Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
As the team with the best record in baseball, it is no surprise to see the Los Angeles Dodgers (55-26) as +250 favorites (wager $100 to win $250) to take home their first World Series title since 1988 at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Dodgers also lead MLB in run differential by a wide margin, so it looks like the only team that will beat them – at least in the National League – is themselves as they eye a third straight pennant.
Los Angeles is perfectly positioned for another strong postseason run. The big question is, can any NL team challenge the two-time defending league champions? The only other teams that might be able to do it are the Atlanta Braves (47-33), who are +800 (bet $100 to win $800) on the 2019 World Series odds, and Chicago Cubs (43-36) at +1600. With a legit NL MVP candidate in Cody Bellinger and a likely Cy Young Award winner between Hyun-Jin Ryu, Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles is the team to beat.
The strength of the Dodgers is definitely their starting pitching though, and the American League’s Houston Astros (50-30) might the lone squad that could possibly compete with them over a seven-game series based on matchups.
The Astros did it two years ago en route to winning their first World Series behind Justin Verlander and Dallas Keuchel at the top of their rotation. Now, Gerrit Cole joins Verlander to give the team an even stronger one-two punch, which is why they are the +360 third choice to win it all at online betting sites.
However, Houston must also deal with the dangerous New York Yankees (51-28), who are currently the +350 second choice to win the World Series thanks to an extremely powerful lineup that is finally getting healthy and jelled even without star sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.
But the Yankees must get solid pitching to make it back to the World Series, something that is a concern with aging veterans like CC Sabathia (38 years old) and J.A. Happ (36) still earning valuable turns in the rotation.
Another team to watch is the AL Central Division-leading Minnesota Twins (51-27), who have been the biggest surprise in baseball this year. Minnesota is listed at +800 to win its first World Series since 1991 and has the second-biggest division lead in MLB behind just Los Angeles. That means there is a very good chance the Twins will be back in the playoffs as long as they do not melt down in the second half of the season.
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