Slow starts by the expected contenders in the National League have pushed a trio of American League teams to the top of the odds to win the World Series at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com midway through the month of May.
The Houston Astros are the +500 favorite (wager $100 to win $500) on the latest 2018 World Series odds, followed by the Boston Red Sox at +600, and the New York Yankees at +650. Houston, the defending champion, is battling for top spot in the AL West standings with the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners, while Boston and New York boast the two best records in the Junior Circuit as they sit atop the AL East standings.
The Astros, Red Sox, and Yankees were all among the World Series favorites at the outset of the season, as were a trio of expected National League contenders in the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, and Washington Nationals. Slow starts, though, have pushed those three NL clubs down the MLB futures.
The Cubs, in a tight NL Central division race, have slipped from +750 at the start of the season to +1000 on the World Series odds, while the Dodgers, well under .500 on the year, have tumbled from +500 all the way to +1400. The Nationals have fallen from +900 to +1600 on the list, although their current hot stretch has improved their outlook in the NL East.
Rounding out the second tier of contenders on the latest World Series odds are the Arizona Diamondbacks at +1000, the Angels at +1200, the Cleveland Indians at +1400, and the surprising Atlanta Braves at +1800. The Braves won just 72 games last season and began the year as longshots at +17500 on the World Series odds; this year they won 25 of their first 40 games to lead the NL East standings.
The New York Mets, who won just 70 games last season, got off to a fast start this season to sit at +2200 on the World Series odds along with the St. Louis Cardinals; the Mets have since fallen off the pace in the NL East. The San Francisco Giants are at +2250 on the futures, with the Milwaukee Brewers at +2500.
The only other teams left with four-digit World Series odds at this point of the season are the Toronto Blue Jays (+2800), Colorado Rockies (+3000), Philadelphia Phillies (+3000), Minnesota Twins (+4400), Pittsburgh Pirates (+4400), and Seattle Mariners (+5000). The Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, and Miami Marlins are the longshots on the latest list, well back at +75000 odds.
