MLB Betting: AL West Up For Grabs Over Final Stretch

As we approach the final month of Major League Baseball's regular season, many divisional races are essentially all wrapped up.

At FanDuel Sportsbook, the NL West and NL East winner markets are completely turned off, while current leaders in the NL Central, AL Central, and AL East all show odds much shorter than +100. That leaves the AL West as the last remaining MLB grouping with all eligible teams yielding a plus-money payout to win the division.

The Houston Astros have worn the AL West crown in five of the past six seasons. Still, their "Silver Boot" rivals -- the Texas Rangers -- have led the division for the majority of the year.

After the two ball clubs from the Lone Star State, the Seattle Mariners have quietly performed well throughout 2023. With the longest postseason drought in American professional sports no longer looming over Seattle's head, perhaps the M's can go down the stretch with a clear mind.

Then we are left with two AL sides from California: the Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics. Despite recent news surrounding Shohei Ohtani's throwing elbow, the Halos are trying to convince themselves that they are still in the playoff race. As for Oakland, well, let's just move along ...

Coming down to the wire in 2023, below are the current AL West odds and analysis with an eye on winning the division.

All MLB odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Houston Astros (1 GB)

FanDuel Sportsbook Odds: +130

Houston actually had the shortest odds to win the AL West entering Thursday despite trailing Texas in the standings. Considering the Astros' embarrassing 17-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox yesterday, FanDuel flopped the divisional prices with the Rangers. Then, once Texas lost to the Minnesota Twins on Thursday evening, Houston returned to the top of the AL West odds board at FanDuel, showing a +130 price before Friday's slate commences.

Being that skipper Dusty Baker is on the heels of his first World Series title, Houston would obviously love to follow that up with another. They should squeak into the playoffs via Wild Card at least, but this market is solely focused on winning the division by regular season's end.

With 33 games left to play for the defending champions, can the veteran core of Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker (who currently paces all AL hitters with 95 RBI) erase the short divisional deficit?

Texas Rangers

FanDuel Sportsbook Odds: +145

The Rangers are in their first season with manager Bruce Bochy at the helm. With 72 victories to begin Friday, Texas has already passed their 2022 win total of 68. Their overall record is not too far ahead of the competition (currently just a single game ahead of Houston and Seattle), however, the Rangers' run differential (+179, best in the American League) is almost 100 better than the next team in their division.

Texas has been an offensive juggernaut in 2023. At the moment, their team OPS of .797 is the top mark in the AL, standing more than 10 points higher than the second place Tampa Bay Rays (.782). Powerful middle infielders Marcus Semien (.350 wOBA) and Corey Seager (.658 slugging) are both blasting the baseball right now, with the latter finally back from injury. Additionally, outfielder Adolis Garcia is fourth in the Majors with 93 RBI.

Last season, the Rangers were ranked 22nd in team ERA at 4.22. This year, that clip has improved to 4.07. Of course, Bochy specializes in handling pitching staffs. Nathan Eovaldi has been their ace in 2023, currently boasting a 1.01 WHIP. Also, this club features the likes of "Mad" Max Scherzer.

Candidly, it is Texas' division to lose in 2023.

Seattle Mariners (1 GB)

FanDuel Sportsbook Odds: +260

In 2023, the Mariners have been one of the strongest MLB teams post-All-Star break. Since the beginning of July, Seattle has played to a 33-13 record. Over that same stretch, they have gone 10-1 in divisional games.

Back on July 11th (the day of the 2023 Midsummer Classic), the M's showed a divisional price of +1500 at FanDuel Sportsbook. With Seattle's recent dominance, that number has cascaded all the way down to +260.

The team from the Pacific Northwest has been bolstered by one of the strongest pitching rotations in baseball. With the second-best collective ERA in the Majors (3.69), the Mariners can match up with anyone in a playoff series, but can they come from behind to win the division?

Starting hurlers George Kirby (1.03 WHIP), Luis Castillo (27.6 K%) and Logan Gilbert (3.76 SIERA) always seem to give the M's a chance to win, and having dynamic young stars like Julio Rodriguez and J.P. Crawford in the lineup certainly does not hurt either.

Los Angeles Angels (11.5 GB)

FanDuel Sportsbook Odds: +50000

Even at 500-to-1 odds, I don't see any more value on the Halos in this market, but there are those who refuse to let them go. Unfortunately for Orange County, holding on to Ohtani at the recent MLB trade deadline backfired in worst-case-scenario fashion. With Wednesday's announcement of a tear in Ohtani's pitching-arm UCL, Tommy John surgery seems likely for the two-way star.

Shohei will go on taking at-bats for the Angels in 2023, but he has officially been grounded on the mound. To make matters worse, league icon, Mike Trout is returning to the injured list before most realized he was off of it. He collected a hit in just one game back on August 22nd but experienced pain in his glove hand afterward.

The real question, however, is where do the Halos go from here?

Looking for more MLB betting opportunities? Head over to FanDuel Sportsbook to check out all of the MLB odds.

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.