Morning Briefing: Dodgers and Angels could be a baseball awards force this season
We are one month into baseball season, so it’s time to look at the updated odds to win the World Series and the major awards, courtesy of BetOnline.ag.
On opening day, the New York Yankees were the favorites to win the World Series, but they aren’t anymore. A look at the current top five favorites, with today’s odds and their odds on opening day.
Houston Astros, 5-1 (7-1 on opening day)
Dodgers, 6-1 (8-1)
Yankees, 7-1 (6-1)
Boston Red Sox, 12-1 (15-2)
Philadelphia Phillies, 12-1 (8-1)
The biggest losers from opening day are the Angels, who went from 40-1 to 150-1 and the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants, who all went from 66-1 to 250-1.
The big winner? Seattle, which went from 66-1 to 20-1 and the Minnesota Twins, who went from 50-1 to 20-1. Texas went from 250-1 to 100-1, but I’m not sure you can call a team with 100-1 odds a big winner.
The teams with the worst odds are the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals and Miami Marlins, all at 500-1.
Local players are the favorites to win the league most valuable player awards.
For American League MVP, the favorites are:
Mike Trout, Angels, 2-1 (5-2 on opening day)
Mookie Betts, Boston, 5-1 (6-1)
Alex Bregman, Houston, 9-1 (9-1)
Jorge Polanco, Minnesota, 9-1 (off the board)
Matt Chapman, Oakland, 10-1 (25-1)
For National League MVP:
Cody Bellinger, Dodgers, 5-2 (28-1)
Christian Yelich, Milwaukee, 3-1 (16-1)
Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta, 9-1 (20-1)
Javy Baez, Chicago, 12-1 (33-1)
Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis, 12-1 (9-1)
Bryce Harper, 12-1 (5-1)
A Dodger is favored to win the NL Cy Young, but no Angels are near the top of the AL Cy Young Award odds.
AL Cy Young:
Justin Verlander, Houston, 4-1 (14-1)
Trevor Bauer, Cleveland, 5-1 (16-1)
Jose Berrios, Minnesota, 15-2 (28-1)
Tyler Glasnow, Tampa Bay, 8-1 (off the board)
Marcus Stroman, Toronto, 8-1 (50-1)
NL Cy Young:
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers, 5-1 (12-1)
Luis Castillo, Cincinnati, 6-1 (12-1)
Zach Greinke, Arizona, 13-2 (25-1)
Max Scherzer, Washington, 7-1 (5-2)
Jake Arrieta, Philadelphia, 9-1 (off the board)
Be like Tim
Denver linebacker Von Miller was selected in the first round, second overall, in the 2011 NFL draft. He makes it a point now to always call the first-round pick (or picks) of the Broncos each year to welcome them to the team. Why?
You can thank Tim Tebow.
“I try to pay it forward,†Miller told KUSA-TV in Denver. “When I got drafted, Tim Tebow called me. I knew what it meant to me to have Tim Tebow on the phone. I pay it forward. Every time we have a draft, that’s what I do.’’
More to Read
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.