What a difference a month of play makes in terms of bettors’ behavior! In the newest report from oddsmaker bovada.lv, odds to win divisions, pennants and the World Series are shortening for the hot teams and lengthening for the struggles.
In few places is it more evident than with the St. Louis Cardinals. The club moved from 12/1 to take it all last month to just 7/1. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers have shorter odds, as 6/1.
In the NL Central, the Chicago Cubs, who were the division favorite back in December, have slipped past the Pittsburgh Pirates into second. The Milwaukee Brewers have skidded past Cincinnati into the cellar.
Other division surgers include Houston, Detroit and Kansas City in the American League and the New York Mets in the NL. Among those with longer odds are the White Sox and Seattle in the AL and Washington in the NL.
The World Series odds favor the Dodgers, Cardinals, Tigers and Royals, in that order. Last month’s leader, the Nationals, have dropped to fifth-shortest odds.
Two Cardinals have made appearances on the Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award lists for the NL, with Matt Carpenter at 9/1 and Michael Wacha at 10/1, respectively.
NL Central clubs in bold.
| Odds to win 2015 World Series | 10/30/14 | 12/15/14 | 3/4/15 | 4/1/15 | 5/6/15 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 15/2 | 15/2 | 17/2 | 17/2 | 6/1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 12/1 | 14/1 | 12/1 | 12/1 | 7/1 |
| Detroit Tigers | 10/1 | 12/1 | 16/1 | 16/1 | 15/2 |
| Kansas City Royals | 16/1 | 20/1 | 28/1 | 33/1 | 9/1 |
| Washington Nationals | 10/1 | 15/2 | 7/1 | 6/1 | 10/1 |
| New York Mets | 40/1 | 25/1 | 28/1 | 33/1 | 14/1 |
| Boston Red Sox | 22/1 | 9/1 | 10/1 | 10/1 | 16/1 |
| Chicago Cubs | 50/1 | 12/1 | 14/1 | 16/1 | 16/1 |
| New York Yankees | 22/1 | 25/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 | 16/1 |
| Houston Astros | 100/1 | 150/1 | 50/1 | 50/1 | 20/1 |
| San Diego Padres | 66/1 | 40/1 | 14/1 | 18/1 | 20/1 |
| San Francisco Giants | 12/1 | 14/1 | 14/1 | 18/1 | 20/1 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 10/1 | 12/1 | 14/1 | 14/1 | 25/1 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 20/1 | 18/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 | 28/1 |
| Oakland Athletics | 20/1 | 40/1 | 28/1 | 25/1 | 33/1 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 20/1 | 33/1 | 28/1 | 25/1 | 33/1 |
| Seattle Mariners | 18/1 | 14/1 | 16/1 | 12/1 | 33/1 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 33/1 | 18/1 | 25/1 | 25/1 | 33/1 |
| Chicago White Sox | 40/1 | 28/1 | 16/1 | 16/1 | 50/1 |
| Cleveland Indians | 25/1 | 33/1 | 20/1 | 20/1 | 50/1 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 33/1 | 66/1 | 66/1 | 66/1 | 50/1 |
| Miami Marlins | 50/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 | 66/1 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 33/1 | 40/1 | 66/1 | 50/1 | 66/1 |
| Atlanta Braves | 22/1 | 28/1 | 66/1 | 66/1 | 66/1 |
| Colorado Rockies | 100/1 | 100/1 | 150/1 | 100/1 | 75/1 |
| Minnesota Twins | 100/1 | 150/1 | 100/1 | 100/1 | 100/1 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 100/1 | 75/1 | 100/1 | 100/1 | 200/1 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 40/1 | 40/1 | 50/1 | 50/1 | 250/1 |
| Texas Rangers | 33/1 | 40/1 | 50/1 | 50/1 | 250/1 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 75/1 | 150/1 | 150/1 | 150/1 | 500/1 |
Following are League title odds.
