2024 MLB Start of Season Specials: Baseball Best Bets, Predictions, Odds on DraftKings Sportsbook

I love MLB futures, yet even I’ll admit the waiting is a pain. Heck, you might end up not knowing the result of a bet made in February until the end of October. As a card carrying Millennial — the generation that made ADHD cool — that just isn’t ideal.

Yet have no fear! The DraftKings Sportsbook has a myriad of ways to bet on baseball in 2024, including which team will be the first to 10 wins. That’s what we’ll be diving into today.

Race to 10 Wins

If you’re looking for this year’s Rays, I don’t think you have to stray outside the AL East. Thanks to the league’s new balanced schedule, the Orioles are playing fewer games against New York, Tampa Bay and Toronto. In fact, Baltimore won’t see any of its divisional rivals aside from the underwhelming Red Sox until the Yankees visit Camden Yards on April 29. In the meantime, the Orioles will square-off with the likes of the Angels, Royals and Pirates. Like, a lot. To be specific, 62.5% of Baltimore’s first 24 contests see those three teams as competition — teams that combined for a .422 winning percentage in 2023. The other nine opponents that kick off the Orioles’ campaign? Three nights in Boston and a pair of home series versus Minnesota and Milwaukee. Needless to say, even with the uncertainty surrounding Kyle Bradish, Baltimore is going to get off to a strong start.

The elephant in the room is the looming presence of the Dodgers (+270). Not only did Los Angeles go out and sign almost every big name free agent on the market this offseason, but the Dodgers and Padres will travel to South Korea to take part in a two-game regular season series a full week before any other team takes the field. Because of this, Los Angeles will play its 10th contest of 2024 on April 5 — the same day the Orioles will play their seventh. It’s a massive advantage and its clearly been factored into DraftKings’ lines. However, while that explains the Dodgers as massive favorites, it doesn’t explain why Baltimore is tied for only the league’s 15th-best odds. After all, this is a squad that won 101 games just last year.

I believe there’s value in Baltimore regardless of the scheduling quirks, but if you want a way to hedge, DraftKings is also offering the Orioles to start 5-0 at +700. This way, you’re not worrying about timelines. You can simply focus on Baltimore independently winning five home games where it will surely be favored each and every time.

Let’s get absolutely wild. I know the Tigers are picking up steam as a stealth candidate to win the always wide-open AL Central, but there’s more to this team than some winter buzz. In particular, it’s the team’s rotation that has me starting to pay attention. Detroit spent some dough this offseason to bring in solid veterans like Jack Flaherty and Kenta Maeda, yet it’s the in-house options that have me tantalized. Tarik Skubal is everyone’s fantasy baseball infatuation in 2024, and the young lefty has only made people fall more in love early this spring by hitting triple-digits in his side sessions. Then there’s the trio of Matt Manning, Casey Mize and Reese Olson, who all either posted eye-opening results in 2023 or still have enough prospect pedigree to dream upon. If you’re going to stack up wins quickly in the regular season, a deep pitching staff is usually the best path to success.

Then there’s the Tigers’ schedule to begin the year. While eight of the team’s first 11 games are on the road, Detroit starts the season with three against the lowly White Sox, then heads to New York to take on a Mets squad that will be without the services of ace Kodai Senga. After that? Three versus the Athletics at Comerica Park, then a two-game set in Pittsburgh. That’s four opponents with a combined winning percentage of .404 in 2023. I mean, Chicago and Oakland were two of the four teams to finish last season with 100 losses and I’d personally be banking on a repeat performance from both this coming campaign. If the Tigers can get out of the gate 9-2 or 8-3, this suddenly isn’t such a crazy idea.

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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is theglt13) and I may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.