Las Vegas Odds Put New York Yankees, Houston Astros at 96.5 Regular Season Wins

Posted on: February 18, 2019, 01:27h. 

Last updated on: February 18, 2019, 01:27h.

The New York Yankees and Houston Astros are the preseason MLB favorites in Las Vegas.

New York Yankees MLB odds World Series
If Las Vegas has it right, the New York Yankees and Houston Astros will win the most regular season games in 2019. (Image: Elise Amendola/AP)

The Westgate SuperBook has both New York and Houston with an over/under of 96.5 wins. The Yanks won 100 games last year, while the ‘Stros won 103.

The Boston Red Sox had the best regular season record in 2018 at 108-54. The SuperBook has the defending World Series champs at 93.5 wins for 2019.

MLB teams are deep into spring training, and sportsbooks across the country are readying to take action on a bounty of odds.

This time last year, full-fledged sports betting was legal in only Nevada. Following the May repeal of the federal ban by the Supreme Court, and today legal sports wagers can also be placed in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Mississippi, and New Mexico.

As for the World Series, it comes as no surprise that the Yankees and Astros are the odds-on favorites at 6/1. The Dodgers and Red Sox follow at 7/1, and the Indians round out the top five at 10/1.

Oh O’s

After the Yanks and Astros, the Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers – the latter being the 2018 World Series losers – are next at 93.5 wins. The Cleveland Indians are the only other team with an over/under of at least 90 wins (90.5).

The Baltimore Orioles by far had the worst record in baseball a year ago at a dismal 47-115. The next closest poor play came from the Kansas City Royals at 58-104.

In the difficult AL East, 2019 isn’t expected to be much kinder for the Orioles. The SuperBook puts Baltimore’s over/under at 59.5 wins. The Miami Marlins are second from the bottom at 63.5 wins.

As for predicted divisional winners, the favorites are as follow: AL East (Yankees -125), AL Central (Indians -400), AL West (Astros -800), NL East (Washington Nationals +225), NL Central (Chicago Cubs +180), NL West (Dodgers -450).

Baseball Bets

Football is king in the US, as sports bettors wager more money on the sport than any other game. While baseball is considered America’s pastime, it isn’t even second when it comes to generating handle – aka total money wagered.

Nevada bettors bet $1.8 billion on NFL and college football last year, and $1.5 billion on NBA and college basketball. Baseball (MLB and college) attracted $1 billion in wagers. Oddsmakers won $47.1 million on the sport.

Individual Awards

The SuperBook is taking futures on numerous player statistics.

Yankees sluggers Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge are the co-favorites for most home runs at +700, or implied odds of 12.5 percent. A $100 bet would net $700 should your player belt the most dingers. Red Sox slugger JD Martinez is next at +1500.

Oakland Athletics’ Khris Davis won the title last year with 48 homers. The homerun over/under for this year by any player is 48.5.

Aces Max Scherzer (Nationals), Chris Sale (Red Sox), and Corey Kluber (Indians) are the odds-on favorites to win the most regular season games at +1000. The over/under for the most wins by any pitcher is 20.5 wins.