Futures Focus: A Look At The Top MLB Futures Bets This Week (4/18/22)

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, SAO 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.

The season is still getting rolling, and we don’t have a ton of massive injury news yet, but here’s a look at what I am eyeing this week for futures bets.

St. Louis To Win The NL Central

Current odds: +170 on BetMGM Sportsbook

I’m going to be a bit of a homer here, but I think it makes sense in this case. It’s not that I’m enamored with the Cardinals’ roster – it’s just that the rest of the NL Central has real question marks. The Reds, Pirates, and Cubs are all destined to finish under .500 and have little chance to contend for a division title.

It’s basically a two team race between the Cardinals and Brewers, and there are some warning signs with Milwaukee right now. Devin Williams looks completely lost on the mound, and that eliminates some of the threat with the back end of their bullpen. The offense looks to be full of players on the downside of their careers. I’m just not sold on the team, and the rotation will have to do a lot of heavy lifting in 2022. I consider this an even race, so take the Cardinals at their current +170 betting odds.

Seattle To Win The AL West

Current odds: +475 on DraftKings Sportsbook

It’s early in the year, of course, but I think the AL West could be an absolute barnburner of a race this year. Seattle has made great strides with their offense in 2022 thanks to the additions of Jesse Winker and Adam Frazier to go along with the promotion of Julio Rodriguez. While Winker and Rodriguez have struggled in the early going, the team is still staying afloat.

This is a good sign for their future. Matt Brash and Logan Gilbert are extremely promising young pitchers, and they added a potential ace in Robbie Ray. I think the Mariners can definitely hang with the Astros and Angels, and they won a big weekend series over the Astros. I’m in at solid +475 odds on DK.

Yu Darvish To Win NL Cy Young

Current odds: +6500 on FanDuel Sportsbook

Don’t go crazy with this bet, but these are crazy odds for Darvish that are almost certainly skewed by his disastrous start against the Giants. We’re only 2-3 starts into the season, and Darvish looked strong in a Sunday night win over the Braves last night. Many of the NL Cy Young contenders have either gotten off to rough starts (Burnes, Wheeler) or have injury concerns (Scherzer, Kershaw, deGrom). This could end up being a wide open race, so I’ll sprinkle a little bit on Darvish at insane plus odds.