Who will end the 2023 MLB playoffs with the Commissioner’s Trophy in hand? Will the Houston Astros repeat? Will the Braves complete a record-setting year with their second championship in three seasons? Will the Dodgers get Clayton Kershaw one more ring? Will the young O’s stand up under the bright lights of October?
Honestly, the field is wide open. Here is a look at the World Series odds from DraftKings Sportsbook as the postseason is set to get underway.
Atlanta Braves +330 Los Angeles Dodgers +425
Houston Astros +450 Baltimore Orioles +650
Tampa Bay Rays +950 Philadelphia Phillies +1300
Texas Rangers +1600 Toronto Blue Jays +1600
Minnesota Twins +1800 Milwaukee Brewers +1900
Arizona Diamondbacks +3000 Miami Marlins +3000
The Braves and Dodgers are the understandable favorites, given that they boast the two best run differentials in baseball and were the class of the Majors for much of this season. Still, for as imposing as these lineups are, and for as much success as they’ve had, they’re certainly not perfect. Both of them have real rotation questions to answer, partly due to injury: Atlanta has Max Fried and Charlie Morton currently on the IL (though both are expected to return for the Division Series) and not a ton of reliable options beyond those two and Spencer Strider; the Dodgers, meanwhile, have lost Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin for the year and won’t be seeing Julio Urias any time soon after his disturbing domestic violence allegations.
If you’re looking for a better value, the Orioles are the third 100-game winner this season and have as much firepower in their lineup as anyone in the AL. The loss of closer Felix Bautista hurts, and the rotation remains unproven, but Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez and the returning John Means form an underrated trio. It’s not often you’ll see the team with the second-best record in baseball get the fourth-shortest odds, and Baltimore could make that relative skepticism look very silly.
Want a true dark horse? Why not Milwaukee: Absolutely no one is going to want to face Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta and Corbin Burnes in a short series, not to mention Devin Williams locking down games in the late innings. Whether the lineup can score enough runs is another matter, but at +1900, this is a team that looks tailor-made to surprise in the postseason — and gets among the friendliest Wild Card matchups against the sixth-seeded D-backs.
