World Series odds 2023: Updated odds, predictions, picks, favorites as second half begins

Hard as it is to believe, we’re about set to begin the second half of the 2023 MLB season. Throw out those please to small sample sizes; it’s time to put the pedal to the metal and see who’s really ready to make a run at a World Series title. The championship landscape has shifted quite a bit over the past few weeks — the Tampa Bay Rays have slowed their roll a bit, as have the Texas Rangers, while the Dodgers have reawoken, the Reds have surged and the Braves look like absolute world-beaters — and the World Series futures market has responded accordingly.

So, just like we did at the beginning of June, let’s celebrate the start of the second half with a look at how the past month has impacted each team’s odds to win it all over at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Updated World Series odds as of July 13

Atlanta Braves +330Los Angeles Dodgers +550Tampa Bay Rays +600
Houston Astros +800Texas Rangers +1300Toronto Blue Jays +1700
New York Yankees +1800 Philadelphia Phillies +2000Baltimore Orioles +2200
Minnesota Twins +2500Arizona Diamondbacks +2800San Francisco Giants +2800

When you go 27-6 over your last 33 games, you’re going to find yourself as the title favorite. Atlanta has pasted just about everybody for the past month and a half, and while there are some long-term concerns — will Bryce Elder hold up under the magnifying glass that is a pennant race, will Max Fried and/or Kyle Wright be healthy for October, do you trust Raisel Iglesias and A.J. Minter — we’re really picking nits right now.

The Dodgers looked stuck in the mud about a month ago, but the offense has come around, and they’ll start the second half with a narrow lead over the D-backs in the NL West. The Rays and Rangers went through June swoons that have dinged their championship odds, while the Yankees frankly shouldn’t even be this high given how they’ve looked without Aaron Judge. The Twins have the potential to be a dark horse with that pitching staff, while the Phillies, Orioles and Giants loom as talented teams in tough divisions.

World Series odds: Takeaways and best bets

Baltimore Orioles +2200

The O’s now find themselves just two games back — and tied in the loss column — of the Rays in the AL East, riding a five-game winning streak and averaging six runs a game in the month of July. Offensively, this team has as much talent as anyone, with Cedric Mullins, Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman spearheading things and Ryan Mountcastle set to return from injury. Felix Bautista and Yennier Cano are as good a 1-2 punch in the late innings as you’ll find. The only thing holding this team back from being a true inner-circle contender is their starting pitching, and we have good news on that front: 1) John Means should return from Tommy John at some point in August and 2) they have one of the most talented farm systems in baseball with which to swing a trade. These odds are going to shoot up once Lucas Giolito or Shane Bieber heads to Baltimore, so get in while you can.

Philadelphia Phillies +2000

Don’t look now, but last year’s NL champs are starting to wake up. Philly has had snake-bitten seasons from their two aces (Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola), injuries up and down the lineup and exactly one hitter — Nick Castellanos — who’s been consistently above average. And yet, here they are, right in the thick of the Wild Card race at 48-41. Wheeler-Nola-Taijuan Walker-Ranger Suarez is a solid four in the rotation, and if Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber can ever get hot at once, we’ll be looking back and wondering what took the Phillies this long. They’re as good a bet as any of the three Wild Card teams ahead of them to make the postseason, and any team that gets into the tournament — and has as good an on-paper roster as this — shouldn’t be going at +2000.