posted April 21, 2008 at 13:14 EST in MLB Free Picks

No team has been hotter than the online sports betting friendly Arizona Diamondbacks over the first few weeks of baseball’s regular season. The D-Backs have been handily paying off for those doing any MLB betting on them most days, and they’ve already built up a lead on their rivals in the National League West. So what’s been the key to their successful start to the year?

Well, when your top three pitchers are a combined 10-0 you know things are going your way. Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, and Micah Owings have all been dominant for the D-Backs this year; Webb is 4-0 with a 1.86 ERA, Haren is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA, and Owings is 3-0 with a 2.29 ERA. As well, all three pitchers have been holding opposing hitters to an average of .200 or worse, and all three boast stellar WHIPs of under 1.00.

Arizona’s batters have been doing their part as well. There aren’t a lot of well-known names in the lineup, but Eric Byrnes, Mark Reynolds, Justin Upton, Stephen Drew and Conor Jackson have been providing all the offense the Diamondbacks have needed. Of course, with their pitchers going so well a lot of offense isn’t even required most days.

The Diamondbacks have played five series against division rivals already this season, and they’ve won all five of them. That includes two series wins over the Colorado Rockies, who were expected to be Arizona’s chief competition for first place in the division this year. That set of results has pushed the D-Backs up to -120 favorites at BetUS to win the NL West and advance to the playoffs for the second season in a row.

The Rockies are at +450 odds to win the NL West, which puts them behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (+250) and the San Diego Padres (+400) on that futures bet as well. The San Francisco Giants haven’t been much worse than the non-Arizona teams in the division so far this season, but they’re still way back at only +5000 to claim the division.

There’s only one other team in the National League with better odds to win their respective division this season, and that’s the New York Mets. David Wright and company have been hot over the past couple of weeks and have climbed back up the NL East standings. Since they were the preseason favorites to win that division anyway the oddsmakers haven’t moved their line around too much – they’re listed at -200 odds.

That puts New York ahead of both the Philadelphia Phillies (+300) and the Atlanta Braves (+400) on that division odds list, with both of those teams playing mediocre baseball over the first few weeks of the season. The Florida Marlins have been better than expected, but with low expectations for the year they’re at just +2500 odds to win the NL East. The Washington Nationals, who haven’t been good, are behind at +4000.

The tightest divisional futures race in the National League continues to take place in the Central, where the Chicago Cubs (+110) and the Milwaukee Brewers (+175) are neck-and-neck for the distinction of being the favorite. Those two clubs might have company near the top soon, though, as the St. Louis Cardinals are up there with them in the NL Central standings. The Cards are coming from farther back on the list, and are at +500.

The Cincinnati Reds have been slumping, so the +700 odds they’re currently listed at to win the NL Central might end up being their high-water mark for the season. The Houston Astros and the Pittsburgh Pirates haven’t shown much over the first few weeks of the year either, and they’re at +2000 and +3500 odds, respectively, to end up in first.

Check the BetUS MLB Betting lines section for all of the latest futures and daily matchup lines.

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