MLB AL East Division Predictions: Odds, Expert Picks, including Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays and Red Sox
Per BetMGM, they have the Yankees at -125 compared to -135 to -140 at most markets, while almost every book has the Blue Jays priced around +165, the Rays at +1000, and the Red Sox floating around +1200 .The Orioles, respectively, are out of the race at +13000 unless you believe in miracles.
Let's take a look at the race and why the Yankees are the best bet. Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.
AL East Division Champions: New York Yankees (-125)
The Blue Jays tightened up the race in the AL East, but after losing to the White Sox on Wednesday, Toronto's 10-game winning streak is over and the All-Star break certainly won't help with momentum.
In sports, teams that go on massive winning streaks, especially double-digit winning streak, don't always perform up to standards over the next few games or series — so I expect Toronto to have its struggles soon is what I am saying.
For the Yankees, as of July 12, two days before the All-Star break, the New York offense leads the MLB in homers (149), walks (372), OBP (.339), SLG (.458), and OPS (.797), while the pitching staff has permitted the fewest hits (694), lowest OBA (.224), and rank top 10 in WHIP (1.21), and strikeouts (846).
New York also hasn't been fully healthy and get some weapons back for the second half of the year — including starting pitcher Luis Gil (AL ROY in 2024), relievers Fernando Cruz (54 Ks tO 14 BB, 3.00 ERA over 33.0 IP) and Mark Leiter Jr. (4.46 ERA, 46 Ks, 42 hits over 34.1 IP), plus infielder Oswaldo Cabrera (.282 BA, 20 hits, 8 RBI in May).
If you're looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
When it comes to scheduling, the Boston Red Sox have the toughest strength of schedule remaining per tankathon (.519), Baltimore is fourth (.514), then Toronto, New York, and Tampa Bay all rank 13th through 15th — so not much difference in terms of opponent strength for the top three AL East contenders.
However, the Yankees will have a daunting task with a 10-game road trip near the end of September. The first three of that road trip are at Boston, then three at Minnesota, before four more in Baltimore — at least seven of the 10 come against divisional opponents.
On the bright side, New York has 10 games against the White Sox (7) and Marlins (3) remaining. For the Blue Jays, they have two long road trips in the second half of their season that span seven and eight games. Toronto visits the Orioles and Tigers for eight games, four apiece, then four at the Rays and three at the Royals in September.
I would say the Blue Jays have the slimmest edge in scheduling for the second half of the year, but Toronto and New York still play six times and the Yankees want revenge. New York won two of the first three games, then got swept by the Blue Jays in a four-game series.
This was +110 to +115 on BetMGM when we recorded the video playing for this article and -115 when I tweeted it yesterday, but over the last two days, the odds are now -125 to -140. I'd go to -150, so shop around.
Pick: Yankees to win AL East (1u)
Vaughn Dalzell's MLB Futures Card
2 units: Aaron Judge to lead MLB in home runs (+130)
2 units: Cam Smith to win AL Rookie of the Year (+150)
2 units: Jacob Misiorowski to win NL Rookie of the Year (-110)
1 unit: Shohei Ohtani to win NL MVP (-110)
1 unit: Bobby Witt to win AL MVP (+450)
1 unit: Elly De La Cruz to win NL MVP (+2000)
1 unit: Garrett Crochet to win AL CY Young (+450)
1 unit: Paul Skenes to win NL CY Young (+300)
1 unit: Jacob Misiorowski to win NL Rookie of the Year (+100)
1 unit: Byron Buxton to win AL Comeback Player of the Year (+430)
1 unit: New York Yankees to win AL East (-115)
0.5 unit: Dodgers to win 117-plus games (+650)
0.5 unit: Paul Skenes to lead MLB in wins (+1400)
0.5 unit: Garrett Crochet to lead MLB in wins (+2200)
0.5 unit: Juan Soto to lead the MLB in homers (+2800)
0.5 unit: Yordan Alvarez to lead the MLB in homers (+2000)
0.5 unit: Roman Anthony to win AL Rookie of the Year (+1200)
0.5 unit: Jacob Misiorowski to win NL Rookie of the Year (+1100)
0.25 unit: Aaron Judge to bat .400 by the All-Star break (+800)
0.25 unit: Aaron Judge to bat .400 for the season (+5500)
0.25 unit: Oneil Cruz to lead MLB in stolen bases (+15000)
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