MLB American League Futures - Yankees are no Surprise Favorite

It’s not even March yet, but baseball is already in the air as the World Baseball Classic begins on March 5th and runs through March 23rd.

The World Baseball Classic has become much more competitive recently with Japan and the Dominican Republic fielding very good teams. But it’s still not as viable of a betting option for gamblers as Major League Baseball.

MLB betting is just around the corner and it’s a good time for bettors to check out the MLB odds on some of the teams in the American League that have a shot to win the pennant.

Let’s take a look at a few of those teams in the BetUS online sportsbook.

MLB: A.L. Pennant Futures

1. New York Yankees +200 - - Bettors are getting 2 to 1 on a team that, on paper, looks to be as dominating as any team in baseball in recent memory. The Yankees went for quality this off-season by signing pitchers A.J. Burnett and C.C. Sabbathia. Both guys are solid veterans who will last an entire season. By signing Mark Texeira, the Yanks added a serious bat to their already stellar line-up. They could dominate the A.L.

2. Boston Red Sox +400 - - New York’s biggest rival will also prove to be their sternest test in the American League in 2009. Boston is a seriously good team with a terrific pitching staff and good, solid, batters. They could take New York down, but they will have to find a way to keep both Daisuke Matsuzaka and Josh Beckett healthy. The addition of former number one guy Brad Penny will help their rotation.

3. Los Angeles Angels +500 - - The Angels lost Francisco Rodriguez, their closer, and no matter what anybody says, it was a big loss for this team. They could prove to be dominant during the regular season again only to blow it in the playoffs. They don’t have a shut down pitcher, per se, and their bats can go cold at times. They’re iffy at +500 to take down both Boston and New York.

4. Tampa Bay Rays +750 - - Last year’s A.L. Champs are going off at nice odds to repeat in 2009. The problem for the Rays is that if Boston can keep their rotation healthy and the Yankees are as dominating as most MLB bettors expect, then the Rays might not get into the playoffs. The A.L. East is going to be a tough division in 2009. The Rays could be the odd team out.

5. Cleveland Indians +900 - - They have a puncher’s chance because they’ve got Cliff Lee on the mound every few days, but they will have to find the bats in order to contend in the A.L. Right now, I don’t see enough power in the line-up to challenge the Yankees or Red Sox.

6. Detroit Tigers +1000 - - If gamblers are looking for a nice long shot in the A.L., then this is probably the team. They were a favorite to win the World Series going into 2008 but after going 0 and 9 to start the season, and then getting stung by the injury bug, this team faded away without making a single move. 2009 could be different because the pieces are still there. If manager Jim Leyland can put it all together, they’ve got a shot.