to win the A.L., with the Orioles at +425.
The Houston Astros began the season as the favorite in the American League, but they have fallen to seventh on the odds board at +1200.
MVP Favorites
Shohei Ohtani isn’t pitching this season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. For those who thought that might lessen his value to the Dodgers, think again. He is crushing the baseball in his hitter-only role in 2024, and since the start of the season, his odds of winning the National League MVP have gone from +750 to +330.
However, as good as he has been, and as big a jump as Ohtani has made, it is not the best in the league, or even his own team. Mookie Betts opened the season at +650. He is now paying +170 to win the MVP award.
Betts was named National League Player of the Month for March/April, and he is on pace to be the first player to lead the league in hits, runs, and walks since 1876, 148 years ago.
Last year’s MVP, Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves, opened the season as the +500 favorite. But early season struggles have dropped him to +1200.
In the American League, it’s become a three-player race between Yankees right fielder Juan Soto (+250), Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (+300), and Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (+350). Soto leads the league in total bases and on-base percentage. Witt Jr. leads the league in runs scored and wins above replacement (WAR). And Henderson is tied for the lead in home runs.
Cy Young Favorites
The Cy Young race in the National League is led by Zack Wheeler of the Phillies at +230. He was at +800 to begin the season, which had him second behind the Braves’ Spencer Strider. With Strider now out for the season, and Wheeler’s hot start to the year, he is the obvious leader.
Trailing Wheeler is Tyler Glasnow (+500) of the Dodgers, who is also tied with Wheeler for the league lead in strikeouts. Shota Imanaga of the Chicago Cubs leads the league in ERA and he is paying +600.
In the American League, Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal is the leader. He hasn’t lost a game this season, and is paying +250 to win the Cy Young. Last year, in a truncated return from elbow surgery, he threw just 80 innings.
Skubal is a surprise, but the man chasing him is not. Corbin Burnes of the Orioles is +400. He’s followed by Royals starter Cole Ragans (+900), one of the league leaders in strikeouts.
Rookie of the Year Favorites
When the season began, the favorites for Rookie of the Year in the National League were Yoshinobu Yamamoto (+260), Jung Hoo Lee (+500), Jackson Chourio (+600), and Shota Imanaga (+800).
The Cubs 30-year-old left-hander, who is among the Cy Young favorites, is the current favorite to win Rookie of the Year. Imanaga is paying +250. Yamamoto has dropped to +350, and Pirates right-handed starter Jared Jones is at +400.
Colton Cowser was not among the betting favorites when the season began. But the Orioles outfielder is outshining his highly touted teammate, Jackson Holliday. Cowser is the leader on the odds board at +120, while Holliday has dropped from +450 to +2000.
Evan Carter of the Texas Rangers remains the second betting favorite at +330. Boston Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu is third at +650. Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford was the favorite when the season began at +225. He’s now paying +1500.
With over 25 years of experience as a distinguished sports writer for renowned platforms such as Fox Sports and ESPN, Kyle Garlett is a sports betting specialist who has been at the forefront of documenting the global surge in sports betting and online gaming. Based in Denver, Colorado, Kyle hosts an NFL betting YouTube show and podcast. Kyle also has two sports books published by HarperCollins.
Kyle graduated the Azusa Pacific University in 1996 with a B.A. Degree in Communication and Journalism.
