By Ryan Bologna
The MLB season is winding down, and it’s time to consider what the best bets are for the playoffs. Will a team make a miracle run like the Atlanta Braves last year, or will one of the juggernauts take home the fall classic this year? Either way, there is some great value to be had. Here are some of the best betting strategies for this year’s postseason.
World Series Champion
Some don’t like to admit it, but the MLB playoffs are very much a crapshoot. We saw it with the Braves in 2021. A great approach for this would be to place two bets. Pick the juggernaut you like the best (Dodgers, Astros, Yankees, Mets, Braves) and make a sleeper bet as well. There are plenty of teams likely to make the wild card that are capable of making a run. You can get great value with teams like the Blue Jays, Mariners and Cardinals. Why not take a flier?
League Winners
When it comes to picking the league winners, you’ll probably want to only make sleeper picks. If you like the Blue Jays, Mariners or Cardinals in October but don’t feel confident in them winning the whole thing, you can still get good odds for the team advancing to the World Series. When it comes to the favorites, you might as well just bet on the team you like best to win the World Series. The odds are that much better.
Bonus: MVP Races
When it comes to the MVP races, the National League is pretty much set in stone. Paul Goldschmidt is the runaway winner barring an unforeseen slump to end the season.
In the American League there has been much discourse about Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, but when it comes to the voting Judge seems to have the edge. Voter fatigue is a thing, and Judge has a healthy lead over Ohtani in Wins Above Replacement according to Fangraphs. This one is much more of a race than the National League, but it’s probably still not worth placing a bet on Ohtani.
Photo Credit: Joseph Sohm
