MLB American League betting odds: Yankees, Astros favored
Juan Carlos Blanco | For FrontPageBets
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The calendar has yet to flip to March, but fields across Florida and Arizona are already alive with the sights and sounds of spring training. Optimism abounds for both teams and bettors, and MLB futures leaderboards on top online sportsbooks such as DraftKings, Caesars and BetMGM are the subject of plenty of interest.
In addition to always popular World Series odds bets, other futures markets such as the AL Winner are garnering plenty of traction.
Below, we preview the top of the 2024 American League odds board and highlight key sportsbook data to offer you the most popular picks for the upcoming season, including the Houston Astros and New York Yankees odds.
MLB American League betting odds 2024: Astros, Yankees set the pace
While the Rangers upended the Astros for the AL pennant last season, and the Yankees missed the postseason, Houston and New York sit atop the late-February AL Winner betting market.
In contrast to the NL, where there’s a steep drop-off after the top duo of the Dodgers and Braves, the defending AL/World Series champion Rangers and promising Orioles are nipping on the heels of the Astros and Yankees with +650 and +700 odds, respectively.
Using DraftKings Sportsbook data through Feb. 26, however, it’s Baltimore that’s garnering a market-high 34% of the handle, although New York sets the pace with 38% of the bets.
Meanwhile, the Astros are drawing a more modest 12% of the handle and 10% of total bets. And, despite being defending champs, the Rangers are responsible for just 2% of the handle – tying with the Guardians and Royals at the bottom of the market, attracting 7% of total wagers.
For a full understanding of National League betting odds, shop around on several MLB betting apps and compare lines from one site to another.
MLB American League odds: New York Yankees (+450 or better)
It’s not exactly common to see a team that barely scraped past .500 the season prior sharing the top of the pennant-winner market a few months later.
However, that’s the case with the Bronx Bombers, which reloaded with the marquee offseason acquisition of Juan Soto, as well as the signings of Alex Verdugo and Marcus Stroman as key complementary hitting and pitching options.
Otherwise, New York will bank on getting as close to a full season as possible from Aaron Judge and his troublesome toe while also hoping Giancarlo Stanton, who had a .202 average, .286 OBP and 30.1% strikeout rate in the last two seasons, can rediscover the form that once made him one of the most feared sluggers in baseball.
MLB American League odds: Houston Astros (+500 or better)
The Astros managed to win four in a row to close out the 2023 regular season and snag the AL West title despite finishing tied in the standings with the eventual WS champion Rangers.
Houston is putting plenty of faith in the core that got it to 90 victories a year ago. The likes of Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez are among the key holdovers. One much younger returnee, backstop Yainer Diaz, is now the official starter behind the dish after posting a .282 average, .846 OPS, 45 extra-base hits and 60 RBI across 104 games as a rookie in 2023.
There’s also plenty of continuity in a strong starting rotation that will eventually once again be helmed by Justin Verlander (shoulder). Additionally, the arrival of Josh Hader as the primary ninth-inning option, following 140 saves over the last four non-COVID-shortened seasons, could be what puts Houston over the top.
Best MLB betting sites 2024
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Juan Carlos Blanco is a Catena Media contributor and has been writing about sports betting and fantasy sports since 2015 for a wide variety of industry websites, and his work has also been syndicated in outlets such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports and NBA.com. Follow his work via Twitter @jcblanco22.
