Best Odds to Make Playoffs
What are the odds that your favorite team will make the MLB postseason? Some of the betting odds might surprise you.
There are a handful of teams with great odds to make the MLB playoffs this season and thus, there’s no value in actually placing the wager. For example. The Red Sox are -550 to make the playoffs this season, which means a $100 bettor would have to wager $550 just to win $100. That’s a poor return on investment, even if Boston is a cinch to make the postseason this year. It’s a similar situation with the Rays, who are -310 to make the playoffs and +240 to miss the postseason. There’s not much value in those odds, assuming you like the defending AL pennant winners to reach the postseason.
This also applies to teams that you don’t believe will make the postseason based on their current standing in the league. For example, the Nationals are -3500 to miss the playoffs according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Thus, using our same $100 bettor example, they’d have to wager $3500 just to win their standard $100. That makes zero sense. The better payoff is Washington to make the playoffs at +1120, although the risk there is that you wager too much of your bankroll on a poor bet. The same idea applies to the Cubs at +920 to make the playoffs, the Braves at +490, the Indians at +680, the Angels at +790, the Twins at +2500, the Mariners are +1600 and the Cardinals at +1600.
So where’s the best bang for the buck? Here are the list of teams that have the most potential when it comes to ROI:
Reds +240
Mets -290
Yankees +138
A’s -134
Phillies +390
Blue Jays +138
Out of these teams, the best bet on the board is the A’s at -134 to make the playoffs. Our same $100 bettor would only have to risk $134 to win his $100, which makes more sense from a risk/payoff standpoint than some of the other options we’ve discussed. Oakland’s 2021 Projected Full Season record at Fangraphs is 88-74, which would put them firmly in the Wild Card mix in the American League.
If you’re looking for a different strategy, taking the Yankees at +138 or the Blue Jays at +138 is your best bet. The Red Sox are still projected to win the AL East and the Rays should secure one of the wild card spots in that league. That said, if the A’s do stumble, the Yankees or Blue Jays have the best odds to secure the other wild card spot and at +138, you’re getting $138 on your $100 wager. You just have to decide if the Yankees’ underachieving offense will snap out of its funk, or if the Blue Jays’ top-heavy pitching will be enough to complement one of the league’s best offenses.