World Series 2017 Betting Odds: Dodgers, Cubs, Yankees, Astros Remain In Playoffs

The Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees and Houston Astros are the only teams remaining in the 2017 MLB Playoffs. Heading into the NLCS and ALCS, it wouldn’t be surprising to see any of the clubs come away with a championship.

Let’s take a look at each team’s 2017 World Series odds, per Bovada.lv.

Los Angeles Dodgers (+195)

L.A. is the best team in baseball. They won 104 regular-season games, essentially wrapping up home-field advantage through the World Series with several weeks remaining until the start of the playoffs. The Dodgers struggled at the end of August and the beginning of September, though their slump might have been the result of having nothing to play for. Los Angeles seemingly flipped a switch at the end of the season and swept the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS with no problem.

The Dodgers’ pitching staff is what really makes them the team to beat in the postseason. Alex Wood had a sub-3.00 ERA in the regular season, and L.A. added a second ace when they traded for Yu Darvish. Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher in baseball, if not the greatest regular-season starter of all time.

Will that translate to a championship? Kershaw still has to prove he can get the job done in October, pitching to the worst ERA of anyone that’s made at least 12 playoff starts. The Dodgers have won more than 90 games and reached the playoffs every year since 2013, but they haven’t had a World Series appearance since 1988.

Houston Astros (+225)

The Astros had the American League’s best record for most of the year, finishing the regular season as one of three 100-plus win teams. Houston ran away with the AL West crown, winning the division by an MLB-best 21 games. They needed just four games to beat the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS, outscoring the AL East champs by six runs in each home game.

They say pitching wins in the postseason, but Houston has the type of offense that can carry them to a World Series championship. The Astros led all of baseball with 896 runs, and their hitting has remained hot in the postseason with a .333 team batting average. Jose Altuve might be the AL MVP, and Carlos Correa and George Springer were arguably among the 10 best AL position players.

The front of Houston’s rotation is formidable. Dallas Keuchel pitched to a 2.90 ERA, and Justin Verlander was virtually unhittable in September with the Astros, recording a 1.06 ERA and a 0.65 WHIP in five starts. Brad Peacock and Charlie Morton both struggled in their ALDS starts.

New York Yankees (+375)

The Yankees weren’t expected to make the ALCS, but here they are. New York was one of the biggest surprises of 2017, winning 91 games in what was supposed to be a kind of rebuilding season. When it became apparent that New York would make a playoff push, they upgraded the rotation, bullpen and lineup with trades. Two months later, they won the AL Wild-Card Game and came back from a 2-0 series deficit against the AL’s best team.

If anyone doubted that New York was good enough to win the World Series, that likely changed with the team’s ALDS win over the Cleveland Indians. New York’s offense didn’t have a standout performance like Houston, but the league’s second-highest scoring team showed how dangerous it can be against baseball’s best pitching staff. They knocked around the eventual AL Cy Young winner twice, homering 10 times in the series. The Yankees led the league in home runs, and they are never out of a game because of their ability to hit the long ball.

New York has the weakest rotation of the four remaining teams. If they win a title, it’s probably going to be because of their bullpen. Responsible for half of the team’s playoff innings so far, the Yankees’ relievers have a 2.20 postseason ERA. The likes of David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, Chad Green and Aroldis Chapman can shorten games unlike any other bullpen.

Chicago Cubs (+375)

Believe it or not, it’s the Cubs—the team that hadn’t won a World Series in 108 years a season ago—that has the only real championship experience in the field. The Yankees won the Fall Classic in 2009, marking the most recent World Series appearance among New York, Houston and L.A. Chicago took one step closer toward successfully defending their title with a win over the Washington Nationals in Game 5 of the NLDS. They have continued their hot play, which began after the All-Star break, as the Cubs went 49-25 in the second half of the regular season.

The Cubs led MLB in runs after the All-Star Break. Reigning MVP Kris Bryant hit .325, and Anthony Rizzo totaled 53 RBI and a .906 OPS. Kyle Schwarber returned from his stint in the minor leagues with 17 homers in 61 games, and Willson Contreras hit 10 home runs in just 38 games. That lineup did damage against the Dodgers a year ago, and it could do it again.

Chicago’s rotation is filled with pitchers that have come up big in the postseason. The question is whether or not they can have repeat performances during a season in which just about the entire staff had a down year.