Opening Day and Opening Week have arrived! With the 2026 season ready to begin Wednesday night with the Giants and Yankees, let’s take a look at some of the best bets and long shots in the World Series and most wins markets.
World Series Winner: Phillies (+1600), Braves (+2000), Tigers (+2200)
The Dodgers +200 to +230 preseason World Series odds are the shortest to win a title since 2003! However, with those odds, there isn’t much value in taking the Dodgers to three-peat.
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Looking outside Los Angeles, I like sprinkles on Philadelphia (+1600), Atlanta (+1800), and Detroit (+2000) to win the World Series.
Both the Phillies and Tigers made a strong offseason addition that I am a fan of. Philadelphia added Adolis Garcia who will bolster that lineup and give the Phillies another home run hitter. Garcia had 19 homers and 75 RBI last season, which should improve alongside Bryce Harper and Trae Turner.
Detroit signed Framber Valdez to give Detroit another option behind ace Tarik Skubal. Valdez will give Detroit a valid second choice in the playoffs and with Justin Verlander and Jack Flaherty as third and fourth picks, Detroit has one of the best rotations in baseball, especially for the playoffs.
Atlanta didn’t make a splash this offseason, but the Braves do bring back enough core pieces to be a title contender. Ronald Acuna Jr. is second and third at most sports books for NL MVP this season and the combination of Chris Sale and Spencer Strider make them extremely dangerous in a playoff setting. For +1600 to +2000, I like those three teams to compete with the Dodgers this season.
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Picks: Phillies to win World Series (0.25 units), Braves to win World Series (0.25 units), Tigers to win World Series (0.25 units)
Most Wins: Detroit Tigers (+4500)AL Central Winner: Detroit Tigers (+110)
The Detroit Tigers are playing in arguably the worst division in all of baseball, yet they are priced at +110 to +115 to win the AL Central. That makes no sense to me, especially after a 87-75 record last year. The Tigers did not win their division, as they lost by 1.0 game to the Guardians, but Detroit also had a meltdown at the end of the year, going 3-13 over the final 16 contests.
Make no mistake, Detroit is improved and I doubt they go through the same disappointment as last year. The Tigers faced the Guardians in the American League Wild Card round of the playoffs and won 6-3 before losing 3-2 to the Mariners in the division round.
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This offseason, Detroit signed Framber Valdez to the rotation, brought back Justin Verlander, promoted rookie sensation Kevin McGonigle to the roster, and kept most of the pieces that made them so successful last year. I don’t see this team falling off anytime soon, but actually improving and making a playoff run, while the rest of the division is worse off.
Cleveland made little to no moves this offseason, while Minnesota and Chicago are afterthoughts. It will be the Tigers versus Royals as the two top teams in the AL Central. The Royals didn’t make a splash this offseason either, but the remaining talent does make them my number two in the division. There is a discrepancy between the two in odds though.
The Tigers are +110 and the Royals are +225 with a significant drop off to the Royals at +425. I will buy into Detroit after their late season fall off last year and think they are a sneaky bet to have the most wins in the MLB this year at +4500 after the Brewers did so last year (97 wins).
Pick: Detroit Tigers to win the AL Central (2 units), Detroit Tigers for most wins (0.25 unit)
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MLB Futures Card
3 units: Pittsburgh Pirates Over 76.5 Wins (-115)
2 units: Detroit Tigers to win AL Central (+110)
1 unit: Bobby Witt to win AL MVP (+550)
1 unit: Ronald Acuna Jr. to win NL MVP (+1000)
1 unit: Pittsburgh Pirates to win NL Central (+800)
1 unit: Paul Skenes to win NL CY Young (+250)
1 unit: Garrett Crochet to win AL CY Young (+425)
0.5 unit: Konnor Griffin to win NL Rookie of the Year (+600)
0.5 unit: Bubba Chandler to win NL Rookie of the Year (+1200)
0.25 units: Detroit Tigers to have the most wins (+4500)
0.25 units: Philadelphia Phillies to win the World Series (+1600)
0.25 units: Atlanta Braves to win the World Series (+2000)
0.25 units: Detroit Tigers to win the World Series
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