The MLB baseball season is finally here and all the guessing and predictions of the offseason become reality. Some teams loaded up for a 2018 World Series run and some have gone into full tank mode trying to replicate what the Houston Astros did in winning last year’s World Series. There are still 162 games to play but now may be the time to check out the best sportsbooks to see the early odds because as the season approaches and games begin being played you will get less value for your dollar as teams separate themselves and world series winner lines start to drop.
Here are the current lines from our top sponsor Bovada for US bettors and Bodog for Canadian bettors.
Favorites To Win The 2018 World Series
First let's take a look at the top contenders for the Commissioner's Trophy in the American League.
Houston Astros to repeat is a pretty popular choice. They are basically the same team that won it last year and you have to assume that they will make another run at it.
The Yankees made the biggest move in the offseason by trading for Giancarlo Stanton and took them from a +1000 to a +550 odds to win. This Yankees team could be swatting homers every night and should push the Astros hard.
The Indians have an easy division with just the overachieving Twins as their competition. The Indians didn’t do much in the offseason so making the playoffs is a solid bet but the odds of them making the World Series is a bit more of a longshot pick.
The Red Sox were the team everyone thought would have won last year after a trade for Chris Sale. They were eliminated in the ALDS by the Astros and the way the rest of the American League is shaping up, a playoff appearance is almost guaranteed for the Red Sox as well.
Now let's take a look at the Top 2018 World Series favorites in the National League.
The LA Dodgers still have a stacked team minus Yu Darvish who didn’t really add anything to their playoff run anyway. With a healthy Clayton Kershaw you can’t not look at them as the top bet to return to the World Series. As of right now they are the odds on favorite to win it all in 2018.
The Cubs don’t have as easy of a playoff outlook in 2018 with the Brewers making some offseason moves but a wildcard is the minimum and they should still win their division.
The Nationals should walk away with the division as every team in their division is in rebuild mode or just have no hope in hell. Whether the Nationals can avoid an early exit is a tough call, they have yet to prove they can win the big games.
Honourable mentions go to the wildcard teams last year the Rockies and Diamondbacks. They have the talent and should be in contention again this year but with the Giants reloading their team as did the already mentioned Brewers, neither is guaranteed a playoff spot so it is tough to lay down a future bet on them without seeing live action.
World Series Sleeper Picks for 2018
The Toronto Blue Jays have a great pitching staff with a solid 5 starting pitchers that when healthy could win on any given night. Their hitting is weak and they are in a tough division with the Yankees and Red Sox so a lot would have to go right for them to pull off a WS trip. If they can stay healthy then a wildcard may be in the cards again this year.
We mentioned the Giants made some moves adding Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen which improves their hitting right off the bat and they still have Madison Bumgarner who always has a shot at winning 20 games. They sit at +2000 for right now and that's solid odds for a sleeper pick with a chance.
You could always look at the Los Angeles Angels at +2800 who picked up the most intriguing player in the offseason with the signing of Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani who if you believe the hype can be both an MVP and a Cy Young winner if the fairy tale type potential is true.
Who Not To Bet as A Longshot Pick
The Miami Marlins are a +50,000 to win the World Series in 2018 – if you think that after trading away their MVP Giancarlo Stanton and another stud player in Marcell Ozuna they can make it into the playoffs you shouldn’t be betting real money on baseball!
Pretty much every team in the +10,000 range doesn’t have a hope in winning, it just does not happen in baseball. All those teams are either in the second year of their rebuild or still waiting to figure out what to do because of budget concerns.
2018 World Series Winner Prediction
I see the Washington Nationals finally making a solid playoff run and making it through to the World Series. They will face the New York Yankees who have stacked a monster lineup filled with bombers and will by the trade deadline pick up whatever pieces they need to bring a championship home, likely another stud pitcher.
My Pick to win the 2018 World Series – New York Yankees in 6 games
You can get the New York Yankees at +550 currently at Bovada.