{"id":588596,"date":"2026-02-23T16:49:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T16:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/588596\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T16:49:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T16:49:16","slug":"world-series-prediction-more-long-shot-bets-to-make","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/588596\/","title":{"rendered":"World Series prediction, more long-shot bets to make"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\tGambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. Read our editorial standards<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n

The 2026 MLB<\/a> season projects to be predictable. At least according to the betting market.<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a runaway favorite to win it all at +230, Shohei Ohtani is an odds-on favorite to win NL MVP, and Aaron Judge is the clear chalk at the top of the AL MVP board. <\/p>\n

The Cy Young races also lack depth, as Paul Skenes and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are expected to battle it out in the National League, and Tarik Skubal is expected to do the same with Garrett Crochet in the American League.<\/p>\n

Of course, we know things won\u2019t go exactly according to script, and it could be a good thing for bettors that the market is shaping up in this fashion.<\/p>\n

With chunky favorites sucking up all the value at the top of the board, there are a few prices that are flying under the radar across a few different markets.<\/p>\n

2026 MLB Futures<\/p>\n

World Series: Detroit Tigers (28\/1, Caesars<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The Detroit Tigers had a whale of a collapse in September, allowing the Cleveland Guardians to come from miles back to win the AL Central. That monumental choke will be fresh on the mind of bettors, which is why this number has stayed at a reasonable price despite the fact that the Tigers are the favorites to win their division.<\/p>\n

Detroit\u2019s rotation, which is headlined by Skubal, Framber Valdez, and Justin Verlander, is stacked. And the bullpen shouldn\u2019t be an issue with Kyle Finnegan and Kenley Jansen tasked with the heavy lifting.<\/p>\n

\"DetroitDetroit Tigers owner Chris Ilitch speaks with Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal during workouts at spring training baseball. AP<\/p>\n

The American League should be wide open, and let\u2019s not forget that Detroit was the class of the Majors for a good portion of the 2025 regular season.<\/p>\n

Worst record: Minnesota Twins (35\/1, DraftKings<\/a>)<\/p>\n

All that talk at the top about big favorites, and I didn\u2019t even mention that the Colorado Rockies are a prohibitive -400 favorite to finish with the worst record in baseball, aka win \u201cThe Wooden Spoon.\u201d<\/p>\n

No surprise there, but don\u2019t overlook the Twins in this market.<\/p>\n

Minnesota has been tagged with a 73.5-win Over\/Under, but there\u2019s plenty of room for this team to circle the drain. The roster is already limited and will likely be dismantled throughout the season, as the organization tries to cash in on Byron Buxton, Pablo Lopez, and Joe Ryan before the Trade Deadline.<\/p>\n

Throw in some front office upheaval, and you can see why the Twins could at least give the Rockies a run for the money in the race to the bottom.<\/p>\n

Learn all you need to know about MLB Betting<\/p>\n

NL Manager of the Year: Don Kelly, Pittsburgh Pirates (16\/1, bet365<\/a>) <\/p>\n

Don\u2019t look now, but the Pittsburgh Pirates are becoming a trendy dark horse in the National League in 2026.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re seeing plenty of love for the Buccos to over their win total and even sneak their way into the playoffs, and it\u2019s easy to see why.<\/p>\n

The Pirates have a deep, talented pitching staff headlined by Skenes, the Cy Young favorite, and a lineup that features a couple of potential breakout stars in Oneil Cruz and Konnor Griffin, plus a slew of veteran sluggers with the additions of Marcell Ozuna, Brandon Lowe, and Ryan O\u2019Hearn.<\/p>\n

\"PittsburghPittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly during spring training. AP<\/p>\n

If you believe that is enough to get the Pirates into the playoffs, or even to the top of the NL Central, I\u2019d advise you to consider backing Don Kelly to win NL Manager of the Year at 16\/1, which is double the price you\u2019d get for betting on Pittsburgh to win the division, and it\u2019s four times the odds of the Bucs to make the playoffs.<\/p>\n

While there is a chance that Kelly doesn\u2019t win the award if the Pirates get into the playoffs, I\u2019d argue it\u2019s pretty thin, making this punt worth the risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh breaking its playoff drought would be one of the biggest stories in baseball, and that\u2019s how these awards tend to be won.<\/p>\n

Why Trust New York Post Betting<\/p>\n

Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588597,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2388],"tags":[5,684,53,822,60,3190,4,722,64,185,1272,723,148],"class_list":{"0":"post-588596","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-twins","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-betting","10":"tag-detroit-tigers","11":"tag-minnesota","12":"tag-minnesota-twins","13":"tag-minnesotatwins","14":"tag-mlb","15":"tag-mlb-betting","16":"tag-pittsburgh-pirates","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-sports-betting","19":"tag-sports-picks","20":"tag-twins"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116120975836549821","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588596\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}