The baseball landscape changes fast — teams we thought were destined for October fall out of the race quickly, breakout stars skyrocket up MVP odds, and some bad teams become wagons for MLB bettors.
At the halfway point of the 2022 MLB season, and the all-star break, we’re reviewing the first half of this year’s baseball campaign. Looking at our 2022 MLB midseason betting trends overview, here’s what we’ve learned so far this season:
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Biggest Movers In World Series Futures
It’s been a long time since the Dodgers weren’t a World Series odds favorite, but the Yankees have finally topped them. The Yanks have positioned themselves as the WS favorite at the MLB all-star break, but there is lots of other baseball futures movement worth noting.
Notable Fallers In 2022 World Series Odds
| Team | Change | Sportsbook | At All-Star Break |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reds | +96000 | +4000 | +100000 |
| Mariners | +9500 | +3000 | +12500 |
| Angels | +5000 | +3000 | +8000 |
| White Sox | +2400 | +1100 | +3500 |
While teams like the Orioles and Nationals have “plummeted” in World Series odds from +8000 to +100000, we’ve thrown out the teams always expected to be bad to highlight the real fallers so far.
Among teams with odds of +4000 or better on Sportsbook Day to win the World Series, the Reds, Mariners and Angels have been the biggest disappointments.
Biggest Risers In 2022 World Series Odds
| Team | Change | Sportsbook | At All-Star Break |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twins | -4000 | +8000 | +4000 |
| Mets | -1100 | +1800 | +700 |
| Yankees | -600 | +1000 | +400 |
| Padres | -300 | +1600 | +1300 |
It’s easy to forget just how bad the Twins were last year. Minnesota rocked a 73-89 record in 2021 and was the worst team in the worst division in baseball. But this year, the Twins are back atop the AL Central. Imagine how good they’d be if they hadn’t traded Jose Berrios last year.
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Best 2022 MVP Bets At All-Star Break
Juan Soto has gone from early-season NL MVP odds favorite to potential trade chip for the Washington Nationals. While Soto is still in play for the NL MVP award, there have been a few other guys representing the NL’s best value so far this season.
Biggest Risers In 2022 AL MVP Odds
| Player | Team | Change | Sportsbook | At All-Star Break |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Judge | Yankees | -1875 | +2000 | +125 |
| Yordan Alvarez | Astros | -1300 | +2500 | +1200 |
| Shohei Ohtani | Angels | -460 | +350 | -110 |
While Shohei Ohtani has a chance to be a wire-to-wire AL MVP favorite, the best bet in the American League MVP race so far has been Yankees slugger Aaron Judge. His season started with drama, after he failed to agree to an extension with New York, but it’s been all mashing since.
Judge leads all of baseball with 33 dingers at the all-star break, has the most total bases and a great .983 OPS. While the odds say that Ohtani is still the favorite, there’s a very real chance Judge would win this AL MVP award if the season ended today.
Biggest Risers In 2022 NL MVP Odds
| Player | Team | Change | Sportsbook | At All-Star Break |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CJ Cron | Rockies | -12000 | +20000 | +8000 |
| Paul Goldschmidt | Cardinals | -6710 | +6600 | -110 |
| Manny Machado | Padres | -2950 | +3500 | +550 |
| Pete Alonso | Mets | -2250 | +3000 | +750 |
While Rockies slugger CJ Cron has been the biggest riser in NL MVP odds this year, the “best” bet from the preseason would have to be St. Louis’ Paul Goldschmidt. Starting the season as a pretty heavy underdog, behind many of the NL’s top names, Goldy is now a minus-money favorite to take home the National League’s top individual honor.
You can find updated AL and NL MVP odds and other baseball award odds over at Sportsbook:
Best Cy Young Bets At All-Star Break
Max Scherzer and Gerrit Cole opened the season as NL and AL Cy Young favorites, respectively, and while both are still in contention, they haven’t been the best bets.
Biggest Risers In 2022 AL Cy Young Odds
| Player | Team | Change | Sportsbook | At All-Star Break |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shane McClanahan | Rays | -1800 | +2000 | +200 |
| Justin Verlander | Astros | -1750 | +2000 | +250 |
| Shohei Ohtani | Angels | -1200 | +2000 | +800 |
| Dylan Cease | White Sox | -400 | +1600 | +1200 |
We’ve got two sides of the age spectrum represented in the AL Cy risers at the break. Veteran Justin Verlander was lower in the Sportsbook Day odds as he was coming off a major surgery and two missed seasons, and youngster Shane McClanahan had yet to really make a name for himself. Now both are firmly atop the pecking order of the best pitchers in the league.
A few other AL hurlers, like Nestor Cortes and Logan Gilbert, weren’t even listed in the preseason Cy Young odds, and now find themselves in serious Cy contention.
Biggest Risers In 2022 NL Cy Young Odds
| Player | Team | Change | Sportsbook | At All-Star Break |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy Alcantara | Marlins | -1735 | +1600 | -135 |
| Joe Musgrove | Padres | -1300 | +2500 | +1200 |
| Max Fried | Braves | -400 | +2000 | +1600 |
The best Cy bet on the NL side has to be Miami ace Sandy Alcantara. Snubbed as the NL starter for the all-star game, it’s unlikely Alcantara will be snubbed for the Cy if he keeps pitching like this. We probably should’ve seen this coming, too, as he has posted an ERA of 3.90 or better in each of his last four seasons and has improved his strikeout rates every year. Still only 26, 2022 seems like the coming-out party for Alcantara that has been building for the last few years.
Lock in your Cy Young pick today at Sportsbook:
