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Futures Focus: A Look At The Top MLB Futures Bets This Week

Justin Van Zuiden Mon 4/11 6:15pm PT
Image Credit: Imagn

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

Greetings, ScoresAndOdds readers! Every Monday, I am going to take a look back at the past week and try to find some value in the MLB futures markets. Early in the season, these markets are sometimes slow to come around to news and injuries, so there can be some advantage to exploit.

We’re not too deep into the season yet after just four days of game action, but here’s a quick look at some MLB odds that I am eyeing right now.

Toronto Blue Jays To Win The American League East

Yes, the American League East is a gauntlet. The Rays, Yankees, and Red Sox are all playoff contenders. The division will be a grind. However, this Toronto (+165, BetMGM) offense is good. Scary good. As long as they stay healthy, no team in the American League can touch the 1-6 that this team throws out there on a daily basis.

Gausman, Berrios, and Manoah are a very solid top three in the rotation, with Ryu and Kikuchi sitting as the best back-end combination you will find to round out a rotation. The only real weakness is the bullpen, but I think Jordan Romano can develop into a shut-down closer. This team is very good, and it’s probably not long before they become odds-on favorites in this division.

Philadelphia Phillies To Make The Playoffs

Speaking of lineups, the Phillies (-150, DraftKings) could boast the second best unit in the National League behind only the Dodgers. The combination of Schwarber, Castellanos, Harper, Hoskins, and Realmuto is a potent top five, and I’m not entirely sold on the rest of the division. We’ve already seen injuries with the Mets’ rotation. The Braves are likely to regress a bit.

The Marlins are still building. The Nationals appear to be horrendous. With an extra Wild Card spot this year, I’m surprised this is only sitting at -150 right now. Lock it in before the odds shift against you.

Steven Kwan To Win American League Rookie Of The Year

All the buzz is circling around Bobby Witt Jr and Julio Rodriguez right now, and they are certainly the deserved top two candidates in the AL ROY odds at the moment. That said, I’ve been very impressed by what I have seen from Kwan (+600, PointsBet) in the early going.

He had five hits on Sunday in a blowout win over the Royals, and he is going to see plenty of pitches to hit if the Guardians continue to bat him ahead of Jose Ramirez and Franmil Reyes. The Guardians aren’t a good team, but that isn’t likely to hurt Kwan here given that Witt and Rodriguez don’t exactly play on powerhouse clubs, either. Kwan will get to feast on some weak pitching in the AL Central, and there’s no way he will continue to sit at these odds for much longer.

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