Tip for the 2024 World Series: The best tips for the All-Star break

With the MLB on hiatus for the All-Star break, it’s a good time to step away from the daily grind and look for some lucrative bets on the future.

In today’s article, we’ll look at the most important future bet in baseball: the World Series. With last year’s World Series participants – the champion Rangers and the runner-up Diamondbacks – struggling to find their footing this year, this year’s World Series is as wide open as it gets.

Odds for the 2024 MLB World Series

It’s no big surprise that the Dodgers are the favorites to win the World Series, as they have the most talented players in MLB from top to bottom, both in starting pitching and the bullpen. The problem with the Dodgers, however, is that we have no idea if any of their starting pitchers are fit enough for the playoffs, as they currently have three stars: Clayton Kershaw, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, all on the injured list. Besides those three, Max Muncy, Mookie Betts, Walker Buehler, Joe Kelly and Jayson Heyward are unavailable for action. They are all expected to return this season, but health will be a risk.

It’s interesting to see that the Yankees have the best odds in the AL, as they had an absolutely brutal June, but that makes sense just from a talent perspective. They also have some injury concerns with Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo, but the biggest concern for the Yankees is their starting pitching. Gerrit Cole hasn’t been quite himself since coming back from injury, while rookie phenom Luis Gil has slowed down after his red-hot start.

In terms of value, here are our two favorite World Series bets, with one selection each in the NL and AL.

Pick 1: Atlanta Braves (+1000) Caesars

With their best pitcher Spencer Strider and their hitter Ronald Acuna Jr. both out of the season due to injuries, and the fact that the Phillies won the division, the Braves were all but written off. However, the last two seasons have shown us one thing: winning the NL East means nothing in the playoffs, as the last two years have seen the Braves win the division, only to lose in the playoffs to their division rival Phillies.

We’ve also seen this movie before with the Braves, who won the 2021 World Series without Acuna Jr., who missed most of the season with a torn ACL. It’s not like the Braves are having a bad season, either. They’re 8.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East, but they’re 11 games over .500 with a run differential of +65. Those aren’t elite numbers, but they’re the sign of a good baseball team. Plus, they’re almost guaranteed a playoff berth, as they currently lead the NL Wild Card race by 4 games.

To be clear, the loss of Acuna Jr. and Strider definitely hurts, but this is still a talented team. They have a solid trio of starters in Chris Sale, Max Fried and Reynaldo Lopez, with the latter currently leading the MLB in ERA. Overall, their pitching has been very good, as they have the best team FIP in the MLB and the second-best expected FIP.

The biggest difference between the Braves last year and this year is the bats. The Braves set a record last year with the number of home runs they hit, but this year almost their entire lineup, except for Marcell Ozuna, is in a slump. The biggest slump is with Matt Olson, who led the league in home runs last year but looks lost at bat this year. If the Braves’ bats can match last year’s level, they could be the Cinderella team this year, reaching the World Series as a wild card team, like the Phillies in 2022 and the Diamondbacks in 2023.

Pick 2: Cleveland Guardians (+1700) Caesars

The Guardians are one spot behind the Braves with the sixth-best odds to win the World Series, but they are the best bet on the board at +1700 odds. First of all, they have the second-best record in the MLB and the best in the AL.

Granted, the Guardians’ starting pitchers aren’t where they need to be right now. The season-ending Shane Beiber injury hurts, so they’ll have to make some moves at the trade deadline to bolster their pitchers, but the recipe for the Guardians is simple: hope their hitters give them the lead early in the game and rely on their excellent bullpen to shut down the opposing offense in the later innings. Think back to the 2015 Royals and how they were able to win the series because their bullpen was downright unbeatable.

They have the lowest team bullpen ERA in MLB at 2.62 and also the second-most saves. When you look at the individual members of their bullpen, it all makes sense, and that starts with their closer, Emmanuel Clase. Clase is dominant, with a 0.81 ERA, the best in MLB of any pitcher who has thrown 40 innings. He is second in MLB with 29 saves and three blown saves, giving him a save percentage of 90.6%. After Clase, the Guardians have Hunter Gaddis, who has a 1.19 ERA, which is the third-best ERA in MLB.

Their bats have some power too, with Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor having the 10th and 11th best ISO rates in the MLB. Then they have the leader in batting average in Steven Kwan, who is batting .352. Not surprisingly, Kwan also has the 10th best WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in the MLB. If they can get Kwan on base and then one of Ramirez or Naylor brings him home with a home run, their bullpen can do the rest and close out the game.

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