2019 World Series Champion Picks

We’re almost a third of the way through this 2019 MLB betting season, and contenders are already separating themselves from pretenders. So now might be a good time to peruse the updated 2019 World Series futures boards for possible betting plays.

The Favorites

The Houston Astros began this season as the co-favorites to win the 2019 World Series at a price of right around +700, and they’ve done little to dissuade that idea so far. A recent 8-2 run got Houston to 33-17 overall and it led the AL West by 7.5 games over the rest of that field. Futures bettors definitely seem to like what they’ve seen out of the Astros, betting their World Series futures in half. As of this writing the best price we could find on Houston on any World Series betting board was the +400 offered at Intertops.

The defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox also began this season getting right around +700 to repeat. Boston started slowly, perhaps suffering from a hangover, winning just one of its first six games, and still sat at six games under .500 into May. But cream usually rises to the top, and the Sox are rising, using a 15-6 run to climb three games over .500. Boston’s slow start may be a gift to baseball futures bettors, who can now get the Red Sox at +1400 on the World Series board at BetOnline. But probably not for long.

The New York Yankees, with their latest edition of Murderer’s Row, went off this season getting around +800 to win the World Series. New York then saw most of its starting lineup end up on the DL, and yet the Yankees won. Even with Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge combining for just 81 at-bats New York led the AL East by two games. Bettors are imagining how good the Yankees might be when their big sticks return. As of this writing the best price we could find on the Pinstripes was the +700 offered at BetOnline.

The defending National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers also went off getting around +800 on various World Series boards. And as June approached the Dodgers owned the best record in the National League and a six-game lead in the NL West. LA was also now getting +700 on BetOnline’s World Series board.

The Chicago Cubs were the final member of the upper tier on most World Series betting boards, getting around +900. And like Boston, the Cubbies started slowly, too, winning just three of their first 11 games. But a 9-2 run got them on track, and a 13-2 run took them to the top of the NL Central, where as of this writing they held a two-game lead. Also like the Red Sox the slow start might be a gift to futures bettors, who can now get Chicago at +1400 on the World Series board at BetOnline.

Other Possible Contenders
The Philadelphia Phillies got their $300 million man over the off-season, and while Bryce Harper hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire the Phillies hold the lead in the NL East. After opening the season at around +2000 to win the Series the best price we could find on Philly was the +1000 offered at GT Bets.

The Milwaukee Brewers got within one win of the World Series last year and manager Craig Counsell has them in playoff contention again this season. The pitching seems a bit thin but Brewers bats carry this team at times. After going off at around +1400 on most World Series boards Milwaukee can now be found getting +1500 at GT Bets.

The most pleasant surprise so far this MLB season has to be the Minnesota Twins, who finished six games under .500 last year, then went off getting upwards of +7500 on various 2019 World Series boards. As of this writing Minnesota ranked second the Majors in scoring, eighth in ERA and owned the best record in the Majors at 32-16. That good play has attracted significant betting attention, because the best World Series price we could find on the Twins was the +1600 offered at Intertops.

Also, the Tampa Bay Rays, off at +5000 this season, have been bet down to +1400 at BetOnline; the defending NL East champion Atlanta Braves, off at +1400, are now getting +2200 at GT Bets; the defending AL Central champion Cleveland Indians, off at +1200, are now getting +2000 at BetOnline; and the struggling St. Louis Cardinals, whom we expect to get hot sometime soon, are getting +2800 at GT Bets, after opening at +1800.