2022 Toronto Blue Jays Betting Guide: MLB Futures, Predictions

After falling just short of the postseason in 2021, expectations are through the roof for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2022.  Under the expanded playoff format, the Jays’ 91-win season would have been enough to reach the playoffs last year and it’s safe to say they won’t get burned like that again.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. declared last season a trailer of what’s to come in Toronto and the baseball oddsmakers agree, making Toronto the favourite to win the AL East and one of the top favourites to win the World Series.

Here’s Sports Interaction’s betting preview with everything you need to know for the 2022 Toronto Blue Jays season.  Make sure to check out complete odds for all American League games as well as a complete list of MLB futures betting.

Toronto Blue Jays Futures

To win World Series (+839)

To win American League (+414)

To win AL East (+162)

To make playoffs Yes (-400) – No (+300)

Most wins in MLB – regular season (+597)

Season wins Over/Under 92.5 (Over -122/Under -105)

World Series Odds

“What we did last year was the trailer.  Now you guys are going to see the movie.”  If that spring training quote from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hasn’t already fired you up as a Blue Jays fan, now is the time to take notice.  Toronto had one of the best second-half records in baseball last year and finished the season just short of the playoffs with 91 wins.  Oddsmakers are sensing a continuation of that second-half, listing the Blue Jays at +820 to win the World Series in 2022.  In case you’re wondering, the only team in the majors with shorter odds is the Dodgers at +456.

Toronto is favoured for a reason.  They have two superstar cornerstone pieces in Guerrero and Bo Bichette and they revamped their starting rotation by resigning Jose Berrios and adding Kevin Gausman (14-6, 2.81 ERA last year with Giants) and Yusei Kikuchi (7-9, 4.41 ERA last year with Seattle).  The team has spent massively, giving out $288 million between free agency and signings, so far.  That’s more than every other team in baseball, aside from the Texas Rangers, who have spent almost twice that number at $562.2 million.

The biggest losses to the roster are Cy Young winner Robbie Ray, who signed in Seattle, and Marcus Semien, who finished third in AL MVP voting last year and signed with Texas in the offseason.  Both players had career-years in 2021, but it’s not realistic to think they can reproduce that output every season.  Gausman fills the void left by Ray, while trade acquisition Matt Chapman’s power should transfer nicely from the AL West where he played for Oakland, to the more hitter-friendly parks of the East.  Chapman also provides a stable and solid solution to the problem’s Toronto has had at third base over the last few seasons.

The Toronto Blue Jays expect nothing sort of October baseball next fall.

AL East Odds

The Blue Jays are +162 favourites to win the AL East and +414 favourites to win the American League.  The AL East has always been one of the toughest divisions in baseball and Toronto has only won it six times, last doing so in 2015.  They’ve only won the AL pennant twice, but those seasons led to back-to-back World Series titles for the Jays in 1992 and 1993.

The biggest competition for the Blue Jays in the AL East is the New York Yankees at +220 to win the the division and the Tampa Bay Rays at +263.  The Boston Red Sox are a distant +504, while the Baltimore Orioles are massive underdogs at +17300.

Strengths

Although, not necessarily a “strength”, it’s pretty incredible that this will actually be the first full season the Blue Jays play in Toronto since 2019.  That basic stability should be an added boost to the individual players on the team, who counted three different cities as home parks last season in Dunedin, Buffalo and Toronto.

This is a well constructed roster without any glaring holes, but the offence is particularly dangerous.  Guerrero finished second in AL MVP voting last season after leading the majors with 48 home runs and he would have won in almost any other year, but fell victim to the unicorn that is Shohei Ohtani.  The 23-year-old superstar headlines a lineup that includes fellow youngster Bichette as well as a healthy George Springer, a rejuvenated Chapman and Teoscar Hernandez.

Don’t sleep on this rotation, either.  The Jays announced that Berrios, who has looked great since coming over at the trade deadline last year, will be the opening day starter.  Berrios will be followed in the rotation by Gausman, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Alek Manoah and Kikuchi.

Weaknesses

In the excitement and anticipation of the 2022 season, fans can be forgiven if they forgot just how terrible Toronto’s bullpen was last year.  The Jays were 15-15 in one-run games in 2021 and a brutal 3-8 in extra-inning games, with the relievers finishing the year 16th in ERA.  The team was plagued with blown games throughout May and June, which in hindsight killed Toronto’s entire year as they missed the playoffs on the last day of the season.

The Blue Jays made an effort to fix the bullpen, trading for Adam Cimber in June and Trevor Richards in July.  Both players helped stabilize the team, but there was only so much they could do.  The bullpen dealt with inconsistency and injuries in the first half of the season, but they did show improvement in the back half of the year.  If Nate Pearson can emerge as the star pitching prospect he was once projected to be, this pitching staff could be one of the best in baseball.

Toronto Blue Jays Player Futures

AL MVP Odds: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (+341), Bo Bichette (+1723), George Springer (+4001)

AL Cy Young Odds: Kevin Gausman (+1581), Jose Berrios (+1784), Hyun-Jin Ryu (+4231)

MLB Home Run Leader Odds: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (+653), George Springer (+3489), Teoscar Hernandez (+4601)

MLB RBI Leader Odds: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (+743), Teoscar Hernandez (+2059), Bo Bichette (+3597)

MLB Wins Leader Odds: Kevin Gausman (+1518), Jose Berrios (+1518), Hyun-Jin Ryu (+2825)

MLB Strikeouts Leader Odds: Kevin Gausman (+2269), Jose Berrios (+3080)

2022 Season Predictions

AL MVP: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games.