2022 World Series Futures and Prediction: Is This Toronto’s Year?
The 2022 baseball season begins Thursday, and the Los Angeles Dodgers are +461 favourites on the MLB futures odds with the Jays next at +843.
2022 World Series Betting Analysis
The Dodgers were the betting favourites to win the 2021 World Series essentially as soon as the 2020 Fall Classic, won by Los Angeles, was finished. L.A. stayed atop the odds board really until it was upset in six games by the Braves in the ’21 National League Championship Series.
While the NFL, NBA and NHL all have salary caps and Major League Baseball doesn’t – and there’s a huge gap between the haves like the Dodgers and Yankees and have-nots like the Pirates and Rays – there has been a different World Series winner for eight straight years. The National League has taken the past three.
Atlanta is +1165 to repeat, which no team has done since the Yankees won three titles in a row 1998-2000. We don’t think the Braves will, either. They will be good, but the loss of franchise icon Freddie Freeman, the 2020 NL MVP, is going to hurt even after acquiring All-Star first baseman Matt Olson from Oakland.
Two rule updates for the coming season: The universal designated hitter is here to stay, so the only pitcher batting on a regular basis will be Angels dual-threat Shohei Ohtani, the reigning AL MVP. Originally, the plan was do to away with putting a runner on second base to start extra innings, but that will stick around one more year. Also keep in mind there is an extra Wild-Card spot in each league with the single-elimination Wild-Card games replaced by a best-of-three round. Two division winners in each league get a bye into the Division Series.
Dodgers Can Throw Money At Problems
The Dodgers should be WS favourites because after signing Freeman from the Braves might have one of the best lineups in recent MLB history and have four former MVPs on the roster in Freeman, Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger and pitcher Clayton Kershaw.
The one big question mark on the roster was at closer, but LA resolved that last week by trading surplus outfielder AJ Pollock to the White Sox for All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel. If a need pops up during the year, the Dodgers have all the money in the world and a deep farm system to trade for whatever they need. L.A. has made the playoffs nine straight years yet has just the one World Series title to show for it. The Dodgers are an absurd -1000 to make the playoffs again. They will.
Toronto Blue Jays World Series Odds
What of the Blue Jays? If the added Wild-Card team had been in place last year, they would have gotten in but instead at 91-71 finished one game behind the Yankees and Red Sox for the two Wild-Card spots. Lefty pitcher Robbie Ray, the 2021 Cy Young winner, left for a big contract in Seattle, but Toronto replaced him in the rotation with Kevin Gausman (14-6, 2.81 ERA last year with Giants) and southpaw Yusei Kikuchi (7-9, 4.41 ERA last year with Seattle).
Marcus Semien was third in the 2021 AL MVP voting and is now with the Texas Rangers, but the Jays still might have the best offensive infield in the AL with AL MVP runner-up Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first, Cavan Biggio at second, Bo Bichette at shortstop and trade acquisition Matt Chapman at third.
Guerrero is +350 to win MVP this season, behind the reigning winner Ohtani of the Angels (+293). Baby Vlad is the +652 favourite to lead the majors in homers after tying for that crown last year at 48 with Kansas City’s Salvador Perez.
And, hey, the Blue Jays get to play a full season in Toronto for the first time since 2019. Don’t overlook the fact that unvaccinated players from other teams will not be able to play in Toronto for the foreseeable future. That could be a major advantage for the Blue Jays. They absolutely will be a playoff team this season barring major injury. To make it Toronto is -400 with no at +300.
Toronto opens Friday at home vs. Texas, and we’ll have a look at that game later this week.