If the 2023 MLB playoffs taught us anything, it's that baseball is a hard sport to predict.

Prior to Opening Day, the Texas Rangers were at +2500 to win the AL Pennant (sixth-longest odds), and the Arizona Diamondbacks held +5000 odds to win the NL Pennant (fifth-longest). We saw how that turned out.

Although this year in baseball was particularly finicky, we can still analyze which teams are best set up for success next season, and in turn, find the best value options to take home the 2024 title.

With that, here's a look at the 2024 World Series odds via the MLB odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Atlanta Braves (+600)

Despite winning 100-plus games in each of the last two seasons, including a league-leading 104-win season this past year, the Atlanta Braves have failed to make it out of the NLDS since their 2021 World Series victory.

Even still, they are the early favorites to win the 2024 Fall Classic -- and for good reason.

The Braves' offense was a thing to marvel at all year in 2023. They led the league in batting average, slugging percentage, runs and home runs -- the list goes on. Given that their entire starting lineup should be returning next year, we can probably expect another season of mind-boggling production at the plate.

Atlanta's pitchers were decent this year, but injuries to their top arms plagued the team.

Max Fried, who posted a 2.48 ERA in 2022, was absent for much of the season after dealing with a forearm injury. In 14 games started, he managed to stamp his 2023 season with a 2.55 ERA, so a full year of the healthy version of Fried could do wonders for the Braves.

The same goes for Charlie Morton, a veteran who delivered for most of the regular season -- posting a 3.64 ERA -- but was placed on the IL a week before the playoffs, never to be seen on the mound the rest of the way.

We can't blame injuries on Atlanta's poor playoff performance -- every team has to fight through them -- but they will undoubtedly be a major force to be reckoned with next season. They're deserving favorites.

Los Angeles Dodgers (+700)

Behind the Braves, the Los Angeles Dodgers boast the next-shortest 2024 World Series odds.

I'm not going to place to entire onus of this standing on the fact that Shohei Ohtani is a free agent and the Dodgers know how to spend money, but I have to imagine that is playing a factor in these +700 odds.

The Dodgers were a great team this past season. They posted the third-best record in the league and had a flashy starting lineup.

However, their ugly NLDS defeat at the hands of the underdog Arizona Diamondbacks exposed a few major flaws. Clayton Kershaw is no longer that guy. He'll be 36 years old at the start of next season, and though his 2.46 ERA this season was nothing to shake a stick at, Kershaw's playoff performance, incoming performance decline, and free-agent status leave things up in the air.

Beyond Kershaw, the only fully healthy name worth mentioning in the Dodger rotation is Bobby Miller, who had a solid rookie bid for the team. LA would benefit greatly from the injured Walker Buehler returning with a bang in 2024.

As the lineup goes, Mookie Betts will always be a star worth mentioning, but Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, J.D. Martinez, and Jason Heyward are all getting up there in age. It'd be unfair to say that will result in poor 2024 numbers from this crew, but one has to imagine that we will see a bit of decline from at least a couple of these players.

Heyward, Martinez, Julio Urias, and Kershaw are some of the bigger Dodger names that will enter free agency this offseason.

Based on all this, the Dodgers wouldn't be my pick to win the 2024 World Series. However, they are considered the frontrunners to sign Ohtani this offseason, which would change just about everything.

Signing Ohtani would give the Dodgers a pretty stacked offense (and eventually an ace pitcher), and if they get him this winter, LA may jump to the favorite in this market.

Texas Rangers (+800)

The Rangers just won the World Series, but it seems we haven't even seen the best version of this team just yet.

They'll return with most of their lineup that showed off in the 2023 playoffs (Mitch Garver is a free agent) and could look to pair that with some arms who were non-factors in their championship run.

Jacob deGrom signed a five-year contract with Texas in 2022, but as always seems the tragic case, he was once again plagued with injuries and got Tommy John surgery in June this past season. DeGrom is on track to make a return by August of next year, so while he won't do much as the Rangers' regular season goes, he may have two months of pitching under his belt before the 2024 playoffs start, which could give Texas a major boost.

Max Scherzer got hurt prior to the playoffs this season, and it showed. He was, if anything, a liability on the mound, but a healthy version of Scherzer could round out a lethal Texas rotation by next year's playoffs.

The Rangers should be in the mix in 2024, and while it feels wrong to say that the team that won the World Series less than 24 hours ago needs more help, they probably need their pitching to improve -- which can happen with a healthy deGrom and Scherzer -- to go back to back.

However, they are considered to be a candidate to sign Ohtani this offseason.

Like any team that signs the person considered to be the greatest living baseball player, this would change everything. But, as it stands, the Dodgers seem to be a more legitimate contender in the race for the two-way star -- and the Rangers should be just fine without Ohtani.

Houston Astros (+800)

The Houston Astros are the fourth and final team to currently tout odds of +800 or shorter to win the 2024 World Series.

Dusty Baker announced his retirement last week, so they will need to find a new skipper, but Houston will return with a near-identical roster to what they had this past season. Michael Brantley and Martin Maldonado are as notable as it gets as free agents go, meaning the Astros' star lineup should stay intact for 2024.

Justin Verlander hasn't stopped impressing, but he will be 41 years old at the start of next season. Houston has reinforcements, though, with Cristian Javier, Hunter Brown, Jose Urquidy, and Framber Valdez giving them a formidable rotation.

Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman highlight an Astros lineup that should be among baseball's elite.

It's the same old story with the Astros -- they should be among the game's best squads.

The Field

The Philadelphia Phillies have the next-shortest World Series odds at +1000. They've taken down the Braves two years in a row in the NLDS and are home to some of the scariest power-hitters in baseball. Aaron Nola is entering free agency -- losing him without acquiring an ace-level replacement would be a major blow, but if they can ride into the 2024 playoffs with as much talent as they had in the 2023 playoffs, they should be in a great spot to compete.

One team that doesn't seem to get much respect is the Baltimore Orioles. They had the second-best record this season in an AL East division that is unforgiving, so their +1800 title odds seem a tad undervalued -- at least when you consider that the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays have shorter World Series odds.

Beyond the aforementioned teams, other World Series candidates will likely come down to which teams sign or acquire the best talent in the offseason. Blake Snell, Sonny Gray, Josh Hader, and Nola are among the best free-agent pitchers on the board, while Ohtani's free-agent status is one of the bigger stories in recent baseball history.

The New York Mets (+2500) and New York Yankees (+1600) are considered potential landing spots for Ohtani -- if one of them lands Ohtani, perhaps they can compete this year.

Other contenders to sign Ohtani include the San Diego Padres (+1800), Seattle Mariners (+2000), and San Francisco Giants (+5500), but if he goes to one of these organizations, a solid team will need to be built around him in order to have high hopes for the 2024 World Series -- just ask the Los Angeles Angels.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.