The Los Angeles Dodgers (+325) are the favorite to win the 2024 World Series, with the New York Yankees (+450) and Philadelphia Phillies (+450) tied for second. The next tier of odds prices the Houston Astros and San Diego Padres at +900.
Perhaps it’s no surprise to find big cities and big payrolls at the top, but that’s not the whole picture this year. The Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Guardians — who are in the bottom four in terms of bankroll — are next in the odds, tied at +1100.
The Dodgers clinched the No. 1 seed in the National League and home-field advantage for the whole postseason, while the Phillies clinched the second and a bye to the NLDS. In the American League, the Yankees are the top seed, followed by the Cleveland Guardians, who won a ticket straight to the ALDS. Both top seeds (the Dodgers and Yankees) are the favorites in their respective leagues to make the World Series.
But liminal space barely exists in the MLB world: The Mets and Braves barely wrapped their playoff-decisive doubleheader on Monday before Game 1s of the Wild Card series begin on Tuesday. For those teams, there is no margin, only a hope for momentum. The AL Wild Card matchups feature the Detroit Tigers at the Houston Astros and the Kansas City Royals at the Baltimore Orioles. The NL Wild Card matchups see the New York Mets at the Milwaukee Brewers and the Atlanta Braves at the San Diego Padres.
But for the teams with good enough records to skip that round, there’s time to rest and focus on their LDS, which don’t start until Saturday.
American League seeds
- New York Yankees
- Cleveland Guardians
- Houston Astros
- Baltimore Orioles
- Kansas City Royals
- Detroit Tigers
National League seeds
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Milwaukee Brewers
- San Diego Padres
- Atlanta Braves
- New York Mets
So, let’s look at the the odds for World Series winner, AL winner and NL winner before the MLB postseason officially kicks off.
Odds in the tables below update live and are from BetMGM. You can buy tickets to every MLB game here. For information on streaming, click here.
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World Series winner odds
The Dodgers (98-64) and their explosive, star-studded offense led by Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts have been making headlines all season. The question for LA is whether their starting pitch depth — or lack thereof — will come back to bite them. On FanGraphs, their chances of winning the World Series are 16.7 percent, a little bit lower than their National League rivals, the Phillies (17.8 percent).
The Phillies (95-67) captured their first National League East title in 13 years and clinched a postseason berth for the third consecutive season. Their roster is awash in talent, starting with ace Zack Wheeler, who has a 2.42 ERA over 11 games in his postseason career and seems to be peaking at the right time.
The Dodgers’ other top rivals in the World Series odds are the equally star-studded Yankees (94-68), who will be relying on Aaron Judge and Juan Soto to perform like the world-best hitters they are. The Yanks’ FanGraphs projection to win the World Series is 16.5 percent.
After this tier, the Padres (93-69) are at +825 and the Astros (88-73) have +900 odds. Both are hosting Game 1s of the Wild Card round on Tuesday. FanGraphs gives the Astros a 10.8 percent chance to win the championship and the Padres an 8.5 percent chance.
Next are the Orioles and Guardians at +1100. The Guardians (92-69) have had a season like no one expected, clinching their second AL Central championship in three years. The Orioles (91-71) were a juggernaut for much of the season but had a tough stretch toward the end. Can they turn it around? FanGraphs give them just a 5.2 percent chance and the Guardians 6.7 percent.
Americal League winner odds
National League winner odds
(Photo of Shohei Ohtani: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
