2019 MLB Midseason Review & Revised World Series Odds

One of the few teams that has held to the form that we saw at the start of the 2019 season in Major League Baseball is the Los Angeles Dodgers, who, at least at this point, are running away with the National League West. They consistently rank at the top of power rankings for baseball. The New York Yankees look to be pulling away in the American League East, and the Houston Astros look too strong to catch in the AL West. But the other three divisions remain in play, as Cleveland is starting to wake up in the AL Central, Washington and Philadelphia are in striking range of Atlanta in the NL East, and all of the teams in the NL Central are within 5 ½ games of one another. With those thoughts in mind, we have some sports betting insights about which teams have the best odds to win the World Series this year.

2019 MLB Midseason Review & Revised World Series Odds

Here’s where the Red Sox sit in ESPN’s MLB power rankings at the All-Star break: https://t.co/AJqvxYvSaZ pic.twitter.com/qk3ulf7JMq

— NESN (@NESN) July 8, 2019

Current Odds to Win the 2019 World Series

• L.A. Dodgers                                                                                                               13/4
• N.Y. Yankees                                                                                                              19/5
• Houston Astros                                                                                                           9/2
• Minnesota Twins                                                                                                         11/1
• Atlanta Braves                                                                                                            13/1
• Chicago Cubs                                                                                                             17/1
• Milwaukee Brewers, Washington Nationals                                                               22/1
• Cleveland Indians                                                                                                       25/1
• Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays                                                                     28/1
• Boston Red Sox                                                                                                         30/1
• St. Louis Cardinals                                                                                                      32/1
• Oakland A’s                                                                                                                65/1
• Texas Rangers                                                                                                           70/1
• Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates                                             80/1
• Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres                                                               100/1
• L.A. Angels                                                                                                                  150/1
• Chicago White Sox                                                                                                     300/1
• N.Y. Mets, San Francisco Giants                                                                               500/1
• Seattle Mariners                                                                                                         3000/1
• Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays                                                                                                      9999/1

The Dodgers benefit from a division in which none of the other teams are doing much (despite the Padres spending all that money to get Manny Machado). Max Muncy is a key player for the Dodgers, as he has started 19 or more games each at first, second and third base, and he is fifth in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) according to Baseball-Reference. The Yankees may still need a starter despite the solid return of Domingo German from the injured list. He beat the Mets with a solid six innings, permitting just one run with six strikeouts. The rotation has an ERA of 4.22 on the season, good for sixth in the American League, but they probably need one more solid starter to make a long postseason run. The Astros have an elite pitcher, in Justin Verlander, who leads all of baseball with 26 home runs permitted — despite winning ten games. Gerrit Cole had an ERA of 4.11 through his first 11 starts — but has then posted a 2.05 ERA in his starts since then. Verlander put up a 2.16 ERA through 13 starts…and has an ERA of 4.81 since. If both of those pitchers get hot at the same time, the Astros could be untouchable in the postseason. The Twins have gotten a great season out of Jose Berrios, who has knocked almost a full run off his ERA from a year ago and is walking a lot fewer batters. His efficiency has gone up as he has gone after more batters than he did last year. Oh, and the Twins’ offense is raking right now, so don’t count this team out as it operates largely under the radar. The Braves got a terrific first half out of Freddie Freeman, who has hit .309 with 23 home runs and 68 RBI. That’s already as many long balls as he hit in 2018, and his career best of 34 is definitely at risk. But can Atlanta hold off Washington? Will Philadelphia wake up? This division is one of the most interesting, as three teams here have high ceilings but are still looking to add consistency.