The Major League Baseball season is underway, but don’t sweat if you haven’t placed any season-long bets yet. It’s not 2005 anymore — you can make these bets through September and there’s a handful that are ripe.
And, if you’re looking for L.A. Dodgers tickets, I’m not your guy.
It’s crazy to me that a team is as low as +115 ($10 wins $11.50) to win a baseball pennant. Sure, it speaks to the Dodgers’ loaded roster and their recent National League dominance, but come on.
Here are four bets I would make right now.
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Detroit Tigers to win AL Central
“So, you won’t bet +115, but you’ll take +110?!”
Fair counter, but this bet is about being better than four teams in an extremely weak division. It’s not about surviving the entire National League side of the bracket at a coin-flip price. More on that in a little bit.
The Tigers have an insane 1-2-3 in the rotation with Tarik Skubal, Framber Valdez and Jack Flaherty. Then there’s 43-year-old Justin Verlander, who will win games, too. I really like the pitching depth and the bullpen, and if the lineup reaches its potential, we’re talking about a 90-win team here.
There’s a lot of Royals love around baseball circles and I get it. Kansas City will fight valiantly, but it’ll be Detroit’s division to lose down the stretch.
PICK: Detroit Tigers (+110) to win AL Central
Miami Marlins Over 72.5 wins
Miami Marlins to make playoffs
Let’s get frisky.
The Fish don’t possess heaps of depth, and they reside in the same division as the Mets and Phillies, but they’ve improved immensely over the last few years. Manager Clayton McCullough took a 62-win team in 2024 to 79 wins last season and I don’t think it was an aberration at all.
Miami starts the 2026 campaign with six winnable games against the Rockies and White Sox, and the schedule doesn’t get too difficult until late April when it heads west to San Francisco and Los Angeles. By that time, All-Star outfielder Kyle Stowers will be back from injury. Assuming this team doesn’t get buried early, it will find ways to stay afloat.
Also, look out if 22-year-old righty Eury Perez puts it all together.
PICK: Marlins (-110) Over 72.5 wins
PICK: Marlins (+650) to make playoffs
New York Mets win National League
I promise this is not an overreaction to the Metropolitans pinging around Pirates ace Paul Skenes on Opening Day.
That was impressive, though.
Look, you’re either a Dodgers backer or you’re looking for a team down the board at a nice price to present a fighting chance in the postseason. The Mets’ front office is serious about winning, as evidenced by the offseason acquisitions of Bo Bichette, Freddy Peralta and Marcus Semien to name a few.
And I like 7/1 a whole lot more than +115 on Los Angeles.
Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Bichette anchor a deep lineup, and I would bet GM David Stearns deals for pitching help at the trade deadline. If anyone can beat the Dodgers, I think it’s the Mets.
Famous last words.
PICK: Mets (+700) to win National League
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