betJACK Picks: Four Favorites To Win World Series
With the regular season coming to an end, the playoffs are set and teams are ready to start the quest for a World Series ring this weekend. While only one team can prevail, let’s take a look at four teams that have strong odds to win this year’s World Series.
Los Angeles Dodgers (+300)
At 111-51, the Los Angeles Dodgers finished the regular season with the best record in all of baseball and won the NL West by a whopping 22 games over the San Diego Padres.
There is a reason the Dodgers have the best odds to win the World Series as they are an extremely balanced ball club. They rank first in scoring, averaging 5.22 runs per game. They also rank first in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 3.18 runs per game.
The Dodgers are led by Mookie Betts (35 HR, 82 RBI, 117 R), Will Smith (24 HR, 87 RBI), Freddie Freeman (21 HR, 100 RBI, 117 R), Trea Turner (21 HR, 100 RBI, 101 R), Julio Urias (17-7, 2.16 ERA), and Clayton Kershaw (12-3, 2.28 ERA).
The Dodgers get a bye through the first round and will face the winner of the San Diego Padres and New York Mets.
Houston Astros (+380)
While the Dodgers have the best record in baseball, the Astros finished with the best record in the American League at 106-56. The Astros will also get a bye before facing the winner of the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays.
Houston is led by a strong pitching staff that ranked second in earned run average at 2.89. Most notably, Justin Verlander was sensational despite missing last season with Tommy John surgery. He is the favorite to win the AL Cy Young award after going 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and he had 185 strikeouts in 175 innings.
The rotation extends beyond just Verlander, though, as Framber Valdez (17-6, 2.82 ERA), Christian Javier (11-9, 2.54 ERA), Lance McCullers Jr (4-2, 2.27 ERA), and Luis Garcia (15-8, 3.72 ERA) have also excelled.
At the dish, keep an eye on the likes of Yordan Alvarez (37 HR, 97 RBI), Kyle Tucker (30 HR, 107 RBI, 25 SB), and Jose Altuve (28 HR, 57 RBI, 103 R, 18 SB).
Atlanta Braves (+500)
The defending World Series champions did explode out of the chute, but the Braves certainly finished strong to end the season. After winning seven of their last 10 games, including a sweep of the New York Mets, Atlanta won the NL East via a tiebreaker as both they and the Mets finished 101-61.
Atlanta ranks in the top five in the majors in both scoring (4.84 runs per game) and staff ERA (3.40).
Austin Riley led the offense after hitting 38 home runs, 93 runs batted in and 90 runs scored. Other strong offensive producers included Matt Olson (34 HR, 103 RBI), Dansby Swanson (25 HR, 96 RBI, 99 R, 18 SB), and Michael Harris II (19 HR, 65 RBI, 75 R, 20 SB).
On the mound, Spencer Strider (11-5, 2.67 ERA), Kyle Wright (21-5, 3.19 ERA), and Max Fried (14-7, 2.48 ERA) all had strong years.
The Braves will get a bye before facing either the Philadelphia Phillies or the St. Louis Cardinals.
Cleveland Guardians (+3000)
While there are others with stronger odds to win the World Series, one team that no one wants to face right now is the Cleveland Guardians. They finished the season 92-70 and won 15 of their last 19 games to end the season.
Jose Ramirez is the heart of the offense after hitting .280/.355/.514 with 29 home runs, 126 runs batted in, 90 runs scored, and 20 stolen bases.He isn’t the only one, though, as Andres Gimenez (17 HR, 69 RBI, 20 SB), Josh Naylor (20 HR, 79 RBI), Oscar Gonzalez (11 HR), Amed Rosario (11 HR, 71 RBI, 18 SB), and Steven Kwan (.298 avg, 6 HR, 52 RBI, 19 SB) also had stellar seasons.
On the mound, Shane Bieber (13-8, 2.88 ERA), Triston McKenzie (11-11, 2.96 ERA), and Cal Quantrill (15-5, 3.38 ERA) lead the pitching staff.
The Guardians square off with the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card round.
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