Surprise Teams That Are Shaking Up the 2019 World Series Odds

We are slowly approaching the midway point of the 2019 Major League Baseball season, and some of the usual suspects are doing well. The New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers are leading the American League East and the National League West, for example, and the Houston Astros are running away with the AL West. In the other divisions, though, there are some surprises, as Philadelphia is lagging in the NL East, falling behind Atlanta. The Chicago Cubs have had a hard time pulling away from the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central despite their offseason acquisitions. In the AL Central, the Cleveland Indians were the preseason favorite but are falling way behind the Minnesota Twins. We have the MLB odds for each of the franchises as well as our thoughts on some of the interlopers.

Surprise Teams That Are Shaking Up the 2019 World Series Odds

Who’s up and who’s down in this week’s MLB power rankings https://t.co/9IDddlZZvN

— USA TODAY MLB (@usatodaymlb) June 17, 2019

Contender Odds to Win the 2019 World Series

• L.A. Dodgers                                                                                                   +350
• Houston Astros                                                                                               +400
• N.Y. Yankees                                                                                                  +450
• Minnesota Twins                                                                                             +650
• Chicago Cubs                                                                                                 +800
• Tampa Bay Rays                                                                                            +1200
• Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers                                                              +1400
• Boston Red Sox                                                                                             +1500
• Philadelphia Phillies                                                                                        +1800

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins have benefited from a collapse in Cleveland that has included an injury to Tribe ace Corey Kluber. However, they have earned their lead in the AL Central. Their starting rotation has been anchored by Martin Perez, who spent a few years underperforming in Texas but has found new life in the Twin Cities. Jose Berrios is another terrific starter in the Twins’ rotation, and Eddie Rosario is pounding the ball. Relievers Taylor Rogers and Blake Parker have anchored a solid bullpen, and catcher Mitch Garver is emerging as a solid bat. Kudos to rookie manager Rocco Baldelli for guiding this team to what looks like a postseason berth — where anything can happen.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are benefiting from some uncharacteristic chaos in the American League East, as the Boston Red Sox are struggling to stay much above the .500 mark and the New York Yankees are not really pulling away with the division. Charlie Morton is anchoring the Rays’ rotation, striking out 11 men per nine innings while permitting just 6.1 hits per nine. He has found this statistical surge later in his career; since age 32, he has dropped his career ERA by almost a point and a half compared to what it was before he was 32, and he has increased his strikeouts per nine innings by almost half.

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves have surged from trailing Philadelphia by 2 ½ games to taking a 2 ½-game lead in just ten games, when the Braves went 9-1. Over that stretch, Atlanta has hit .312 at a team and scored an eye-popping 7.8 runs per game. Ronald Acuna hit .375 with four home runs during those ten games, and Ozzie Albies hit .410.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers are getting a huge season out of Christian Yelich, who could get to 60 home runs this season if he can keep the pace up. That would smash the franchise record for home runs in a season, held by Prince Fielder, who hit 50 in 2007. This is coming from a hitter who knocked a career best 36 long balls in 2018 — and who had never hit more than 21 in a season before that. Given the inflated home run totals of the steroid era, his improvement may be raising some eyebrows, but given the intense testing regimen, Yelich is looking more and more like the real deal. Can he carry the Brewers to a title?

Philadelphia Phillies

Remember when the Philadelphia Phillies signed Jake Arrieta to anchor their rotation? His ERA in 2019 is 4.31 — not an ace number. There are other issues in their starting rotation, but he’s not pitching as well as his contract indicates that he should. He made some noise complaining about off-season acquisitions, and the team added some key pieces. It’s time for him to step up as well.