Brewers, Cubs Battling For NL Central Supremacy

Cardinals Fade, Brewers Rise in the NL Central Gambling Report

Brewers Trying To Hold Off Preseason Betting Favorite Cubs in NL Central Race

When the season began, two teams were viewed as the betting front-runners in the National League Central Division. A quick look at the NL Central gambling reports shows that the Chicago Cubs are vying for the division lead but the Milwaukee Brewers and not the underachieving St. Louis Cardinals. The ones who are leading the division as all five NL Central teams have played either 41 or 42 games.

The division features the dynamic Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds, the one who has a chance to steal 100 bases. The Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitching duo of Jared Jones and Paul Skenes also feature along with majors ERA leader Shota Imanaga of the Chicago Cubs.

When looking at the scores, Milwaukee currently leads the Chicago Cubs by half a game with the Pirates 5.5 games back in the NL Central standings.

The Cubs are fifth at +2500 and the Brewers are tied for sixth at +4000 in the odds of winning the World Series.
With the quarter mark of the season, let’s look at how the NL Central squads are faring against the MLB preseason picks.

Uncover Exclusive Picks & Predictions From Our Experts.

Brewers logo Milwaukee Brewers

Despite seeing its manager Craig Counsell take over the division rival Cubs and star pitcher Corbin Burnes get traded to Baltimore. Milwaukee is leading the NL Central with a 24-17 record. That is a bit of a surprise when looking at the NL Central gambling reports.

The Brewers were third at +700 in the National League Central title odds coming into the season and ninth among National League teams in the World Series odds.

Former MVP Christian Yelich might have discovered the fountain of youth as he has a .350 batting average. He is back after missing 26 games. He came into the season with -115 odds to go over 17.5 home runs. With five homers in 16 games, he is looking good to top that mark as long as he doesn’t return to the injured list.

Milwaukee could pay out at +275 if it makes the MLB playoffs. The Brewers had -110 odds to top 77.5 wins in the regular season and are on pace to win 95 games.

Cubs logo Chicago Cubs

According to the MLB player stats, fans and analysts should have paid more attention to the signing of Japanese pitcher Shota Imanaga, as he leads all qualified pitchers with an ERA of 0.96 and has a 5-0 record.

Together, Imanaga, Javier Assad, and Jameson Taillon have impressively gone a combined 11-0. It has significantly aided the Cubs in winning 24 of their first 42 games. This success comes despite Justin Steele being limited to three starts and Kyle Hendricks struggling.

According to the NL Central gambling reports, the Cubs were the favorite at +175 to win the division when the season started and that could still happen with Chicago just half a game behind division-leading Milwaukee.
The +1000 odds for Imanaga to be the Rookie of the Year are looking pretty good.

The Cubs would finish with 93 wins at their current pace after opening the season at -120 to go over 84.5 wins.

Pirates logoPittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates have slowed down after a strong start to the season but still have a chance to exceed expectations. Pittsburgh had the longest odds at +1400 to win the division title. The Pirates had a regular-season win projection of 75.5 and are on pace for 73 wins.

The addition of 2023 No. 1 draft pick Paul Skenes to a rotation that includes Mitch Keller and Jared Jones could help Pittsburgh make a run as a rare winning season.

Reds logo Cincinnati Reds

Many viewed the Reds as a dark horse pick to make some noise in the National League. Maybe it will still happen, but currently, the Reds are languishing in a tie for last place in the NL Central with a record of 17-24.

The 22-year-old De La Cruz is worth the price of admission. At his current pace, he would have 36 home runs and 99 stolen bases.

He had -115 odds to go over 21.5 home runs. Meanwhile, the same odds to exceed 67.5 RBIs, and the 41.5 stolen base projection could happen by the MLB All-Star Game.

Initially, there were 13 players with better MLB betting odds to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award than De La Cruz. However, that is certainly no longer the case. The Reds are waiting to get star infielder Matt McLain back and perhaps that will help the Reds make a run at the projected regular-season win total of 82.5.

Cardinals logo St. Louis Cardinals

Coming into the season, many viewed St. Louis as a borderline playoff team. With -105 odds to make it to the postseason and -125 to miss the playoffs. There is still time, but they have some work to do.

Promising outfielder Jordan Walker was sent to the minors after a tough start. Veterans Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado are starting to show their age. One of the bright spots has been catcher Willson Contreras and he is on the injured list. Sonny Gray is 4-2 with a 2.29 ERA in his first six starts, but he needs some help.

If things continue to trend in the wrong direction. Keep an eye on the MLB trade rumors as the Cardinals could be a seller at the trade deadline.

There were -115 odds for St. Louis to go over 84.5 wins. St. Louis would need to go 68-52 the rest of the way to get to 85 wins.

For MLB odds analysis, news, and more, visit Point SpreadsSports Magazine.


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