Updated 2023 World Series Odds at Midseason

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While the MLB's 2023 All-Star Game is still two weeks away, the regular season is officially at its midpoint, with the majority of teams having played 81 of 162 regular-season games.

The table below shows the current 2023 World Series odds for all 30 teams in the league, juxtaposed with their odds from the preseason.

World Series Odds 2023

The top of list is populated with - mostly - familiar and expected names. The 2022-champion Astros, 2021-champion Braves, and 2020-champion Dodgers are all among the top-four favorites, joined by the MLB-leading Rays, who were the A.L. champions in 2021 and have made the playoffs in each of the past four seasons.

Texas Rangers Continue to Surprise

The only real unexpected member of the top-five favorites is the Texas Rangers, who started the year mid-pack at +4500 (16th-best odds at the time). The Rangers, who made significant efforts to bolster their batting order after the 2021 season (adding Corey Seager and Marcus Semien), focused on beefing up their pitching rotation this past offseason, with Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, and Andrew Heaney joining the team.

Even with expected ace deGrom limited to six starts before season-ending surgery, the Rangers' pitching has been vastly improved. The team currently sits fifth in the majors in runs allowed (310), while their lineup continues to mash (460 runs scored). Their +147 run differential is second in the MLB, narrowly trailing the Rays (+150).

With perennial A.L. East powerhouse Houston (42-36 overall) taking a slight step back this season, the Rangers (47-31) have been able to open a five-game lead at the top of the division and show no signs of slowing down.

Cardinals, Mets Contend for Biggest Disappointment

Pinpointing the most-disappointing teams this season, at least compared to preseason expectations, is an easy task. The St. Louis Cardinals started the year among the top ten in the World Series odds (+1900) and have faded all the way to +10000 thanks to a dismal 32-45 start which has landed them deadlast in an altogether underwhelming N.L. Central.

Currently 8.5 games back of the first-place Brewers, there are modest reasons for optimism among Cards nation. At -16, they actually have the second-best run differential in baseball. The Cubs (+32) are the only team among the quintet with a positive run difference.

Neck-and-neck with the Cardinals for most-disappointing team is the high-priced New York Mets. After adding Justin Verlander and Japanese star Kodai Senga to a starting rotation already spearheaded by Max Scherzer, big things were expected in Queens. But the Mets have limped to a 35-43 start with a -19 run differential. They already sit a demoralizing 16 games behind the N.L. East-leading Braves, who are just 1.5 games behind the Rays for the best record in baseball.

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