Pitchers and catchers are due to report in baseball within the next two weeks. Online Sportsbooks haven’t put out over/under win totals yet, but they are due relatively soon.
Until win totals are released, World Series championship futures are fun to speculate.
If you can wait nine months for a payout, there’s plenty of value to be found.
The Cubs are by far the overall favorites to win the 2016 World Series with a +450 payout. The next in line are the Dodgers (+1200) and Mets (+1200).
We look at the overall value and pick some teams that could be worth the long wait for a payout.
I’m a life-long Cubs fan and I do believe the +450 payout could be worth it, but as a Cubs fan, I know weird ‘Cubs’ things could happen between now and then. I’m going to focus on some other teams with longer odds.
San Francisco Giants (+1400) – The Giants signed Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto to big contracts this offseason. Let’s not forget that their starting rotation already has Madison Bumgarner as its ace. The NL West will be a tight race this year, so pitching could put them over the top.
New York Yankees (+1600) – The Yankees will have the best bullpen in the Majors. They added Aroldis Chapman and still have Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller. If the Yankees have the lead going in the 7th inning, they will be hard to beat. Also, I like Starlin Castro to have a bounce back year in pinstripes.
Texas Rangers (+2000) – The Rangers were bit by the injury bug last season and they still nearly made the postseason. Yu Darvish is due back and their offense could push them to the top of the AL West…which will be a crazy competitive division again in 2016.
Toronto Blue Jays (+2000) – The Blue Jays lost out on re-signing David Price, but they still have plenty of power in their lineup. They may need to clearly out-score their opponents instead of relying on their rotation to help out much.
Detroit Tigers (+3500) – I like what the Tigers did this offseason. They got K-Rod for their closer and added Justin Upton to complement Miguel Cabrera, J.D. Martinez and Victor Martinez. The AL Central is open for the taking if the Royals slump.
Minnesota Twins (+5500) – This is my sleeper pick. They are filled with young players that could take a huge jump this season. They also have some young arms in the minors that are nearly ready for the Majors. Alex Meyer and Tyler Duffey could be top arms in their rotation for a long time. I’m not sure if the rest of the AL Central is ready for a full season of Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano.
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.