Image source: Chanan Greenblatt
The 2022 Major League Baseball playoffs are officially here. We already witnessed a captivating best-of-three Wild Card Series, capped up by the Mets’ season-ending defeat to the Padres. Now, all eyes are set on the first games of the best-of-five Division Series. The Astros will take on the Mariners to kick off Game 1 of the playoffs before the Dodgers, Yankees, and Braves face the Padres, Guardians, and Phillies, respectively.
The Los Angeles Dodgers appear to be clear favorites to win the World Series after finishing the season with the best record: 111 wins and 51 losses and a .685 win percentage. However, they’ll face stiff competition from the Houston Astros, the Padres, and last season’s champions, the Atlanta Braves.
The Yankees are also not far behind and could well give the top teams a run for their money.
Here’s how each of the top teams is faring on the odds table:
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers are most likely to win this season and would begin their playoff run against the San Diego Padres. LA is the favored team to win this series, although their state neighbors are not a team to sweep under the rug, considering how they took out the Mets during the Wild Card round.
Yet, the Dodgers boast some of the finest hitters in Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Trea Turner, who have all registered at least 150 hits each. The Dodgers are also fine on the hill, with Julio Urias, Tony Gonsolin, and Clayton Kershaw each with an ERA of 2.30 or better.
For a team with strong hitters, pitchers, and defenders, failure to make it to the World Series would be a big surprise.
Houston Astros
The Astros are the current American League favorites and have the second-shortest World Series odds for obvious reasons. Houston will not be intimidated by any team when it comes to hitting and can pitch against any opponent. As has been well established over the years, this combo is much needed during the postseason.
Houston has an array of quality hitters, spearheaded by Yordan Alvarez, second baseman Jose Altuve, third baseman Alex Bregman, and right fielder Kyle Tucker.
Then there’s Justin Verlander, who continues to age like fine wine. The veteran appears to be making giant strides regardless of his age and is just one of the many arms the Astros possess in their armor. With this deep roster, they have all it takes to make it to the World Series and perhaps win it all.
New York Yankees
The Yankees managed to squeeze through a rough second half of the regular season and took home the AL East top spot. They’ve gotten healthier and are looking like the team that was initially projected to break the all-time regular season record. Regaining peak form at this point in the season would be a great consolation for a team that had the best record in the league after the first half of the season.
New York features one of the most formidable lineups in the league, anchored by the horror himself, Aaron Judge, who just missed winning the Triple Crown. The Yankees may have had it rough when it comes to pitching, but Luis Severino‘s return from injury puts the team in a much-improved state as they prepare for a best-of-five showdown against the Guardians.
The Yankees will hope that Frankie Montas finds his form again, as the arm would play a crucial role in what will surely be a tough October for the World Series hopefuls. They could well make a deep run in the postseason if they find their groove again.
Atlanta Braves
The Braves have their eyes set on gold once again and are well-poised to repeat as Champions if everything goes their way.
Atlanta has Ronald Acuña, Jr., who is one of the top 15 players with the highest hard-hit rate (49.9%). The Braves also boast fastball genius, P Spencer Strider – already enough ingredients to cook with during the postseason.
Odds table on FanDuel as of October 10, 2022
Los Angeles Dodgers (+270)
Houston Astros (+350)
New York Yankees (+490)
Atlanta Braves (+500)
San Diego Padres (+1100)
Philadelphia Phillies (+1100)
Seattle Mariners (+1300)
Cleveland Guardians (+1600)