| Odds to win AL Championship | 3/4/15 | 4/1/15 | 5/6/15 | Odds to win NL Championship | 3/4/15 | 4/1/15 | 5/6/15 | |
| Detroit Tigers | 8/1 | 8/1 | 7/2 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 9/2 | 9/2 | 3/1 | |
| Kansas City Royals | 14/1 | 14/1 | 15/4 | St. Louis Cardinals | 6/1 | 6/1 | 7/2 | |
| Boston Red Sox | 11/2 | 11/2 | 7/1 | Washington Nationals | 3/1 | 3/1 | 11/2 | |
| New York Yankees | 14/1 | 14/1 | 7/1 | New York Mets | 14/1 | 14/1 | 15/2 | |
| Houston Astros | 28/1 | 28/1 | 9/1 | Chicago Cubs | 15/2 | 7/1 | 8/1 | |
| Los Angeles Angels | 6/1 | 13/2 | 12/1 | San Diego Padres | 15/2 | 7/1 | 10/1 | |
| Baltimore Orioles | 14/1 | 14/1 | 14/1 | San Francisco Giants | 8/1 | 8/1 | 10/1 | |
| Seattle Mariners | 7/1 | 11/2 | 14/1 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 14/1 | 14/1 | 14/1 | |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 10/1 | 12/1 | 16/1 | Atlanta Braves | 28/1 | 28/1 | 28/1 | |
| Oakland Athletics | 12/1 | 12/1 | 16/1 | Cincinnati Reds | 28/1 | 28/1 | 28/1 | |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 28/1 | 28/1 | 22/1 | Miami Marlins | 16/1 | 16/1 | 33/1 | |
| Cleveland Indians | 9/1 | 9/1 | 25/1 | Colorado Rockies | 75/1 | 50/1 | 33/1 | |
| Chicago White Sox | 15/2 | 15/2 | 28/1 | Milwaukee Brewers | 33/1 | 33/1 | 100/1 | |
| Minnesota Twins | 50/1 | 50/1 | 50/1 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 50/1 | 50/1 | 100/1 | |
| Texas Rangers | 22/1 | 22/1 | 125/1 | Philadelphia Phillies | 75/1 | 75/1 | 200/1 |
Next are the six division chases.
| Odds to Win AL East | 3/4/15 | 4/1/15 | 5/6/15 | Odds to Win AL Central | 3/4/15 | 4/1/15 | 5/6/15 | Odds to Win AL West | 3/4/15 | 4/1/15 | 5/6/15 | ||
| Boston Red Sox | 2/1 | 2/1 | 2/1 | Detroit Tigers | 9/4 | 11/5 | 11/10 | Houston Astros | 16/1 | 12/1 | 9/5 | ||
| New York Yankees | 9/2 | 9/2 | 9/4 | Kansas City Royals | 9/2 | 9/2 | 11/10 | Los Angeles Angels | 8/5 | 9/5 | 12/5 | ||
| Baltimore Orioles | 7/2 | 3/1 | 4/1 | Chicago White Sox | 9/4 | 12/5 | 12/1 | Oakland Athletics | 9/2 | 4/1 | 5/1 | ||
| Toronto Blue Jays | 11/4 | 3/1 | 9/2 | Cleveland Indians | 11/5 | 12/5 | 12/1 | Seattle Mariners | 8/5 | 5/4 | 6/1 | ||
| Tampa Bay Rays | 7/1 | 7/1 | 13/2 | Minnesota Twins | 18/1 | 18/1 | 20/1 | Texas Rangers | 7/1 | 12/1 | 33/1 | ||
| Odds to Win NL East | 3/4/15 | 4/1/15 | 5/6/15 | Odds to Win NL Central | 3/4/15 | 4/1/15 | 5/6/15 | Odds to Win NL West | 3/4/15 | 4/1/15 | 5/6/15 | ||
| Washington Nationals | 1/3 | 1/4 | 1/2 | St. Louis Cardinals | 5/4 | 13/10 | 4/9 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 1/2 | 1/2 | 1/3 | ||
| New York Mets | 5/1 | 6/1 | 2/1 | Chicago Cubs | 5/2 | 3/1 | 7/2 | San Diego Padres | 7/2 | 7/2 | 4/1 | ||
| Miami Marlins | 6/1 | 6/1 | 10/1 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 11/4 | 12/5 | 9/2 | San Francisco Giants | 7/2 | 5/1 | 11/2 | ||
| Atlanta Braves | 16/1 | 25/1 | 16/1 | Cincinnati Reds | 12/1 | 12/1 | 20/1 | Colorado Rockies | 50/1 | 18/1 | 33/1 | ||
| Philadelphia Phillies | 50/1 | 50/1 | 100/1 | Milwaukee Brewers | 12/1 | 10/1 | 100/1 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 33/1 | 20/1 | 100/1 |
Finally, we have the NL MVP and Cy Young lists.
| Odds to Win NL CY Young | 5/6/15 | Odds to Win NL MVP | 5/6/15 | |
| Clayton Kershaw | 11/5 | Paul Goldschmidt | 3/1 | |
| Zack Greinke | 9/2 | Adrian Gonzalez | 7/2 | |
| Max Scherzer | 11/2 | Joey Votto | 11/2 | |
| Matt Harvey | 15/2 | Dee Gordon | 6/1 | |
| Gerritt Cole | 9/1 | Matt Carpenter | 9/1 | |
| Michael Wacha | 10/1 | Giancarlo Stanton | 9/1 | |
| Madison Bumgarner | 10/1 | Anthony Rizzo | 10/1 | |
| Shelby Miller | 12/1 | Andrew McCutchen | 10/1 | |
| Francisco Liriano | 16/1 | Justin Upton | 20/1 | |
| Bartolo Colon | 20/1 | Freddie Freeman | 20/1 | |
| James Shields | 33/1 | |||
| A.J. Burnett | 50/1 |
As the season continues, the 2015 odds will shift and shift again. I will present periodic updates as warranted.
Follow me on Twitter.