We are now just a week away from the start of the 2017 Major League Baseball season, which begins with 2016 World Series champions Chicago Cubs playing the St Louis Cardinals. The Cubs are the favourites to regain their crown, but it looks to be ferociously competitive, with the Red Sox, Indians, Nationals, Dodgers, Astros, Giants, Mets, Blue Jays and Yankees all in the mix, and plenty of dark horses lurking further down the field. Here we run through some of the leading contenders for the 2017 World Series and the value in backing them.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs are as low as 10/3 with some bookmakers, but Bet Victor has a market leading 5/1 on the reigning champions. This looks a risky bet, as no team has won back-to-back World Series since the 1998-2000 Yankees. It is not easy to recover from a long and gruelling season and to do it all again, particularly when you become a scalp for every team in the land looking to beat the champion. The Cubs, led by Kyle Schwarber and more of Willson Contreras, are arguably still the best team in their league, but it will be extremely difficult and not worthwhile for such low odds.
Boston Red Sox
Ladbrokes and Paddy Power have the best odds on the Red Sox (13/2), and they will be a huge threat in the AL, despite the retirement of David Ortiz. If David Price’s arm does not ache too badly, and Boston can get over a lack of bullpen depth, it should win the AL East, but would face a monumental challenge if up against Cleveland in the Championship Series.
Cleveland Indians
The beaten World Series finalists will be back with a vengeance and if they can keep everyone healthy – always a huge if in baseball, with 162 regular season games to contend with in little more than six months – they have the best rotation in baseball. But Cleveland faces a similar issue to Chicago in being a scalp for all teams in the league. It is not impossible to reach back-to-back World Series – three teams have done it in the past decade – but Cleveland, 8/1 with Sky Bet, is another risky option due to the risk of injury to stars like Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar and Michael Brantley.
LA Dodgers
The Dodgers have the world’s best pitcher in Clayton Kershaw, the best closer in Kenley Jansen and a wealth of talent in the likes of Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Jo Pedersen, Logan Forsythe, Yasiel Puig, Adrian Gonzalez and Yasmani Grandal. They have amazing strength in depth and a $236 million bankroll, and at 12/1 with William Hill and Ladbrokes, they look the best value right now.
The Rest
The Washington Nationals (11/1 with Bet365), Houston Astros (16/1 with 888 Sport), Toronto Blue Jays (22/1 with Bet Victor), San Francisco Giants (18/1 with William Hill) and St Louis Cardinals (28/1 with William Hill) all look dangerous and all have a legitimate claim.
Betfair:
Bet on Henrik Stenson to become the BMW PGA Championship Winner.
Paddypower:
Back Australia to take the Ashes home with them.
Betway:
Back Rafael Nadal to become the Mens French Open Winner.
Coral:
Back One For Arthur to win the Grand National.
Bet365:
Back Mexico to win the Confederations Cup.
