Expert Futures Picks: A Look MLB Futures Bets This Week (5/16/22)

ScoresAndOdds betting expert Justin Van Zuiden (stlcardinals84) checks in with his weekly Futures Focus series to examine the top MLB futures bets on the market this week! Use our Caesars welcome offer to get $1100 first-bet insurance today!

Expert MLB Futures Bets

Greetings, SAO readers! Every other Monday, I am going to take a look back at the past week and try to find some value in the MLB futures markets. 

We are finally starting to see offense pick up across the league, so perhaps the season will start to shift as the bats heat up.

Here are some of the futures picks I am looking at as of Monday, May 16th!

• White Sox to win the American League (+800 on DraftKings)

The time to pounce on futures is when others start really doubting a team. There is a lot of malaise and negative press with the White Sox right now. They’ve definitely struggled to start the year, and the offense has been a major problem. However, as they get healthy, expect them to go through a really hot stretch over the summer. The pitching is going to be there, and they should roll once they start playing a lot more divisional games. With only the Twins as competition in the AL Central, don’t be surprised if the White Sox end up with much shorter odds than this once we get closer to August and September.

• Juan Yepez to win National League Rookie of the Year (+1100 on BetMGM)

This race is wide open right now. Seiya Suzuki has missed time with injury. The fourth lowest odds actually sit with Oneil Cruz, who has yet to take a regular season at-bat at the major league level. Yepez could end up running away with this. He has been hitting cleanup for the Cardinals for a week already, and he will get plenty of RBI opportunities hitting behind Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. His bat is absolutely legitimate. Over his first 41 at bats, he has a .366 average and 1.020 OPS. This is definitely worth a look while the odds remain long; they won’t stay there if he has another hot week.

• Most Regular Season Wins By Any Team – Under 103.5 (-135 on DraftKings)

The biggest threats to this total are likely going to be the Yankees, Mets, and Dodgers. The problem is that all three teams play in divisions where they will encounter significant competition. We all know how good the AL East has been over the last few years. Right now, every team in the NL West is sitting at .500 or better. The NL East has struggled so far, but both the Phillies and Braves have plenty of talent. I simply don’t see any team getting to 104 wins. Even the Yankees at 25-9 would have to keep a 61.7 winning percentage for the rest of the year to get to 104, and I don’t see that happening in the AL East.