There was a lot of back and forth between the Major League Baseball players and owners, but they eventually got on the same page. The end result is a 60-game season that gets underway on Thursday. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the 2020 World Series futures now that we’re on the eve of the season.
2020 World Series Favorites
The Los Angeles Dodgers (+375) enter the season as co-favorites with the New York Yankees (+375). The Dodgers finished 106-56 last season and lost in the playoffs to the eventual World Series champion Washington Nationals. They have since added former American League MVP Mookie Betts to their lineup. As for the Yankees, they won 103 games last season and added former Houston Astros ace Gerrit Cole. These two teams are the unquestioned favorites to win the World Series as no other team is inside of 10/1.
Taking a look at the next teams in line, it’s the Atlanta Braves (+1200), Houston Astros (+1200), Minnesota Twins (+1500), Tampa Bay Rays (+1600) and Cincinnati Reds (+1800).
The Astros lost to the Nats in the World Series and while they were supposed to be embroiled by a cheating scandal, few people are talking about that these days. We’ll have to see how they weather the loss of Cole but they have a loaded roster even without him. As for the Twins, they surprised a lot of people last season – especially at the plate where they led the league in home runs – but do they have the pitching to win? They didn’t last year.
The Braves are going to be one of the favorites in the National League as they are loaded with young talent both in their pitching rotation and lineup. Ronald Acuna Jr. is starting to approach MVP-level while pitchers like Mike Soroka and Max Fried offer plenty of promise. This team has won the NL East in back-to-back season, so maybe it’s time they go for a longer playoff run this time around.
One surprise team among the favorites is the Reds. They finished just 75-87 last season but now have a ton of pitching. Luis Castillo was the team’s best started last year and is backed up by Trevor Bauer and Sonny Gray, which makes a formidable trio. The general thinking was this roster was still one year away but maybe they can put it all together in a shortened season.
2020 World Series Long Shots
Taking a look at the longer shots, some people might have an interest in betting the Nationals (+2000). The defending champs did lose a lot of power when they allowed Anthony Rendon to leave via free agency but they still have Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin. That might be the top starting pitching trio in the National League.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Phillies (+3000) could be an interesting play. They had a big spending spree last season but they completely flopped, finishing 81-81. They added Zach Wheeler to bolster the starting rotation this offseason, Didi Gregorious to help the lineup and all sorts of bullpen arms too. They also hired manager Joe Girardi, so maybe he can guide this talented team back to the playoffs.