A’s or Tigers to win the World Series?
LAS VEGAS, NV (The Spread) – After the A’s traded for Jon Lester and the Tigers acquired David Price at the deadline, which team is the better World Series bet?
Get Brandon Shively’s Expert Picks
Both Detroit and Oakland made ‘Big Boy’ trades to bolster their starting rotations. The A’s got Lester, who gives them another left-handed starter in the rotation, while the Tigers now have three CY Young starters in their rotation as they got David Price from the Rays.
The A’s are still the favorite to win the World Series but I feel that the experience of the Detroit Tigers rotation cannot be undervalued. Rick Porcello (1.13 WHIP) and Anibal Sanchez (1.06 WHIP) are having a heck of a season as well and this should be the most feared rotation in the big leagues.
As of this writing, the Tigers have the best winning percentage in the AL versus left-handed starters and if these teams meet in the playoffs the Tigers will have the advantage as they will see Lester and Scott Kazmir, who are both southpaws. I will note that current members of the Tigers have a .513 SLG% vs. Kazmir and a .629 SLG% vs. Lester and this is huge if these teams do indeed meet in the playoffs.
While Oakland’s pen is extremely impressive, I also like Detroit’s pen. They are deep and are doing some experimenting, but this bullpen can be the best in baseball. They got Joakim Soria from the Rangers and they are using him in the 7th, Joba Chamberlain in the 8th, and Joe Nathan in the 9th.
Overall, I think Detroit got the best of the deal as the trades have been made now. I will not take anything away from the Oakland rotation, but these guys just don’t have the playoff experience as adrenaline and nerves could very easily get to them. With Detroit at 5:1 to win the World Series, I like the value considering they have 3 former CY Young winners and Miguel Cabrera who is the best hitter in the game currently in my opinion.
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