Assorted 2017 MLB Betting Season Futures Odds and Ends
Baltimore Orioles futures
Odds to win World Series: +3050 (last title: 1983)
Odds to win American League: +1725 (last pennant: 1983)
Odds to win AL East Division: +910 (last title: 2014)
Regular season wins over/under: 80½ (last season: 89 wins)
Baltimore bets on bats. The Orioles has the hitting prowess to compete with Seattle, Kansas City Detroit, and any other team in the American League. First baseman Chris ‘Crush’ Davis alone is home run-hitting machine. Excepting 2011, Davis has hit no fewer than 26 homers in each of his seasons in Baltimore, and as many as 53 (2013). No wonder he is the highest-paid player in the history of the franchise. So the Orioles have batting down pat – it’s the pitching that they struggle with. Baltimore fans who bet on baseball can expect a not-deep-enough rotation unless GM Dan Duquette decides to add an extra arm. Especially considering that the other teams in the division have not neglected the market.
Detroit Tigers futures
Odds to win World Series: +2200 (last title: 1984)
Odds to win American League: + +1575 (last pennant: 2012)
Odds to win AL Central Division: +510 (last title: 2014)
Regular season wins over/under: 83½ (last season: 86 wins)
One thing that fans who bet on baseball can say about the Tigers is that they were the fourth-best moneyline team in the league as well and a rather dependable over bet. The team’s players can also brag that they made money – some $200 million for the entire roster – even though they fell short of the playoffs for the second year in a row. Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera have led the Tigers for many a campaign, but they’re starting to look more like Redford & Newman than Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid. Detroit will have a tough time battling for the ALCD title in a division that contains the Indians, as well as clinching a wild card with the rest of the AL.
Seattle Mariners MLB betting futures
Odds to win World Series: +3050 (last title: never)
Odds to win American League: +1325 (last pennant: never)
Odds to win AL West Division: +310 (last title: 2001)
Regular season wins over/under: 85½ (last season: 86 wins)
Some experts who bet on baseball seem to be of the opinion that Seattle is overrated. Perhaps they should call them the Sub-Mariners? In all honesty, it’s not like they set the town on fire last season. Then again, it’s tough to set an undersea city on fire. They say Seattle is only slightly less damp than Atlantis. Seriously though, the Mariners have pretty much the same roster as last year, only rearranged – with Jarrod Dyson and Jean Segura expected to hit one-two ahead of Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, and Kyle Seager. Can the order of the factors change the product? A new improved batting order could net the Mariners a few more wins and that’s exactly what they need to win the division, in particular wins against ALWD teams such as the Astros and the Rangers.